Glendale News Press
LATimes.com
Sept 2 2004
Police, fire seek diversity
Both Glendale departments strive to hire more minorities for public
safety jobs.
By Jackson Bell, News-Press
GLENDALE — For Hagop Kurdian, the youthful dream of becoming a
firefighter wasn’t warmly received by the adults in his family and
elders in his community.
That’s because Kurdian, a Glendale resident of Armenian descent whose
parents immigrated from Lebanon, comes from an ethnic background that
generally regards work in civil service as a “last-resort job” when
one can’t succeed in business.
That was in Lebanon, where firefighting was primitive and a career on
the force was not a well-paid or well-respected career. But in the
U.S., he said firefighters receive good salaries and are held in high
esteem in the community.
“A lot of Armenians are not educated as to what the firefighters do,
so they don’t see this as much of an honorable profession or career,”
said Kurdian, a 23-year-old Glendale fire cadet who aspires to join
the force. “But the more they learn about [the job], the more
supportive they become.”
For a city that estimates nearly one-third of its population is of
Armenian descent, Glendale Fire and Police representatives say their
department personnel does not reflect that statistic. And both
agencies are striving to interest community members of all minorities
to join their ranks.
As of July 31, 2003, the police department’s staff of 368 sworn
officers and support staff had 17 people of Armenian descent, 23 with
an Asian/Pacific Islander background, seven blacks and 84 Latinos,
according to city auditors. The fire department’s staff has two of
Armenian descent, eight Asian/Pacific Islanders, six blacks and 33
Latinos. Fire officials added that the department has never had a
sworn firefighter of Armenian descent, and the employees with an
Armenian background are civilian employees.
Another reason Battalion Chief Harold Scoggins believes Armenians are
underrepresented is because there has been a dramatic uptick in
immigration over the past 25 years. And since the Glendale Fire
Department hires less frequently than other agencies, he said it’s
hard for the department to keep up with sharp demographic shifts.
“But just because we don’t have one, it doesn’t mean that we aren’t
working hard to get Armenians on the department,” said Scoggins, who
heads recruiting and hiring. “We have to start somewhere, and
everyday we’re getting closer.”
Glendale Police, although more diversified than its public-safety
counterpart, is still making efforts to spur more community interest,
said Lt. Bruce Fox, who heads the department’s Professional Standards
Bureau.
An outreach meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Glendale
Police Station’s Community Room, 140 N. Isabel St., where people can
learn how to join the force. Officers of Armenian, Asian and Latino
descent will also be on hand to meet with the public.
But fire and police representatives say standards for candidates will
not be lowered just to diversify their staff.
People interested in learning more can call Scoggins at 548-4050, log
onto or stop and talk to a
firefighter on the street, if they are not responding to an
emergency.