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ByDaveCollinsandLisa Marie Pane The Associated Press HARTFORD, CONN. Police departments are relaxing age-old standards for ac- cepting recruits, from low- ering educational require- ments to forgiving some prior drug use, to try to at- tract more people to their ranks. The changes aredesigned to deal with decreased in- terest in a job that offers low pay, rigorous physical demands and the possibil- ity of getting killed on duty all while under intense pub- lic scrutiny. There's also the question of how to encour- age more minorities to be- come police officers. "We have a national cri- sis," said Eugene O'Donnell, a former New York City po- lice officer and now a lec- turer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. "For the first time in my life, I would say I could never recommend the job. Who's going to put on a camera, go into ur- ban America where people are going to critique every move you make? You're go- ing to be demonized." There's no national stan- dard for becoming an of- ficer; it's left up to each state to set requirements. In general, prior drug use or past brushes with the law, however minor, have been enough to bar some- one from becoming an offi- cer. On top of that are phys- ical fitness standards that have long been academy graduation requirements. And even after graduation, recruits often face a back- ground check that might include a credit-history re- view. The physical require- ments have impeded the hiring of women, while credit histories and educa- tion standards have stood in the way of some minor- ities. Amid the push to di- versify, many police depart- ments question whether those long-held, military- style standards are the best ways to attract officers able to relate to communities and defuse tensions. Departments that are changing testing and other requirements that have been shown to dispropor- tionately disqualify minor- ity candidates were praised in a report released last month by the U.S. Depart- ment of Justice and the Equal Employment Oppor- tunity Commission. People from minor- ity communities are more likely to be disqualified by criminal background and credit checks, because members of those commu- nities are more likely to have contact with the crim- inal justice system and have lower credit scores, the re- port says. Minorities also may have more trouble on written tests that don't ac- curately screen people for the skills needed for police jobs, it says. A 2013 survey by the U.S. Department of Justice showed that about 12 per- cent of the nation's officers were black and 12 percent were Hispanic. The percent- ages were higher than three decades earlier, but minor- ities continue to be under- represented in many com- munities, according to the department. About 13 per- cent of the U.S. population is black and about 18 per- cent is Hispanic, according to the census. The new police diversity report called diversity the linchpin to building trust between law enforcement and communities. "Hiring is particularly problematic in this envi- ronment we live in," said Chuck Wexler, executive di- rector of the Police Execu- tive Research Forum. "I've been in a room with a large group of police ... I've asked how many of you would like your son or daughter to be a police officer, and no one raises their hand." Police officials say they have increased efforts to hire officers of color, in- cluding holding recruiting events in cities, targeting minority groups on social media, and visiting military bases and colleges. The Connecticut State Police is among the agen- cies wrestling with diver- sity. Blacks and Hispan- ics comprise about a third of trooper applicants and about a quarter of the state's population, but only 10 per- cent of the force — the base set three decades ago after the agency was sued. Since 2004, nearly 4,500 blacks and 4,200 Hispanics have applied to be Connecticut troopers, but only 28 Afri- can-Americans and 38 His- panics have graduated from the academy, according to records obtained by The As- sociated Press. During that same period, 15,000 whites applied and 527 graduated from the academy. RELAXING STANDARDS Smokingpot,nocollegemay not bar you from police work DAVECOLLINS—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Connecticut State Police recruits practice with their new .45-caliber Sig Sauer pistols during a "dry fire" exercise at the state police firing range in Simsbury, Conn. By Russ Bynum The Associated Press BRUNSWICK, GA. A Geor- gia man whose toddler son died in a hot car was found guilty of both mal- ice and felony murder on Monday by a jury tasked with weighing a month of dueling testimony over whether the child's father left him to perish on pur- pose or made a fatal mis- take. Justin Ross Harris, 35, who showed little emotion as the verdict was read, had been on trial since Oct. 3 in the death of his son, Cooper. The 22-month-old boy died after being left for hours in the back of Har- ris' SUV on June 18, 2014. Harris said he forgot to drop his son off at day care that morning and drove straight to his job as a web developer for Home Depot, not realizing Cooper was still in his car seat. Soon afterward, investi- gators found evidence that Harris was having sexual relationships — both on- line banter and in-person affairs — with numerous women, including a prosti- tute and a teenager. Pros- ecutors charged Harris with malice murder, say- ing he intentionally killed his son in order to escape the responsibilities of fam- ily life. Harris was also charged with felony murder, which required no proof of intent to kill — just that Cooper died as a result of his fa- ther committing the felony of cruelty to children. Mal- ice murder carries a prison term of life with or with- out parole. Prosecutors argued Harris must have known Cooper was in the car. He drove less than two min- utes to work after strap- ping the child into his car seat when they finished breakfast at a Chick-fil-A restaurant just over a half- mile from Harris' office. Parking lot surveillance video showed Harris also went to his car after lunch and tossed in some light bulbs he had purchased, though he never got inside. Harris told police he didn't notice Cooper un- til he left work for the day to go to a movie. The boy was dead, having swel- tered in the car for about seven hours. Prosecutors said Harris left online clues to mur- derous intentions. Evi- dence showed that min- utes before Harris locked the car door on his boy, he sent an online mes- sage: "I love my son and all, but we both need es- capes." Five days earlier, Harris watched an on- line video in which a vet- erinarian sits inside a hot car to show it reaches 116 degrees in a half-hour. Defense attorneys said Harris was responsible for his son's death, but insisted it was an acci- dent rather than a crime. Friends and family mem- bers testified he was a de- voted and loving father, and the jury watched video clips of Harris try- ing to teach Cooper to say "banana" and letting the boy strum his guitar. The joyous moments had some jurors laughing aloud. Harris' ex-wife, Leanna Taylor, also came to his defense. She divorced him in March and bitterly told the jury that Harris "de- stroyed my life." But she testified he was a loving father who, regardless of how unhappy he may have been in their marriage, would not have harmed their son on purpose. Tay- lor was not in the court- room on Monday. Harris was alone, except for his lawyers, as the verdict was read. FELONY MURDER Georgia man found guilty in death of toddler son le in hot SUV ankyou www.facebook.com/rbdailynews Facebook Fans 6,000+ Facebook Likes Through a Child's Eyes… AspecialcontestbringingTehamaCounty school children and local businesses together … to the delight of Daily News readers! Selected student-designed ads published in a stand-alone section of the Daily News Saturday, December 17, 2016 • Participating businesses agree to let school children in grades 2-8 create and draw a special ad for them. • Participating businesses choose the winner from the ads designed by the children. • Winning children's ads appear in a special section of The Daily News on Saturday, December 17, one for each participating business. • First and Second place winners in three separate age categories receive cash awards and special recognition in the newspaper. • Ads published are all the same size (apx. 5" wide x 3 1 /4" tall) Business Operators: Deadline to commit to participate: TUES., NOV. 15 …sowecanprovidelistofbusinessestolocalclassrooms Business Sponsorship/Advertising cost: $ 99 00 Includes publication in the Daily News Online Digital Edition Gayla Eckels: (530) 737-5044 geckels@redbluffdailynews.com Suzy Noble: (530) 737-5056 snoble@redbluffdailynews.com Call your Advertising Representative TODAY! | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2016 4 B