To protect and to starve

State police recruiters went to the U.S. Marine Corps base in Camp Lejeune, N.C., last month to entice minorities and women into joining the force. The reason back then — that an increasingly diverse Maine population requires a more diverse force — puzzled many who wondered why this more diverse force couldn’t simply be drawn from this increasingly diverse population.

It seemed, at worst, a somewhat circuitous, even illogical, route toward a worthy end. Apparently, though, it was a junket that didn’t pan out, for now the state police is launching a major campaign to entice new recruits, especially minorities and women, from within Maine.

The difference between then and now is the reason: It’s not a matter of diversity and gender-equity; it’s pay. Maine, it turns out, is the second worst state in the nation when it comes to paying its troopers; the number of applicants for this demanding, highly selective and dangerous job has plummeted. Maine isn’t looking for a force that looks like Maine. It’s looking for smart, fit, brave individuals who will work cheap.

Another difference is that then, when it was a sociological issue, the Legislature, which has no sway over demographics, was in session. Now, when it’s fiscal, the Legislature is adjourned and the state’s purse strings are drawn tight.

In better times (that is, worse times economically), the $25,000 starting pay and stingy benefits would attract as many as 1,800 applicants for the 25 to 30 openings in a training class. The rigorous screening process for fitness, education and background made that large applicant pool necessary; as much as 90 percent would be rejected before the final interviews. This time, with the booming economy offering lots of better jobs with more regular hours and far less peril, there were only 365 applicants. Either vacancies will go unfilled or standards will be lowered.

When the North Carolina trip was announced in late April, state police and King administration officials said nothing about the recruiting problems, nothing about the dramatic drop in applicants, nothing about the record number of experienced troopers — trained at taxpayer expense — leaving for better jobs, often with other law-enforcement agencies. It was all about being diverse, being progressive. It was all a smoke screen to mask the real problem.

These same officials now are upbeat about the new in-state recruiting campaign, saying it’s certain to increase the number of minority and women applicants. And why shouldn’t it? Even as rookie cops, minorities and women, after all, are grizzled veterans when it comes to getting paid less.