Running Head: Issues of Diversity in Policing

“Issues of Diversity in Policing”

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Issues of Diversity in Policing

In this article, I explore three problems in law enforcement related to ethnic and

gender diversity. This means that a definition of the two must be given to allow the reader to

comprehend what I am going to describe. Individuals may be identified by comparable traits

such as heritage, culture, ancestry, language, dialect, history, identity and geographic origin

each other(Kešetović, 2009). The phrase ethnic diversity or diversity refers to the existence in

a certain population of different ethnic backgrounds or identities. With regard to gender

diversity, it is defined as the existence of equal representation in the workplace of men and

women in the areas of law enforcement in these cases.

Racial diversity

As a consequence of recent occurrences like the shooting of Michael Brown in

Ferguson, Missouri, police agencies around the country have been informed that they need

ethnic and racial differences. The Commission on the Accreditation of Law Enforcement

Agencies (CALEA) has suggested that a police department resemble the community in which

it operates. This implies that if the community in which the police officer works connects

with him or her because he or she has the "connection" between others who are like

him/her(O’Neill, 2015).

A black individual, for example, cannot comply with a white police officer because he

or she thinks that they would not get well handled. Now if you have a co-worker, possibly on

the same racial background as the individual, the person sees him/her and he/she might relate,

therefore de-escalating and comprehending the issue. One way of doing this would be to

further improve racial diversity in each police department, to count who lives in certain

communities and to examine the historical demographics that may help break the areas.

Moreover, a big factor that we as a society take for granted is education and it must be cared

for, because if we had more parents, schools and communities that actively education about
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equal opportunities, respect for others regardless of what they are and different cultures,

many situations could be stopped.(McCluskey & McCluskey, 2004).

Gender Equality

Women are typically overlooked when it comes to gender equality in police work.

This situation might place a policeman under stereotyped tasks such as administrative labor

or minor tasks. Many people think that women cannot perform what males can do in the field

because of a lack of strength, athleticism, weight and stature as a police officer. To start with,

we need to set an example so that the misunderstanding that women cannot accomplish what

males do disappears. As the years have gone by, equal opportunity has extended to various

locations throughout the world. If police took the initiative in offering women more chances

like males in senior positions and sending them to the field, this would send a strong message

to society(Langworthy & Travis, 1999).

Machismo

Although it has declined over the years and the working world is evolving, machismo

plays an important role not just in the police but also in virtually every job. Defined as a

strong or excessive sense of power or the right to control women. The way this phrase may

pose a problem in the police is when a woman is in command of a task or is in a leadership

position in the relevant police department, since some males may not agree to follow or

submit to a woman for this reason. They say things such as: "the woman belongs to the

house" or "the woman cannot do the job of a man," anything that makes them feel better than

the other sexes. I feel that there is a limited answer to this problem, because it is something

that you have learnt and typically hard to alter(O’Neill, 2015). My approach would be to try

to teach these people that there is a shift in the world today and that equal opportunities exist.

If they do not want to alter their way of thinking I will say while you are a police officer that
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you will forget that way of thinking, everybody here is a brother or sister, a profession, you

will perform your job(Kešetović, 2009).

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References

Kešetović, Ž. (2009). Understanding diversity in policing: Serbian perspectives. Policing: An

International Journal of Police Strategies & Management.

Langworthy, R. H., & Travis, L. F. (1999). Policing in America: A balance of forces.

McCluskey, C. P., & McCluskey, J. D. (2004). Diversity in policing: Latino representation in

law enforcement. Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, 2(3), 67–81.

O’Neill, M. (2015). The case for the acceptable ‘other’: The impact of partnerships, PCSOs,

and neighbourhood policing on diversity in policing. Policing: A Journal of Policy

and Practice, 9(1), 77–88.

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