How to Make a Police Force More Diverse
Departments need to adjust their messages to attract a broader range of applicants.
Diversity matters.
Photographer: Pacific Press/LightRocketThis article is for subscribers only.
American police departments are often far less diverse than the communities they serve. As a consequence, many police forces are less effective than they could be — a failing on its own terms and because there are proven ways to make them more diverse.
The numbers are striking: 72% of full-time, sworn officers in the U.S. are White, 11% are Black, and 13% are Hispanic. But only 57% of serious crime victims are White. When it comes to gender, the mismatch is even more striking: 12% of sworn officers are women, but half of serious crime victims are women.