The Des Moines Police Department's latest recruiting class is one of the most diverse ever

Des Moines Regional Police Academy recruits breathed heavily as they did full-body exercises next to their desks in a fluorescent-lit room Monday morning – the first of many steps in the month-long process of becoming a police officer.

Later, the recruits sat with their arms linked and their families watched as they were sworn in as one of the most ethnically and racially diverse classes of recruits in Des Moines history.

In addition, the Des Moines Regional Police Academy’s 84th class of recruits includes members who are fluent in at least seven languages in addition to English. Languages spoken by the 17 recruits include Spanish, Telugu, Burmese, Swahili, Kirundi, Kinyarwanda and French.

“Our community is changing, our community is evolving, and we need to evolve with it,” Lt. Rodrigo Santizo, an officer with the Des Moines Regional Police Academy, told the Register. “It’s extremely important for our department to represent the people we serve. Representation is absolutely important and should be for every agency out there.”

The new class is a microcosm of the changes taking place in Des Moines.

According to the decennial census, the city’s nonwhite population grew 39% between 2010 and 2020, largely due to immigrants and refugees moving to Des Moines to work or escape war-torn countries or refugee camps. Communities of color made up 39% of the city’s population in 2020, up from 30% the decade before, census data show, and more than 100 languages are now spoken in Iowa’s capital city.

The city is a magnet for new settlement. Only Charleston, South Carolina, is among U.S. metropolitan areas with the fastest-growing foreign population, according to Heartland Forward, a think tank that studies Midwestern issues. Des Moines’ low cost of living, jobs in high- and low-skilled industries, strong nonprofit organizations and established immigrant communities make the city an attractive place to live and contribute to its continued growth.

More:Check out renderings of the future home of Des Moines City Hall and Police Department.

Des Moines police want to ensure language barriers are broken down in the community so residents who don’t speak English feel comfortable interacting with police, Santizo said.

“It’s reassuring to the community when you show up in uniform, but sometimes it’s intimidating,” said Santizo, who is also fluent in Spanish. “But when you hear someone who can communicate with you and speaks your language, it takes away a lot of the barriers that the presence of a police officer can bring.”

Experts say it’s logical to predict that the next decennial census in 2030 will show that diversity in Des Moines has continued to increase.

“I think it’s a comfort to know that their community is represented in this department,” Santizo said. “It’s important to us.”

The recruits will be trained until they graduate from the academy in late November, city spokesman Peter Zemansky said. The courses will cover the legal duties of an officer as well as scenario-based training such as de-escalation and crisis intervention, he said. The recruits will also learn skills such as tactical driving and complete physical training throughout the academy.

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