Police Discrimination

I agree that discrimination is a major factor. You hit the nail on the head when you mention the perception of police officers as an oppressive force. It appears that the old perceptions of police officers die-hard and some of the atrocities police officers have committed in the past are difficult for some groups to get around. For instance, the shootings and beating of unarmed blacks and who can forget that famous image taken by Bill Hudson of the Parker High School student Walter Gadsden being attacked by police dogs. These types of imageries has created an us against them mentality. In urban areas, minorities who join the police force are considered sellouts. A sellout is a person who betrays their belief or a traitor to their subcultural principle. Being that a lot of minorities wish to avoid this label they opt to stay clear of policing as a career. Those who do join force still face a ration of hurdles.
According to him, there is a perception that the local law enforcement agencies in the area operated under a good old boy network. I believe the correct political term might be nepotism, showing favoritism towards friends and family. However, the good old boy network goes a step further by favoring only people of the same race. As a minority or woman why would I want to work in an origination that supports this type of behavior? José Vargas-Hernández (2011, p.275) mentioned nepotism in police organizations increases gender inequality. It also undermine anti nepotism policy promoting impartiality in the workforce (Vargas-Hernández, 2011). Therefore police recruitment should focus on shaking negative perceptions and enforcing anti nepotism