CHALLENGES FACING OUR POLICE DEPARTMENTS
In A Growing Country of Diverse Races, Ethnicities, and Culture, The Challenges Facing Our Police Departments and Solutions
Abstract
The U.S. population, always considered a “melting pot” is becoming more diverse as the Hispanic population will be the majority segment of society in future years. Racial, ethnic, and cultural differences require can pose issues in any workplace, none more so than government agencies, such as a police departrment. For a variety of reasons, most U.S. police departments have been or still are predominantly White, both in rank and file and management. For the police departments that meet this critieria, it is crucial they identify challenges that arise from racial, ethnic, and cultural differences, in order to protect and serve the community’s. This paper examines the diversity makeup of the U.S. population from a racial, ethnic, and cultural aspect, three challenges facing police departments in dealing with ethnic, racial, and cultural diversity, and suggests possible solutions for dealing with these challenges.
In A Growing Country of Diverse Races, Ethnicities, and Culture, The Challenges Facing Our Police Departments and Solutions
Culture - the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group.1 Race - a family, tribe, people, or nation belonging to the same stock. 2 Ethnicity - a particular ethnic affiliation or group. 3
If you asked people to name the races, most would say White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian. According to the Census Bureau, which is responsible for taking an accurate count of all U.S. residents every ten years, there are at least 13 classifications: Hispanic/Latino/Spanish, White, Black/African American, Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Native Hawaiian, Guamanian/Chamorro, Samoan, Other Asian, and Other Pacific Islander.4 Hispanic is further divided into Mexican/Mexican American/Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Another Hispanic/Latino/Spanish origin. 4
Within each race are many ethnic groups and/or cultures. For instance, within the Black/African American race you will find the ethnicities of American Black (descendant from slaves), and individuals from the continent of Africa, while cultures range from Blacks raised in the South to those raised in urban settings, or break even along religious lines (Christian, Penecostal, and Catholic). Today, over 300,000,000 people5represent the races, ethnicities, and cultures in the United States. In 2008, close to 900,0006 police officers were employed to protect and serve this diverse population. Under President Obama’s Stimulus Bill7 signed into law February 17, 20097keeping cops on the payroll is a priority of this administration. How these police departments interact with such a diverse population have posed challenges.
Three (3) challenges that police officers must confront when working with diverse population are:
- Maintaining their own workplace diversity,
- Language, and
- Racial Profiling.
Maintaining Workplace Diversity
When the composition of a police department does not reflect the racial, ethnic, and culture diversity of the community, often those individuals whose diversity is not reflected feel isolated, and distrustful. The police, not seen as “friends,”are considered “frenemies,”and an area where this isolation and distrust has a negative manifestation is in criminal investigations. Cooperating with the “frenemy,” even when the crime directly or has extreme effects on a racial/ethnic/culture community can be deemed “snitching.” Without the help of the community though, often these crimes do not get solved, and the amount of crime within that area increases. The irony is the more unsolved the crimes, the more that community distrusts the police.
The obvious solution is police departments which reflect the hue and tone of the whole community. Meeting this solution, however, can bring about its own racial, cultural, and ethnic,, as well as legal, issues. For reasons such as Jim Crow, immigration, and institutional racism, most workplaces in the United States, including police departments have been primarily White employed and managed. Through the Civil Rights Acts of 19648and 1991,9 and the 1968 report from the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders and Affirmative Action10 which forbade workplace racial discriminationand looked to rectify past decimations,the number and percentage of ethnic and non-White individuals in police departments increased. Whites have successfully challenged some hiring’s and promotions on the ground of reverse discrimination, which was first recognized in the University of California vs. BakkeI11. More ironic is the case presently before the U.S. Supreme Court, where White and Hispanic firefightersbrought a reverse discrimination suit against the city of New Haven12 for its seemingly preferences to African-American. Regardless how this case is decided, it could present further challenges in diversifying workplaces, such as police departments.
Language and Profiling
When a police force is not diverse, two other challenges – racial profiling and language - must be addressed as they go hand-in-hand with a segment of a community feeling isolated from and distrustful. When Whites or even diverse police members are unfamiliar with the language, dialect, or word terms spoken by their community, it is not only difficult for investigating crimes, it can also be difficult in determining if a crime has even occurred, or exacerbate a nonlethal situation into lethal. When Whites or even diverse police members, consciously or unconsciously, use race in determining whether a crime has been committed, racial profiling occurs. Both challenges generally increase the number of crimes deemed committed, which can be an economically negative as a larger part of that community is incarcerated, not working.
A solution to the language challenge is hiring and training more police officers to speak multiple languages. Twenty-eight states have enacted laws prohibiting racial profiling and requiring the collection of racial profiling data13– which weeds out bad cops - (information is also collected by Community and Civil Rights Groups14)as a solution to racial profiling. A better solution to both, I may suggest, may be collaboration – members of the police department meet with members of the community and equally talk. Talking, not arguing, is always a step to understanding and respect, if not acceptance, for one another.
In conclusion, with over 13 races, and many more ethnicities and cultures, police forces that represent our communities in diversity are necessary as it is likely there will be less racial profiling and less miscommunications that result in arrest or worse, fatalities. More important segments of our society will feel less isolated and have more trust in their police forces. However how to make our police forces more diverse still appears to be a legal matter, though the solution of collaboration, might help in this area also.
References
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Footnotes
1 Culture. 2010. In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved February 24, 2010, from
2 Race. 2010. In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved February 24, 2010, from
3 Ethnicity. 2010. In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved February 24, 2010, from
4 United States Census Bureau, The Questions on the Form [Data file]. Retrieved on February 25, 2010 from
5 United States Census Bureau, U.S. & World Population Clock [Data file]. Retrieved on February 25, 2010 from
6 Bureau of Labor Statistics, Police & Detectives - Projections [Data file]. Retrieved on February 25, 2010 from
7 Seelye, Katharine Q. (2009, March 6). Obama Highlights Funds for Law Enforcement. The New York Times. Retrievedon February 25, 2010 from
8Devine, J. (2008, April 30). Racial Discrimination In The Workplace. Retrieved February 25, 2010, from
9Belton, Robert (1991-1992). Civil Rights Act of 1991 and the Future of Affirmative Action: A Preliminary Assessment, DePaul Law Review.41, 1085. Retrieved onFebruary 25, 2010 from
10Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, pp. 1-29. New York: Bantan Books, 1968. Retrieved on February 25, 2010 from
11University of California vs. Bakke. 438 U.S. 265 (1978) Retrieved on February 25, 2010 from
12 Barnes, Robert (2010, February 22). U.S. Supreme Court Takes up 'Reverse Discrimination' Case. Washington Post. Retrieved on February 25, 2010from
13 Data Collection Resource Center. Legislation and Litigation [Data File]. Retrieved on February 25, 2010 from
14 Data Collection Resource Center. Community and Civil Rights Initiatives [Data File]. Retrieved on February 25, 2010 from