Search results

Informed by the experiential‐racism theoretical approach, which maintains that racism must be analyzed as a process that is manifested in multiple relations and situations in everyday life, interviews with 50 male and female black police officers in a southern state are drawn upon to analyze the impact race has on policing. Accounts demonstrate in considerable detail a shared perception of the continuing attitudinal and institutional dimensions of racism that impedes full participation in law enforcement agencies. Training, evaluation, discipline, assignment and promotion are discussed as processes within police agencies felt to be impacted by race. The conclusion is promoted that racism is persistent in agencies to the extent that white officers disproportionately occupy positions of authority with unfettered subjective discretion and to the extent there are few black officers relative to white officers. As an exploratory examination of the shared experiences and perceptions of black officers, findings should be further tested empirically.

The purpose of this paper is to explores the contemporary workplace experiences of lesbian and gay officers who serve across the UK.

Using an online survey, the research asked lesbian and gay officers to share their experiences in law enforcement environments. Acknowledging the changing climate in many law enforcement environments, this respondents here were asked to focus on both positive and negative experiences in the workplace.

The responses of 243 police officers revealed that lesbian and gay officers face barriers to equal employment opportunities similar to those faced by women and other minorities in law enforcement, but lesbian officers appear to experience and witness lower levels of discrimination than gay male police officers. Attitudinal bias against lesbian and gay officers remains a significant problem in the force. Lesbian officers report feelings of tokenism at higher levels than gay male police officers.

Future research endeavors should analyze any differences between the experiences of different lesbians and gay men at different levels of visibility within law enforcement, including “out” and “closeted” officers. Research about when officers come out as lesbian or gay – during training, on the force, after they retire – would be insightful in understanding officers’ perceptions.

The research suggests that police departments in the UK have made good strides in opening the law enforcement workforce, but continue to face on-going challenges in creating fair, diverse, and representative work environments for lesbian and gay officers. Specifically, agencies should review policies where supervisor have discretion over the employment-related actions. By not meetings the challenges of a more diverse workplace, agencies risk lower job satisfaction, and decreased police effectiveness, especially on community policing environments.

This research joins a small, but growing body of research that offers specific barriers and opportunities – as perceived by the officers. As other agencies engage in efforts to recruit and retain diversity police forces, the results of this research can enhance policies and practices, with regards to lesbian and gay officers.

Drawing from representative bureaucracy theory, hiring minority police officers has been a perpetual reform recommendation for improving tense police-community relationships with minority communities since the 1960s. The expectation is that minority officers will provide active/symbolic representation, but little is known about minority officers' experiences during racially tense situations. This paper examines whether black officers experienced double marginality in the context of prolonged protests against police in Ferguson, MO in 2014 and compares black vs. nonblack officers' self-assessments about their preparedness to handle the crisis, procedural justice during the crisis and mental and emotional effects on officers following protest policing.

In-depth interviews with 45 police personnel who policed the Ferguson protests provide a rich description of the context and experiences through the lens of police officers. Surveys of 218 officers who conducted protest policing in Ferguson are used to compare the impact on black vs. non-black officers.

The results provide a detailed portrayal of the double marginality experienced by black officers while policing the Ferguson protests, but also demonstrate that black officers were resilient to the effects of that experience, showing significantly more favorable outcomes than their nonblack peers.

This is the only study to utilize a mixed methods approach with police officers who conducted protest policing to understand officers' experiences in the midst of a racially inflamed context. The findings provide support for policymakers interested in advocating and supporting hiring more minorities in policing.

Increasing minority representation in law enforcement has long been viewed as a primary means to improve police-citizen relations. The recommendation to diversify police departments was endorsed by the Kerner Commission and, most recently, the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. While these recommendations make intuitive sense, little scholarly attention has examined whether greater levels of minority representation translate into positive police-community relations. The purpose of this paper is to use the representative bureaucracy and minority threat frameworks to assess the impact of the racial/ethnic composition of both police departments and municipalities on disparities in traffic stops.

A series of ordinary least squares regression analyses are tested using a sample of more than 150 local police agencies from Illinois and Missouri.

