Muncie, IN—The Muncie Police Merit Commission is in the process of forming a Diversity Task Force which will assist the Merit Commission and the Muncie Police Department in hiring and promoting from a larger pool of diverse applicants. The main goal of this task force is to review current merit commission polices in order to ensure a wide spectrum of potential law enforcement officers are hired to the Muncie Police Department in the future.
According to Michael Mueller, secretary of the Muncie Police Merit Commission, “This is something we’ve been looking at for quite a while. I believe it’s always good to review policies and procedures to make sure we are being effective across the board in how we hire and promote police officers in our community.”
Mueller, a recently retired 25 year veteran of the Muncie Police Department, also stated, “It is in our community’s best interest to hire and promote the best officers from all backgrounds while maintaining high levels of professionalism. We will be looking at what we can do to promote hiring of people with diverse backgrounds, including members of the African-American community, LGBTQ community, women, and religious minorities.
Rev. Jonathan Mitchell adds that the aim of the committee is to advise the Merit Board, which in turn will consider any suggestions for possible implementation in the future. We also want to provide a transparent process, one that will open the lines of communication to all interested parties.
The Diversity Task Force will consist of representatives from a wide range of local minority groups, as well as a representative from Muncie Community Schools. These members will be named in the near future.
The ad hoc subcommittee will also review promotional procedures within the Muncie Police
Department to ensure fair and equitable promotions occur when ranking positions are available. Merit Commission meetings are held the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month in the City Hall auditorium at 6pm.
