Explaining underrepresentation of black officers in city police agencies

In this study of police departments in southern California we examine the joint effects of race and gender on hiring practices. Although we find some similarities between the employment patterns of African-American and Hispanic officers, our most noteworthy findings involve the sharp differences between the factors which affect the hiring of different groups of individuals for sworn officer positions. The research presented here also improves on previous studies by showing the impact of violent crime rates on police hiring practices.

The Joint Impact of Race and Gender on Police Department Employment Practices

Despite equal employment opportunity laws, affirmative action policies, and studies which demonstrate the capability of females, women account for only 8% of all municipal police officers in this country. The underrepresentation of social groups in policing is not a new phenomenon and can be explained through the “denial hypothesis.” The present study uses tobit regression techniques to examine the variation in female employment as law enforcement officers in municipal police departments within the State of Florida. The findings indicate that the distribution of sworn female officers does not resemble local labor market conditions. Neither the degree of parity between men and women in local economic conditions nor the availability of a qualified female applicant pool affect agency gender composition.

Women in Law Enforcement

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

PERCEPTIONS OF POLICE OFFICERS TOWARDS LAW ENFORCEMENT HIRING PRACTICES AS THEY PERTAIN TO MINORITY CANDIDATES WHILE CONTROLLING FOR GENDER Angela Nicole Shaw, M.A The University of Texas at Arlington, 2010 Supervising Professor: Alejandro Del Carmen The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of police officers towards law enforcement hiring practices as they pertain to minority candidates while controlling for gender. A survey instrument was devised and implemented to measure perceptions of hiring practices as they pertain to minorities and females at a police department in northern Texas. Once the data were collected, it was analyzed and examined for any statistically significance.

Perceptions Of Police Officers Towards Law Enforcement Hiring Practices As They Pertain To Minority Candidates While Controlling For Gender

The workforce of a city police department is analyzedfor a period in which an affirmative action program was in operation. The goal of parity representation with the available labor force of racial minorities and women workers in the city was not realized in this police department. The problematic nature of "equality of employment" in city police agencies is further clarified by an examination of the employment situation in this department on two levels of explanation.

William A. Little

Papers

Racial Minorities and Women Workers in a Big City Police Department: A Case Study in the Elusiveness of Affirmative Action