Women and Minorities in Law Enforcement
Women and Minorities in Law Enforcement Response
Throughout policing history women and minorities have gone through so many changes as they tried to become law enforcers. In the beginning, when women and minorities were allowed to become police officers they would be hired but given lighter duties or assigned to lower crime areas. They weren’t given much opportunity to go out and experience first hand how everything was on the streets since the majority of law enforcers back then were males. They worked more as social workers and it took a long time for them to be out on the streets fighting off crime. Over time their role in law enforcement has changed dramatically, back then they weren’t allowed to have higher ranks or work out on the field or basically do any job that was considered a men’s job (due to physical strength or upper body strength that men had and women didn’t).
As time went on they were allowed to have higher ranks and given more opportunities, they were allowed to do what most male officers were doing at the time. There were associations made for women and minorities. One such association mentioned in the book is called: The International Association of Policewomen. Laws were created as well to enforce the hiring of racial and gender minorities as well as affirmative action policies. Affirmative action policies required that police departments create more than equal opportunities for everyone. They pressed that the police departments should hire minorities. Affirmative action basically ensured that those who had previously been excluded from particular types of employment would now have the access to those jobs. All law enforcement agencies that didn’t follow the affirmative action policies would face civil suits from the individuals who were denied that job.
The hiring of minorities and women changed the role of modern policing as everything had to be changed to give way to minorities and women. For example: Physical agility tests and
Throughout policing history women and minorities have gone through so many changes as they tried to become law enforcers. In the beginning, when women and minorities were allowed to become police officers they would be hired but given lighter duties or assigned to lower crime areas. They weren’t given much opportunity to go out and experience first hand how everything was on the streets since the majority of law enforcers back then were males. They worked more as social workers and it took a long time for them to be out on the streets fighting off crime. Over time their role in law enforcement has changed dramatically, back then they weren’t allowed to have higher ranks or work out on the field or basically do any job that was considered a men’s job (due to physical strength or upper body strength that men had and women didn’t).
As time went on they were allowed to have higher ranks and given more opportunities, they were allowed to do what most male officers were doing at the time. There were associations made for women and minorities. One such association mentioned in the book is called: The International Association of Policewomen. Laws were created as well to enforce the hiring of racial and gender minorities as well as affirmative action policies. Affirmative action policies required that police departments create more than equal opportunities for everyone. They pressed that the police departments should hire minorities. Affirmative action basically ensured that those who had previously been excluded from particular types of employment would now have the access to those jobs. All law enforcement agencies that didn’t follow the affirmative action policies would face civil suits from the individuals who were denied that job.
The hiring of minorities and women changed the role of modern policing as everything had to be changed to give way to minorities and women. For example: Physical agility tests and