(Wisconsin State Journal, The (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jun. 22--As Dane County 's population has grown more diverse over the past several decades, the Sheriff 's Office has lagged the Madison police force in reflecting the changing demographics.

The Madison Police Department increased its nonwhite force from 7 percent in 1983 to 19 percent today -- which mirrors Madison 's growing minority population exactly.

Meanwhile, the Dane County Sheriff 's Office continues to struggle with diversity, with nonwhite deputies comprising 5.3 percent of its force. The state average for law enforcement is 8.8 percent and Dane County 's nonwhite population is about 13 percent.

The number is up from 4 percent in November 2006, as Sheriff Dave Mahoney has made increasing diversity one of the top goals of his first term in office.

But the goal of having "a Sheriff 's Office as diverse as the population it serves " will not be easy to accomplish. A survey conducted last July by iMpact Human Resources Consulting found deep rifts between white and minority deputies over questions of diversity.

Minorities, who were interviewed in a separate focus group than whites, described the work environment as "tense and lonely. "

They complained about being "exploited " to do recruiting and translating with no extra compensation, and then being criticized by white employees for those tasks taking them away from their normal duties. They noted that nonwhites who are recruited are labeled as "minority hires " and any promotions lead to a whisper campaign of "reverse racism. " They also described the negative reputation of the jail -- which incarcerates a disproportionate number of nonwhites -- making it difficult to recruit and retain deputies, who spend the first several years of their careers on jail duty.

White deputies, meanwhile, described how the emphasis on diversity had backfired, especially with white males. "Every promotion of a woman or a minority is greeted with skepticism no matter how well qualified they are, " the survey found.

Mahoney said the survey was eye-opening on the extent of the problem and provided a perspective he couldn 't have gained from sitting down with deputies in his office.

"It created the perception of a good ole ' boys club, " Mahoney said. "I never believed it (existed). But after reading (the report), I realized we had some work to do. "

Sgt. Leroy Edens, 47, who joined the department in 2001, is one of a handful of sheriff 's deputies helping bring about the change. Earlier this year he became the first African American promoted to sergeant in the department 's history. In the last year, the department also promoted its first black and first Latina detectives.

Edens, who spent several years as a parking enforcement officer with the city, came to Madison from the west side of Chicago in the 1980s at a time when the police department was considered a national model for minority recruitment, due largely to the work in the 1970s of former Police Chief David Couper and Mayor Paul Soglin.

When police departments nationally were notoriously white and male, Madison police advertised in magazines targeted at minorities and women. The key was getting local support for the city 's diversity effort, Soglin said. "You 've got to have leaders in the black community saying This is not a dead end. Go ahead and apply. ' "

Dane County faces a greater challenge than Madison did because minorities can find more diverse work environments where they aren 't perceived as Affirmative Action hires, said Howard Payne, a Madison police officer and recruiter.

"You have to be very frank about (increasing diversity), " Payne said. "You have to start showing the greater community that you are committed to " the number changing and that the "process is going to be fair. "

Madison police marked a diversity recruitment milestone this year, graduating the first class in the department 's history in which white males were not the majority. Of the 27 new officers, there were five black males, two Latino males, two Latina females and five white females.

In April, the Sheriff 's Office also graduated its most diverse class in history. Of the 14 new deputies, there were two blacks, two Latinos, one Asian and a white female.

Part of that success started with an educational outreach effort in late 2006. "We spent a fair amount of time recruiting community leaders and giving them an overview of the Sheriff 's Office, " former sheriff Gary Hamblin said.

Mahoney added a full-time recruiter focusing on diversity this year, and 78 supervisors and deputies involved in recruitment efforts took diversity training classes in March.

The sheriff 's office also is tapping the county 's alternative selection process, which is used to hire economically disadvantaged candidates outside the normal recruitment process, said Isadore Knox, director of the county 's Office of Equal Opportunities.

"I 've always said we 're further behind because we didn 't have that base of diversity that sends the message that you can move up the ranks, " Knox said. "They did a significant number of minority hires in the 1980s. A lot of those individuals did not stay in the department. "

As the first minority in a supervisory role, Edens may help change perceptions, but he doesn 't like to think of himself as a poster child, even though he has agreed to appear in recruitment literature. When Mahoney offered him the promotion, Edens asked if he was being promoted because of his skin color. Mahoney assured him that wasn 't the case.

Since then, Edens said he has the impression that some coworkers think he was promoted because of his race, but "you do the best job you can. "

"The longer I 'm here, " he said, "they 'll see what the truth really is. "

To see more of The Wisconsin State Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.wisconsinstatejournal.com.

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