Minority Groups Underrepresented In Police

Minority groups have always been underrepresented in police forces across the United States. One of the main reasons minority groups are underrepresented in police department is due to the negative interaction White officers have had with citizens of minority groups. According to McNamara and Burns (2008), members of minority groups feel police officers abuse of their authority by overstepping the boundaries of procedural laws, which dictates how the police are to use their powers. The conflicts between minorities and White officers has caused many individuals from minority groups to not be attracted to the police work. Moreover, individuals from minority groups do not apply for police work because they feel they would not be accepted in policing,

have a criminal record, or because they have taken more attractive employment opportunities (McNamara & Burns, 2008). The lack of non-White officers in policing has created an overrepresentation of White males in the police forces across the United States. According to Ashkenas and Park (2015), in hundreds of police departments across the country, the percentage of Whites on the police force is more than 30 percentage points higher than in the communities they serve. The underrepresentation of minority groups in policing, has caused police department to focus on achieving cultural diversity among their departments. However, most police departments cannot create a cultural diverse environment due to the challenges they face when recruiting and selecting non-white applicants.
If this author was hired as a Consultant by a city several strategies would be implemented to improve the percentage of non-White qualified applicants. One of the strategies to increase the percentage of African Americans and Hispanics in policing would be to give presentations for Universities and Colleges that have a high percentage of minority students. Presentations on policing will allow African American and Hispanics who are enrolled in Criminal Justice classes to be more familiar with the work police officers do on daily basis. Moreover, this Consultant will create an internship with the Police Department and undergraduate students from minority groups attending University or College. Having the opportunity to socialize with the duties of police officers can attract more Hispanics and African Americans students to join a Police Department after graduating. Furthermore, this Consultant will also create a Mentor program to help students who have questions and need advising. The negative image students might have towards police officers could disappeared when they get to know how police officers are when they are not on duty. The advising, guiding, and training received by the mentors would cause students to see their mentors as a role model in life. On the other hand, building relationship with the community, using media advertisement, and utilizing community groups could attract qualified minority applicants who do not attend school. Offering incentive pay for those individuals from minority groups who are bilingual could increase the number of qualified applicants in law enforcement jobs. Building relationship with citizens, doing presentations, creating internships, and appointing mentors for undergraduate students in the Criminal Justice major will increase the percentage of Hispanics and African Americans applying for Law Enforcement jobs. Implementing strategies to attract more Hispanic and African Americans to Law Enforcement careers will help departments become more diverse, and reduce the negative interaction and racial conflicts with citizens.
Reference
Ashkenas, J., & Park, H. (2015). The race gap in america’s police depratments. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/09/03/us/the-race-gap-in-americas-police-departments.html?_r=0
McNamara, R., & Burns, R. (2008). Multiculturalism in the criminal justice system. New York: McGraw-Hill.