community see a law enforcement officer representing their race or their nationality. I think it’s important because it helps as it relates to communication with various diverse populations across the state in terms of our Hispanic, Black and Asian communities. We’re just trying to maintain or at least get to a sustainable level where we have that representation across the board within our ranks.”

In Burrell’s view, when you have a diverse department that reflects the state, it gives the department — and the people who work within it — a sense of legitimacy.

“It impacts legitimacy,” Burrell said. “As we’ve had these very unfortunate incidents that have happened across the state in the last 3-5 years, it does make a big difference. When you go into these neighborhoods in these communities, these folks in the community know. There is nothing against it. But you have a white officer coming into a Black community, it’s a little more challenging for them to communicate whereas if you have a Black office coming into the community, they are a little more receptive and their guard is down a little bit. There is still some apprehension. But yet they see a reflection of themselves in that uniform. What I would like to say is that when it comes to law enforcement officers, we come from these areas. We know what happens and occurs in these communities and we certainly, in my opinion and my case, I want to give back. I want to be able to give back to the community and show them that law enforcement as I see it is a very noble profession. In my opinion, it’s one of the noblest profession there is.”

Diversity also creates stronger lines of communication between the WSP and the diverse Wisconsin communities.

“I think that we are able to come into these communities and sit down and talk with these individuals and listen,” Burrell said. “We need to listen. There is a lot of not listening going on. There is a lot of yelling and talking to and talking at, but no one is listening. And I think that is what we are missing. It comes back to our ability to recruit. We’re recruiting individuals who are dedicated to being involved in their communities and are willing to listen to the input from the community to see what their needs are and we work on those needs from that approach instead of telling folks, ‘This is what we are doing.’ That’s not what we want. It’s a two-way street. You have to be willing to give and you have to be willing to take time and listen.”

Burrell hopes to attract a diverse recruiting class.

“We are looking for people from all backgrounds regardless of race, creed, nationality, sexual orientation or anything like that,” Burrell said. “We want good, dedicated people who would be interested in doing some good things for the community across the state because we want our agency to continually grow and reflect the communities, which we serve. And this state has a very diverse population. Have we been successful over the years? Not always. We’ve had success, but we haven’t seen the numbers that we would love to see as it relates to some of our diverse populations. One of the areas where we have seen a positive projector is in our Hmong and Asian community. Is it great? No. But we have more now than we’ve had when I came onto the Patrol. It’s likewise with the Black community. I would love to see more Black troopers out there, especially females. Right now, we have no Black females on patrol right now.”

While cadets don’t need 60 college credits to apply, they do need to attain those credits within five years. Troopers start off at $46,000 per year and have great benefits.

And there is a certain amount of independence being a trooper.

“No two days are alike in the life of a state trooper,” Burrell said. “You start your day from your driveway because you can take home cars. And you end your day in your driveway. The fortunate thing is you don’t have to go to a police department or precinct to do a roll call. You are a very independent individual, so you will work alone but not alone. You have your own car. You are enforcing the state laws whether it be criminal or traffic laws. You are out there making sure there is no aggressive driving going on, making sure that people are wearing their seat belts every day because that is one of the chief contributors to traffic fatalities here in the state, the lack of use of seat belts. We try to encourage that. Speeders, as you well know, are another challenge that we have. The day-to-day thing again is you go out and you are enforcing traffic laws primarily.”

Burrell is proud to be a WSP trooper and he says that it has given him the stability to raise a family.

“There are so many things about this career that I am so grateful for,” Burrell said. “It’s helped me to raise a family. I’ve got two wonderful kids, both are now adults. My youngest is in college now, hopefully going on to do great things in life. But the career itself in law enforcement as I said before, it is a noble profession. It’s the noblest profession there is. Does it have its ups and downs? Yes! Are we in the news a lot? Yes. But by and large, you won’t find any more dedicated folks than the law enforcement profession.”

While the money helps, job satisfaction goes a long ways to living a quality life. Just ask Superintendent Anthony Burrell.

Applications for the WSP cadet class are being accepted until July 8^th. For more information or to apply, visit www.wsp.wi.gov.