This fall, Chicago residents will be offered the opportunity to earn an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree with a focus in Criminal Justice, at no cost. The program can be finished in as little as 12 months, and students will have the option to apply to the Chicago Police Academy (CPD) and waive the Department's entrance exam. This partnership with Olive-Harvey College and the CPD is an effort to encourage more Black and Latinx students to consider a career in law enforcement.
Dr. Kimberly Hollingsworth, president of Olive-Harvey College, said that the "One Year and Out" City Colleges of Chicago Criminal Justice program is agile enough to respond to the social issues raised nationwide about community policing in recent years. 
Dr. Kimberly Hollingsworth is the president at Olive-Harvey College.
"This just makes a lot of sense, especially for the city of Chicago and the distrust a lot of Chicago Police Departments are perceived to have," said Hollingsworth. "One of the mantras that we've been using is 'be the change you want to see,' so what better way to do that than to actually participate in this program and eventually become a Chicago Police Department police officer."
The degree is a 60-credit hour hybrid program emphasizing ethics, diversity, inclusion, and critical thinking. Students can earn 48 credit hours over four, eight-week periods and 12 credit hours in the summer.
This program is part of a long-term effort to diversify the CPD. According to a 2021 report by Chicago Inspector General Joseph Ferguson, the CPD has struggled to hire an adequate number of Black applicants to reflect the city's racial makeup. The report noted that in the CPD initial application process during the review period, 37% of CPD applicants were Black in a city where 30% of the population is African American. But by the end of the process, only 18% of all candidates invited to the police academy were Black.
Diversity in law enforcement, experts note, can substantially help reduce use of force. In a 2021 study, Black and Hispanic officers made far fewer stops and arrests and they used force less often, especially against Black civilians.
Dr. Brandon Nichols, senior vice president of Academic Affairs at Olive-Harvey College, a predominantly Black institution and an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution, said that he is excited to offer Black and Brown students a career pathway to make an impact in their community through the CPD. He said that he hopes to see a rise in the number of Black men in the program since there has been a rapid enrollment decline of Black men overall at Olive-Harvey College.
