The Race Gap in America’s Police Departments

It's easily explainable

1. **** the polo
2. Don't snitch
3. P-I-G-S

It's a bad social stigma for AA's and Hispanic's to join the cops, who have a long and shady history against them

 

Part of the reason is that minorities do not want to join the police force, I know none of the Asians I know want to work as a police. They want to be engineers, consultants, accounts, doctors, etc.

 

Police forces in the past have made an effort to have more minorities on the force.
Back in the 1970's a real effort was made after serious social tension reached a boiling point. There was an increase in black and female officers in some police forces but that has flatlined.

I know that since the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, many officers are former soldiers and there is a "theory" that it has caused issues.

My best friend is a former officer and is black. He said he quit the force because it was depressing and just not worth the risk. So there may be an element of the job not being attractive to blacks.

I know that 10-15 years ago there was a study that found that black officers were just as likely to be accused of brutality or corruption as other officers. So maybe it is the institution and not the race that causes the problems.

Regardless, I think that efforts need to be made to get officers that accurately reflect their community. Officers that actually live where they patrol.

 

There are Asian police officers?

 

You can't say that the police force should uniformly fit the racial mix of a community any more than you can say the local NBA team should fit the racial mix of a community. There are certain skills, character traits, and abilities that are better suited for different types of people.

 

I didn't know not being good enough to get into Ivy counts as a skill.

 

Thank you Al Campanis.

 

Yes you can.

The police force has a unique relationship with the community. I have no issue with qualified applicants meeting the demographics of the community being made officers. Further I think officers should live where they work.

 

Part of it is also who is applying and graduating from the academies. When I take officer depositions they are almost all former marines and have little if any connection to the community they are employed in. In Chicago the jobs are highly sought after, especially in the suburbs where the pay is good and obligations limited.

 

As my retired fireman friend posted on facebook recently.

Who in their right mind would want to be a cop?
None.
Which is why we got what we got.

 

Blacks lag by a statistically significant portion behind every race in several academic achievement criteria, why that wouldn't garner similar results in a training and examination oriented selection process like a police academy is beyond me. The talent base for black commissioned officers and cops should probably be recruited in high school on the football field or basketball court instead of allowing disingenuous college coaches to swindle them into four more years of D's and F's. Heck, drop the clean record requirement and half your gang members could probably make great beat cops.

 

Actually a lot of people want to be cops. Many veterans are returning home and entering law enforcement and even among college graduates there is a waiting list to be a cop in many places. In Chicago it isn't uncommon for people to search 2-3 years before finding employment as a cop full time. While you will never be rich, it has solid pay, good benefits, excellent opportunities to moonlight and numerous perks.

 

Agree with you a point. The fact is blacks are lagging economically and educationally. Whatever society has done (or not done) isn't working. Attempts need to be made to encourage blacks in fields other than the football field.

 

If they're D & F students, how do you expect them to memorize all the laws required of a police officer and handle a situation correctly?

I've dealt with cops like that a couple times--they looked like former atheletes. When challenged they get flustered and even when they're wrong they'll use their force, threats and position to get away with their ignorance. Great for attorneys though.

Good idea in theory but not ideal.

 

Because shooting, driving and apprehending have more intuitive frames of reference for them than Cantebury Tales or covalent bonds.

 

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