Diversity In Law Enforcement Essay

Diversity is a word that is thrown around a lot nowadays regarding many different aspects of society. With so many demographics changing constantly around the nation, it would be silly not to mention the vast amount of diversity that runs through our communities. However, an important issue that seems to only be getting more serious is the underrepresentation of a variety ethnic groups and woman within the law enforcement workforce. This lack of diversity within law enforcement has sparked unneeded tensions within communities across the nation and departments everywhere are trying their best to truly reflect the communities they serve.

The fact that people have changed drastically since the 1970s is not a surprise to anyone, really.
But often times hiring diverse officers and inserting them into a homogenous system deters the officer from reflecting his diversity and forces him to fit into the crowd. While diversity is a key characteristic when hiring officers, if the department doesn’t have a grasp of the diversity within their community, simply adding an officer wont solve any problems. A department’s role is to not only protecting their community, but to embody everything that community reflects and stands for. Many people in society have fallen into an “Us vs. Them” mentality when it comes to police officers. This behavior has not only decreased the amount of information relayed to police officers but it has deteriorated the trust between officers and the locals. When a squad car rolls by, locals are usually struck with worry wondering what it is the officer is looking for when they are just taking their usual route, not looking for anything. One thing leads to another, and you get to a point where the officers, regardless of race or gender, feel like they can’t do anything right. This lack of trust causes for police officers to go through the motions of their daily shifts and de-incentivizes them to engage those they drive by every single