GED Cops

By C.J. JANOVY

Over at Prime Buzz yesterday and in the Star’s print version today, there’s a little item about Mayor Mark Funkhouser’s suggestion that a Wednesday-night town hall audience consider, just think about, the idea of waiving the requirement that police recruits be felony-free. Felonies and drug convictions for things people did when they were young and stupid, Funkhouser said, shouldn’t prevent people who’ve turned their lives around from serving on the police force. At the meeting, Funkhouser made it clear that he wasn’t actually proposing this, but just asking people to think about it.

The whole thing came up during a discussion of the KCPD’s alarmingly low percentage of minority officers. But in the Star’s eagerness to grab the most sensational thing out of that otherwise mostly wonky meeting (and hey, over here at The Pitch, we know sensationalism when we see it), DeAnn Smith has so far failed to report the most shocking thing anyone said about minority recruitment.

According to 3rd District City Councilwoman Sharon Sanders Brooks, who was also at the meeting, police officials say that too many applicants haven’t been able to pass the written exam. She let the audience know that there was a test-prep session on Saturday in advance of next week’s entrance exam. “Individuals can go on the force with only a GED,” she said. “Beat officers can make up to $70,000 a year and the department will pay for them to go to college regardless of their major.”

Too many people who want to be cops can’t pass the written test? That sounds like a problem with the Kansas City, Missouri, School District more than anything else. Let’s talk about that, instead of the mayor’s random unofficial thoughts on felonies.