Higher levels of departmental representativeness are not associated with fewer racial/ethnic disparities in stops. Instead, the racial/ethnic composition of municipalities is more predictive of racial patterns of traffic stops.

This study provides one of the few investigations of representative bureaucracy in law enforcement using individual departments as the unit of analysis. It examines Hispanic as well as black disparities in traffic stops, employing a more representative sample of different size agencies.

Explores the professional, job‐related relationships of African‐American policewomen. The difficulties black women police officers face often are exacerbated by the intersection of race and gender that influence their self‐perceptions and the perceptions of those with whom they interact, including other officers and members of the community. Additionally, job‐related issues and interactions appear to impact community relations, particularly in circumstances involving minorities. The experiences of the women suggest that marginalization continues to be problematic for some minorities working in law enforcement. The research is based on qualitative data obtained from black female police officers in a large urban city.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether differences in occupational burnout between Black and White officers can be explained by differences in areas of worklife and differences in indicators of reform.

Using a modified version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory, information on emotional exhaustion and depersonalization was collected from 910 Black and 8,240 White officers through the National Police Research Platform. Structural equation models with bootstrapped confidence intervals were used to test mediation hypotheses and estimate indirect effects.

Black officers reported significantly less emotional exhaustion and depersonalization than White officers. Approximately 46% of the difference in emotional exhaustion between Black and White officers was accounted for by workload, workplace control, job satisfaction, alignment with agency values, inclusivity in the department, and the rejection of a hostile mindset toward the community. Approximately 28% of the difference in depersonalization was accounted for by workload, workplace control, job satisfaction, alignment with agency values, and the rejection of a hostile mindset.

This study reinforces research that demonstrates that Black officers report less emotional exhaustion and depersonalization than White officers and shows that some but not all differences in burnout can be accounted for by racial differences in areas of worklife and the rejection of a hostile mindset toward the community. More research should be focused on occupational stress in law enforcement and how Black officers are adapting to and thriving in the policing profession.

The purpose of this paper is to offer a state-of-the-art review of the research on women of color in American policing. Directions for future research are also highlighted.

Using several online databases, a literature search was performed to collect all relevant empirical studies on the topic. The review includes only studies that examined research questions about minority women officers in their own right.

The review identified 12 studies focused on recruitment, hiring, retention and the on-the-job experiences of this population. Most studies focused on black policewomen. All data analyzed in these studies are at least 20 years old.

Research on minorities in policing tends to concentrate on either black men or white women. For decades, scholars have called for more research on policewomen of color, yet little progress has been made. The current study takes stock of the existing research and provides a much-needed agenda to fill this research gap.

Studies agency compliance with affirmative action mandate on black and/or female personnel. Examines turnover in sworn personnel in a municipal police department at Tallahassee, Florida. Looks at characteristics of “stayers” and “quitters” in the context of race and gender. Discusses possible ramifications of differential turnover. Notes pronounced attrition rate for black females. Suggests that female turnover may be due to their having a higher educational level than male officers, since college‐educated personnel are more likely to grow disenchanted with routine beat duties.

Looks at the background and history of the US police in relation to the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act 1964. Outlines the dilemma faced by the police and lists some common forms of discrimination. Looks at the trends in the type of people claiming discrimination and concludes that it depends on area but the tide is turning towards the white male who is passed over to promote minorities.

The National Capital FreeNet (NCF) in Ottawa, Canada is one of the largest and most successful community online services in the world. A sample of 1,073 National Capital FreeNet (NCF) users were surveyed about their demographic characteristics, their access methods, and their levels of satisfaction. The results indicate that NCF users are not a specialized group in the community, but are comparable to the local regional population in age, education, and income. NCF users most often connect from home using modems, often using equipment and telephone lines purchased specifically for this service. NCF users connect to the system regularly, and usage of the system was not strongly related to demographic factors. NCF users are very satisfied with the system and satisfaction and donations were not strongly related to demographic factors or use of the system. These results suggest that this community network has a broad appeal and that current and future online services may have significant widespread impacts on individuals and society.