In his quest to find the best officers for the progressive, community policing Madison strives for, Sgt. Mike Koval will go where few law enforcement recruiters tread.

Like Fargo, N.D.

Why Fargo?

"Because no one else will go, and there has to be some untapped talent," said Koval, who has been recruiting and training Madison police officers for the past seven years.

Koval, 51, who joined the department in 1983, also sees himself as a kind of Johnny Appleseed, traversing the Midwest in hopes of sprouting what he calls "the reinvention of policing," Madison-style.

"Part of it is, I want to spread the gospel of policing according to Madison," he said.

With the finesse of a likable proselytizer, Koval, a trained hostage negotiator, engages potential applicants from all academic and professional backgrounds, looking for a blend of intelligence and diverse life experience - and getting some people to think about a career in policing for the first time.

"I'm an engineer," Mark Jeter, 38, told Koval at a recent career fair at Marquette University in Milwaukee.

"I'm a journalist," replied Koval, who has both journalism and law degrees. Koval then honed in on Jeter's desire to work for a nonprofit agency by presenting policing as a form of community service.

Sometimes the seeds take a while to germinate.

In the early 1990s, when he was a patrol sergeant, Koval spoke to Brian Austin's law school class at UW-Madison, where Koval had spent three years as Bucky Badger after portraying West High School's lion mascot, Reggie Regent.

Koval's description of the role of police stuck with Austin, 39, who spent nearly four years as an assistant district attorney in Milwaukee and Kenosha counties before joining the department, where he is a member of the SWAT team and a detective with the Dane County Narcotics and Gang Task Force.

"Madison really had a lot to offer," said Austin, who was "looking for a department that was pretty progressive and wanted officers to try new things."

Recruiting philosophy

"We have morphed into a big city with big city issues and concerns," Koval said. "More than ever, we want to recruit people to our workforce who are ... well-rounded, articulate problem-solvers."

When Koval hits the road for recruiting fairs, everything from what he wears to what's on his display table is selected to show "we're marching to the tune of a different drummer in Madison - or at least attempting to."

There are no photos of cops busting in doors, no police dogs, no guns. Koval forgoes a military-style police uniform.

In addition to attending about a dozen career fairs a year, Koval gives presentations and administers written exams - which test reading comprehension, gauging applicants' capacity to learn rather than what they already know - in 18 markets.

"He told us he drove 14,000 miles this year," said Officer Tim Patton, a former special education teacher at Memorial High School who's now a member of Koval's training team. "That's a lot of Cherry Coke and a lot of trips to the bathroom."

Patton, 39, said he was ready for a career change when fellow teacher Erik Fuhremann had Koval come to speak to his social studies class. Koval ended up recruiting Fuhremann, who in turn got Patton thinking about becoming a police officer. The first time he heard Koval talk, he was hooked by Koval's passion for policing, said Patton, who joined the department with Fuhremann in 2002.

Those hoping to be among about 23 recruits to be hired by the department next year will have to rise to the top of more than 1,200 applicants.

That means scoring at least a 14 on the Nelson-Denny Reading Test - the equivalent of someone with an associate's degree.

Applicants also have to do 25 sit-ups in a minute, run a mile and a half in under 14 minutes and 30 seconds, and bench press half their body weight or do 15 "perfect protocol pushups" in a minute. They also have to pass an oral exam and an extensive background check, and undergo interviews with Chief Noble Wray and a psychiatrist.

Criminal justice majors don't always fare the best, Koval said.

"Policing in Madison goes beyond the concept of law enforcement," he said.

Training academy

Back home, Koval becomes what he calls "a pseudo risk manager," working to protect the investment the city and police department makes in new officers.

Last week, the City Council approved spending $2 million on a training facility for the department, one of four law enforcement agencies in the state with its own academy.

Once Madison's academy starts, no new recruits are admitted. And unlike some police departments, Madison doesn't keep an eligibility list of potential future recruits.

So if a recruit quits?

"I have squandered an opportunity, a budgeted, paid-for opportunity goes unfilled for 18 months," Koval said.

Those offered a job must withdraw their names and not actively pursue employment with other police agencies for 18 months.

Upon entering the academy, recruits receive an annual salary of $42,551. After 42 months, officers are eligible for an educational incentive program that includes tuition reimbursement, and base salaries can jump as high as $62,910 for those with master's degrees.

Madison's starting salary is lower than departments such as Racine and Kenosha, but becomes more competitive over time, said Joe Dirkin, director of field services for the Wisconsin Professional Police Association.

When Koval is not recruiting or teaching, he said he's "sitting in the back of the class, taking notes for quizzes and making sure the training is on track." He compares that role to being "the quality control McDonald's guy."

Last year, Koval was awarded the Meritorious Conduct Medal, one of the department's highest honors, for his recruiting and training.

After an unsuccessful bid for the chief's job in 2004, when he felt the department had become complacent in its approach to community policing, Koval said he's now where he wants to be.

"The quality of the people I've brought in," Koval said, "that's going to be my lasting legacy."