By John Sharp
Grandview police detective Monica Acklin who on January 19 celebrated her 10-year anniversary as the first female African-American officer on the Grandview Police Department used the occasion to urge young people who want to help others and serve their communities to seriously consider careers in law enforcement, particularly with the Grandview Police Department.
“If you’re passionate about helping others and making positive changes, it’s a great career,” Acklin said. “We want people who want to give back to their communities.”
Although many people think of police work as mainly involving confronting and arresting violent criminals, often with the officer’s gun drawn, Acklin pointed out the vast majority of officers’ interactions with the public involves helping people who have been victims of crime or are facing some other traumatic situation.
She pointed out that the Grandview Department has a co-responder program with ReDiscover social service agency that will send its trained staffers to assist persons suffering a crisis when requested by the Department.
“There are so many ways to help keep people safe if you have the proper knowledge,” Acklin said.
Contrary to the perceptions of some critics, Acklin pointed out that police interactions with the public rarely involve, and never should involve, yelling at people or demeaning them, and it’s vital for officers to be good communicators and know how to deescalate situations.
A graduate of Lee’s Summit West High School, after receiving law enforcement training Acklin began working in the Grandview Department as a patrol officer for about a year and then became a school resource officer in Grandview public schools for about six years before joining its investigation unit as a detective.
She said the Grandview Department which has significantly increased its diversity by ethnicity and gender since she was hired, is hiring now since it only has 42 officers, and 57 sworn officers is considered full staffing. She said the Department offers competitive salaries and has a great benefit package which is attractive to officers who work for some other jurisdictions in Missouri.
Acklin noted new officers must be 21 to begin their police service after they have completed their law enforcement training and received their certification.