I think a little bot of both. We have about 200 people come test with us for 2-4 spots normally. Usually less than 10 are black. I'd say there's no more than 10 Asians. There's 5-10 women typically. Maybe 20-30 Hispanics. The rest are white males. The law of averages say white males are going to get hired; That's who's applying. I know FIVE white guys who have been turned down from Houston; All of which are honorably employed with departments. According to one of my current co-workers (he got laid off by Galveston PD when their city manager couldn't balance their budget in back 2010), he was told off the record, "We have enough white boys applying." There's a bunch working with Houston PD. Some of them can barely speak English. Don't cloud this thread with facts. It's extremely competitive at certain departments. I know several people who have applied a bunch of times and can't get hired. One of my friend's I graduated college with applied everywhere before he finally got on with Jersey Village PD. I make about $90k a year here. I get a raise for the first 11 years I'm here and get a 2% cost of living raise nearly every year. I'll be at $30/hour in October. Being a dumb street cop doesn't keep you at the poverty level like it once did 20 years ago. Things have come a long ways. I get plenty of overtime, often more than I can handle. I work two sides jobs that are very easy and pay well. Our Sergeants start out at about $35/$36 an hour with annual increases (one of mine made $104k last year). Our Lieutenant's start at about $44/hour or so. Captains are making over $50/hour. Everyone gets education stipends and peace officer license stipends. Us on nights get a night shift differential. I'll be trying to promote soon. :grin:
You can literally move one town over and make $70k a year more than your hometown department starts out at.
Or that minorities aren't accepted to police academies at the same rate that whites are, perhaps because those academies are run by...
That would be better data. How many applicants and % of them by race making it. If the applicants is mostly white, than that explain it... which I'm thinking is likely the case.
Translation: EDUCATIONAL SCORES IS WHY!! - Pouhe Translation: WELL *THAT TYPE* EDUCATION IS NOT THAT IMPORTANT - Pouhe Rocket River
Personally, I think the majority of the problem is that there is a stigma attached to being a police officer in a lot of the black community. This not only results in less black people applying to be a cop, but also to problems in the communities where cops have a very hard time working with people because of the mistrust. Unfortunately, we live in a "I want change now" short term-solution world and nobody is looking for a long-term solution. I think a good long-term solution would be to require policemen to be more active in low-income, high-minority neighborhoods - and by more active, I mean socially. We may need to begin some type of programs that encourage the police volunteering (in uniform) for community organizations, charitable events, being Big Brothers or Big Sisters, Visiting elementary & middle schools more often - Heck, have them walk the halls in middle & high schools..not to enforce laws, but to befriend the students. Only after the police (we're talking long-term solutions) begin to finally gain the respect of the people in the high-minority neighborhoods will the police actually begin to attract more minorities to the Academy.
I have no immediate knowledge of how the police force operates in the US, but this is just my 2 cents... I believe the problem of bad officers to be similar to other government sectors. Lets say teaching for instance, I think that if there is no insensitive for a person to want to be a teacher beside the fact that they have no other job alternatives with their college degree or taking on this career as temporary/last resort. Sure the pay is steady with benefits, although society looks upon such jobs with little respect and they are often viewed as a 'dirty job'. I think whenever you raise the pay, the police department will receive more applications from people who are better educated, more reputable etc. I think someone brought up a good point which is that we are and have been at war for the past 10 years give or take. So possibly there are more former military personnel who are finding employment in the force. This may have had reverberating effects on the police force at large and have changed the culture of the police force on a national scale. I am quite disturbed with some of the videos that have come to light in recent years of blatant excessive use of force by officers out on the field. Honestly I am not certain if the rules and procedures of officers has changed in the field manual. Possibly a change in procedural code when an officer is in contact with a given civilian. I think that there is a mix of problems, I do believe it is directly related to 'the War on Terror'. The military industrial complex along with the Prison industry have been getting far too much business at the expense of the American people. Especially at the expense of those American people who are most vulnerable and have been raised in a state poverty and have had a rough life to begin with. Its a big problem, and I don't think we should ignore this kind of culture in America.
They check your record as well, though it's not necessarily a deal breaker, but you're competing against people who don't. If you've been in jail for a felony, you can pretty much forget about applying.
Yes. Whites could be the most qualified of those that are applying. And yes, qualified minorities may not be applying. I assume there is some testing that all applicants go through before being hired. Has the HPD police chief ever commented on this issue?
It isn't because of a failure to recruit. I have first hand experience. In general, minorities aren't beating down the doors to get into law enforcement and criminal justice in general. Especially in the rural areas.
I rarely post here, hopefully I don't get flamed. Everyone is highlighting the hiring process finding the most qualified personnel, but maybe we should consider a demographically representative candidate to be a qualification.
Nope, we've had a half-century after the civil rights act for blacks to earn proportional representation in education and the workplace; if it hasn't happened yet we can't keep corrupting the selection or achievement process to everyone else's detriment.
