Race Equity & Police Accountability

  1. Diversity & Demographic Makeup
  2. Officer Accountability
  3. Additional Resources

Diversity in the Woodbury Police Department

Over the last five years, the City of Woodbury has been building strategies to recruit and hire more diverse candidates for positions across the city. It is our firm belief that a diverse workforce creates a better spirit of community, shared ideas and increased creativity. By implementing open and inclusive employment practices and policies, our hope is to attract and retain talented staff from all groups and help us respond appropriately to changing needs and goals in the community.

Here are some of our efforts related specifically to Public Safety:

  • Public Safety Internship: Actively recruit diverse, qualified candidates; adjust qualifications to encourage more applicants and compensate for systemic flaws and bias in education pipeline; offer additional paid positions to provide more opportunities for diverse candidates.
  • Community Service Officer (CSO) Hiring: Seek and recruit diverse candidates; transition interns to CSO; consider starting a CSO applicant as an intern to provide coaching and mentoring to be better prepared for a CSO position in the future. Give preference points to bilingual candidates.
  • Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Academy: Encourage non-white people to gain experience and education in EMS. Consider graduates for paid-on-call fire positions, internships and CSO positions.
  • Interview Process: Include interview questions, reviewed by the Multicultural Advisory Committee, that speak directly to experience with race equity and cultural competence. Train hiring panels in implicit bias.
  • Recruitment: Post open positions with the Post Board, colleges, government job boards, Indeed.com. Send to professional associations like National Black Police Officers Association of MN and Minnesota Asian Police Officers Association.

Demographic Makeup of Woodbury Police Officers

Woodbury Public Safety Department Demographics

GroupingMaleFemaleNon-WhiteTotal Number
1968 to Present73%20%7%172
Current74%18%7%70
Statewide88%12%N/A (See Note)10,849


Note: The State of Minnesota reports total number of licensed officers by sex. In order to measure our progress as we work to increase diversity, we track the other measures ourselves. This is why Statewide comparisons are "not applicable."

Woodbury Officers' Pre-Employment Background

BackgroundPercentage
Part-Time in Woodbury (CSO, Medic, Reserve)43%
Community Service Officer Elsewhere6%
Police Officer Elsewhere37%
Other Public Safety Experience3%
No Police Experience11%