Ethnic Minorities and the Challenge of Police Recruitment

Waters, Ian; Hardy, Nick; Delgado, Domonique; Dahlmann, Simone

doi:10.1350/pojo.2007.80.3.191

Cited by 19 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Among the six studies focusing on recruitment, two studies used nationally representative samples and four studies focused on local and state specific samples (Ho, ; O'Neill & Holdaway, ; O'Neill & Holdaway, ; Taiping, ; Waters, Hardy, Delgado, & Dahlmann, ). Local studies, studies not drawing on nationally derived samples, primarily consisted of analyses wherein bivariate associations were calculated, wherein studies using samples from nationally derived samples included more sophisticated regression modeling.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who is Policing the Community? A Comprehensive Review of Discrimination in Police Departments

2017

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This paper is a systematic review of the literature on diversity in police forces. We focus on four main empirical domains that have received the bulk of the attention in the literature 1) recruitment 2) hiring, 3) promotion, 4) organizational contexts. We argue that this literature would be better served by integrating findings into the emerging theoretical framework of racialized organizations theory which sees organizations as a key meso-level factor reproducing both individual and state level racial inequality.Building from here, we described our methodological approach for systematically reviewing the extant literature and present our findings. Lastly, we conclude with highlighting sociopolitical and policy implications uncovered by our findings, for contemporary American policing. | INTRODUCTIONAmerican policing is in crisis. High profile police killings of unarmed black and Latino men-often caught on film and shared millions of times through social media-have pushed racialized police brutality to the forefront the national conversation. Public outcry against these killings has galvanized a social movement reminiscent of the 1960s. The #blacklivesmatter movement has become a potent political force, encouraging thousands to take to the streets, protest, march, work locally, and sign petitions to achieve criminal justice reforms (Taylor, 2016). The U.S. Department of Justice investigations of biased policing have come down strongly in favor of protest movements. In Ferguson, the U.S. Department of Justice found that the police had become the enforcement arm of a racialized "extraction machine" (Henricks & Seamster, 2016), over policing the black population and fining them to cover for tax shortfalls (Taylor, 2016). In Baltimore, federal agents witnessed a Sargent telling patrol to racially profile. When the officers objected that the men in question had done nothing, the Sargent encouraged them to "make something up" (Department of Justice, U.S., 2016:29). Most recently, officers in the Chicago police department-under investigation in response to the shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times-was found to have a pattern of lying about their involvement in criminal activity (Department of Justice, U.S., 2017). The scale of these problems, and the intensity of this conversation threatens to delegitimize the institution of policing itself.Political developments also point to a policing crisis. The Trump administration has encouraged policies that may deepen racial tensions between police and communities of color. Stop-and-frisk and increased racial profiling ignore the fact that crime rates remain at historic lows (Berg & Lauritsen, 2016;Ousey, 2017;Pyrooz, Decker, Wolfe, & Shjarback, 2016). Several large metropolitan police departments have been found to participate in activities with inequitable impact on minority communities including racial profiling (Hughey, 2015;Vogelsang-Coombs, 2016); or in extreme cases, torture (Baer, 2017). Consent decrees' have been implemented (Powell, Meitl, & Worra...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who is Policing the Community? A Comprehensive Review of Discrimination in Police Departments

2017

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“…The police culture and subculture has frequently been identified as a place where racial epithets and jokes have routinely been part of "water cooler" discussion (Chan, 1996;Holdaway, 1983;Wilson et al, 1984), or in discussions while on duty related to incidents of excessive force (Christopher Commission, 1991). More recent findings continue to support the contention that many ethnic minorities avoid policing careers because they will face discrimination from their coworkers (Waters et al, 2007).…”

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confidence: 87%

Patrol career interest and perceptions of barriers among African-American criminal justice students

Rossler

Scheer

Suttmoeller

2019

PIJPSM

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Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether black and African-American criminal justice students perceive barriers to a police patrol career differently than white students, and whether the perceptions of these barriers impact desire to enter a police patrol career. Design/methodology/approach-The current inquiry uses a self-administered survey of over 630 undergraduate students in criminal justice classes across five public universities. Findings-Findings suggest that African-American students differ significantly from white students in perceived social disapproval of patrol careers, respect for police and perceptions of whether the police engage in racial profiling. These perceptions display a significant indirect relationship indicating lower patrol career interest for black and African-American students compared to all other races. Research limitations/implications-Research limitations of the current inquiry include the lack of a nationally representative sample, the use of four-year university students as a sample to represent the potential police patrol applicant pool, and the use of a survey instrument to gauge respondent beliefs about patrol careers as opposed to actions they would take in pursuit of a police career. Practical implications-Findings from the current inquiry indicate that departments may need to focus more on improving global perceptions of the police and discussing the nature of the career with recruit social support structures. Police recruiters should focus on techniques such as addressing social isolation experienced by the police rather than on decreasing standards for background checks or simply increasing awareness of police careers. Originality/value-The current inquiry is one of the first to explore perceptions of barriers to entering a patrol career among CJ students. It is also among the first to examine the impact these perceptions have on patrol career interest. The findings may also help criminal justice instructors more fully discuss these barriers with students of color.

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“…Violent and controversial events continue to shape public perception and attitudes about the police. Incidents such as the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014 (US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), 2016) or the handling of the Stephen Lawrence murder in London in 1993 (Cashmore, 2002; O'Neill and Holdaway, 2007; Waters et al , 2007) have spurred an outcry from the public. Some communities abuzz with complaints of mistreatment of underrepresented people by some law enforcement personnel (Jordan et al , 2009).…”

Section: Reasons and Barriers For Choosing Police Careersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Clair and Spearing-Bowen, 2018). The events mentioned and the effects of technology have contributed to widespread distrust and a general dislike of police for many (Cashmore, 2002; O'Neill and Holdaway, 2007; Waters et al , 2007; St. Clair and Spearing-Bowen, 2018).…”

Section: Reasons and Barriers For Choosing Police Careersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reasons and barriers for choosing police careers

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Stickle

Frame

et al. 2020

PIJPSM

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PurposeAs tensions between the police and community grow, one often called upon solution is a more diverse police force. However, building diversity presents many challenges, especially if there are barriers for choosing a career as a police officer. The present study explores motivations and barriers to becoming a police officer to help reduce the disparity between the community and police.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey of 344 persons in the US asked respondents to identify the motivations and barriers to choosing a career as a police officer. Survey questions centered on issues related to trust, police culture, practices of the police and lack of awareness of career opportunities.FindingsResults indicated that higher trust of the police, positive perceptions of police fairness and knowledge of potential police career opportunities increased an individual's interest in pursuing a career as a police officer. At the same time, negative views in these areas were barriers to interest in policing. These results give insight into where efforts can be focused to increase interest in becoming a police officer.Originality/valueThere is a lack of research on factors leading to an interest in a policing career. This study provides insight into the reasons for and barriers to entering a career in policing and provides a starting point for future research and practical implications for police departments seeking to increase interest in a policing career.

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Ethnic Minorities and the Challenge of Police Recruitment

Cited by 19 publications

References 12 publications

Who is Policing the Community? A Comprehensive Review of Discrimination in Police Departments

Who is Policing the Community? A Comprehensive Review of Discrimination in Police Departments

Patrol career interest and perceptions of barriers among African-American criminal justice students

Reasons and barriers for choosing police careers

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