Here’s how Parkland Health and Hospital System Police Chief and Director of the Year Finalist Kenneth Cheatle recruits officers from a wide variety of backgrounds.U.S. police departments are primarily made up of white males, with 62% of officers being white and 88% being male.

Most hospital, school and university police and security agencies aren’t much different than their traditional law enforcement brethren. According to research from Campus Safety magazine, 62% of our respondents say that 20% or less of their department’s officers are female, while half of the respondents say that 20% or less of their department is comprised of minorities.

Parkland Health and Hospital System in Dallas, however, is bucking that trend. Parkland’s Chief of Police and Director of the Year Finalist Kenneth Cheatle has worked tirelessly to achieve diversity among his department’s ranks, with 35% of his officers being African American, 23% being Hispanic and 32% being female.

So just how does Chief Cheatle attract so many folks from such diverse backgrounds, including members of the LGBT community?