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GREENSBORO — The Justice Department is investigating whether the city discriminated against blacks in hiring for entry-level police officer positions or against blacks or Hispanics in hiring entry-level firefighter positions, according to a letter from the Justice Department.

“They said we don’t have enough African Americans or Latinos in the police or fire department,” Mayor Yvonne Johnson said. “I look at it as a challenge for us to focus on that and see how we can get more African Americans or Latinos to join the departments.”

Data provided by the police department and the fire department show that despite efforts to recruit minority candidates, applicants for both departments are significantly more white and male than the city as a whole.

The investigation came to light last week and was confirmed by City Council members. It is unclear what prompted it; however, the Justice Department is also investigating the police department over discrimination complaints made by black police officers.

The fire department is made up of about 81 percent white employees, about 18 percent African American and less than 1 percent from other minority groups, according to city statistics.

In the department’s past eight recruit classes, the racial makeup has ranged from as high as 43  percent minority members to as low as 27 percent, for an average of 37 percent, according to city statistics.

The population of Greensboro is 51.7 percent white, 39 percent black, 6.5 percent Latino or Hispanic, 3.2 percent Asian and 3.6 percent some other race, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2005-2007 American Community Survey.

Assistant Fire Chief David Douglas said the department feels good about its recruitment efforts. “Sometimes these investigations aren’t altogether a bad thing,” Douglas said. “Let them come investigate us. We feel like they are going to find we are not doing anything wrong.”

The city doesn’t have quotas for hiring minority public safety employees, but the fire and police departments have made an effort to recruit a wide variety of people to their ranks, city leaders said.

“We would like for our fire department to mirror the community we serve,” Douglas said. “That’s what we would like to see, but we don’t have a policy that says we’re going to hire 'X’ number. We are going to hire the most qualified applicants that are out there.”

The fire department has a minority recruitment team. Douglas said it can often be difficult just to get minority recruits to apply.

Police department recruiters visit historically black colleges and women’s schools to recruit more minority candidates, said Assistant Chief Anita Holder.

She said that department leadership also stays aware of the racial makeup of the department with an eye to promoting diversity.

The police department Tuesday was unable to provide the racial composition of recruit classes or the department.

Holder did provide data breaking down the racial composition of applicants for the four police academy classes leading up to February 2006.

White men accounted for 55 percent of the total applicants for the four classes, followed by 25 percent black men, 8 percent white women, 7 percent black women, 3 percent Hispanic men and 1 percent Hispanic women. Other ethnic groups made up less than 1 percent of the applicants for the four classes, according to police department data.

“When it comes to selection, there is an awareness that we want to have the most diverse class possible,” Holder said.

Contact Amanda Lehmert at 373-7075 or amanda.lehmert @news-record.com

Contact Sonja Elmquist at 373-7090 or sonja.elmquist @news-record.com