Chapter 7
Minorities in Policing
Learning Objectives
LO1 Identify and describe the various minority groups and the history of
discrimination in policing with those groups.
LO2 Describe the role legislation and the federal government played in removing equal
employment opportunity barriers to women and minorities in policing.
Lesson Plan
Correlated to PowerPoints
I. Discrimination in Policing
Learning Objective 1: Identify and describe the various minority groups and the history of
discrimination in policing with those groups.
• Law enforcement agencies in the United States have a long history of discrimination
against women and minorities.
Class Discussion/Activity:
Describe the role the federal government played in removing equal employment opportunity barriers
to women and minorities in policing.
A. Discrimination Against Women
1. Women have faced an enormous uphill struggle to earn the right to wear the
2. Even as late as the mid-1970s, female officers experienced different sets of rules
3
1-2
What if Scenario
You are a field training officer who has been assigned a new female trainee officer. You are aware
that this female officer is being “watched” closely for any signs of weakness and you have been given
“unofficial” guidance that she is to be passed through probation. How will you perform your duties to
ethically and fairly train this officer? What should you inform your supervisor about the “guidance”
you have been given by the department managers?
B. Discrimination Against African Americans
1. Double marginality: The simultaneous expectation by white officers that African
American officers will give members of their own race better treatment and
2. African American officers were subjected to racist behavior from white cops.
C. National Commissions to Study Discrimination
2. National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, also known as the
Kerner Commission
3. The Kerner Commission made many recommendations, including the
4. Despite recommendations by national commissions, minorities have been
forced to take their cases to the U.S. courts.
Media Tool
Kerner Plus 40: Change or Challenge: Parts 1 and 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v5dvxpTdTE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_RmY63ldZc
o Kerner Plus 40: Change or Challenge
o Discussion: Discuss what you see in the video. Do you agree or disagree with the statements
in these videos? Why or why not?
II. How Did Women and Minorities Strive for Equality?
Learning Objective 2: Describe the role legislation and the federal government played in
removing equal employment opportunity barriers to women and minorities in policing.
See Assignment 2
4
A. Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
2. It guarantees “equal protection of the law” to all citizens of the United States.
What if Scenario
You are tasked by your captain to provide training to the department on the Fourteenth Amendment.
What are the areas you will highlight and why?
B. Civil Rights Act of 1964
1. Title VII of this law was designed to prohibit all job discrimination based on race,
color, religion, sex, or national origin.
3. The fight for equality was facilitated by the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which barred
discrimination on the basis of gender, race, color, religion, or national origin.
C. The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968
1. The Act was enacted with the goal of assisting local governments in reducing the
2. This act encouraged the recruitment of minority personnel to better represent and
improve relations with minority communities.
D. The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972
1. The Act extended the 1964 Civil Rights Act and made its provisions, including
Title VII, applicable to state and local governments.
3. It strengthened the commission’s investigatory powers by allowing it to document
allegations of discrimination better.
E. Civil Rights Act of 1991
1. The Act allows for the awarding of punitive damages regarding civil rights
2. It does not apply to governmental agencies.
F. Federal Courts and Job Discrimination
1. Definitions
a. De facto discrimination: the indirect result of policies or practices that
6
7
8
9
10
2. Job relatedness
a. Griggs v. Duke Power Company (1971)
Class Discussion/Activity:
Griggs v. Duke Power Company is a leading case related to job discrimination. Although this
case had nothing to do with a police department, what impact has it had on policing?
3. The job analysis
a. Vulcan Society v. Civil Service Commission (1973)
Class Discussion/Activity:
Describe the impact of the police testing process on certain minority groups.
G. Affirmative Action Programs
See Assignment 4
2. Quotas: These are numbers put into place as part of goals and objectives in
affirmative action plans.
4. Affirmative action programs are one of the most controversial methods of ending
job discrimination.
Class Discussion/Activity:
Describe how affirmative action policies have affected white males in hiring and promotional
policies.
III. White Male Backlash
13
11
Learning Objective 3: Describe the white male backlash that has resulted from the rise in
affirmative action programs.
A. Reverse Discrimination
1. White males were passed over on entrance and promotion examinations by
minorities, some of whom had received lower test scores.
3. Ricci v. DeStefano (2009).
4. Affirmative action programs and quotas gave rise to white male backlash.
IV. Academic Studies on Job Performance of Minorities
Learning Objective 4: Summarize the academic studies examining the performance of women
and minorities in policing.
Learning Objective 6: Describe the challenges still faced by minorities in policing today.
A. Academic Studies
2. LEAA study: Women on Patrol: A Pilot Study of Police Performance in New
B. Study Findings for Women
See Assignment 6
1. A study of police perceptions of spousal abuse, by Robert Homant and Daniel
2. Loretta Stalans and Mary Finn supported this finding when their study revealed
that though there was no difference between men and women in arrest rates on
3. In an analysis of the existing research on female police officers, Merry Morash
4. Former New York City police detective Sean Grennan’s study of patrol teams in
5. The Christopher Commission, while conducting a review of the practices of the
14
6. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) conducted a study of
800 police departments in 1998 and found that law enforcement administrators
Class Discussion/Activity:
Identify ways in which women and minorities still face problems in policing.
C. Findings for African Americans
1. There have been no studies regarding the ability of African Americans to do
police work.
2. Examining the attitudes of 638 police officers involved in the Project on Policing
3. In his study of African American police executives, R. Alan Thompson reported
V. Minorities in Policing Today
Learning Objective 5: Summarize the representation of the different minorities in policing
today.
Learning Objective 6: Describe the challenges still faced by minorities in policing today.
A. Female Representation
2. A recent study found that consent decrees over the last couple of decades have
been very effective in increasing the numbers of women in law enforcement.
3. Consent decree: It is an agreement that binds the agency to a particular course of
See Assignment 1
15
B. African American Representation
2. It has been a slow, gradual process from the 1960s into the twenty-first century,
and the progress has sometimes been accompanied by failures.
C. Hispanic Representation
See Assignment 5
1. The number of Hispanic American officers has increased significantly in the last
two decades, as has their percentage in the general population.
2. A major issue regarding Hispanic officers, both in counting their numbers and in
determining their role and fit in the community, is simply determining what is
meant by Hispanic.
a. The Hispanic culture encompasses many cultural groups, including
D. Asian Representation
See Assignment 3
2. The biggest challenge concerning Asian Americans in law enforcement appears to
be recruitment.
Class Discussion/Activity:
Identify the challenges faced in recruiting Asian American officers and discuss strategies to
address these challenges.
E. Muslim Representation
1. Recently, cases have arisen in which Muslim officers have claimed they’ve been
16
17
18
19
2. Departments usually back their policies, claiming that it is most important for the
community and the citizens who encounter their police officers that the officers
have a uniform appearance.
What if Scenario
You live in a community that has a large Muslim population. There have been complaints to the
chief of police about a lack of representation of Muslim officers in your agency. After being
directed by the chief of police to “reach out” to the Muslim community with the goal of increasing
officer representation, what would you do?
F. Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Representation
1. Police departments have had a history of discriminating against job applicants
because of their sexual orientation.
2. In the past, many departments succeeded in keeping gays out of police
3. As a result of Lawrence v. Texas (2003), departments could no longer use
5. The Golden State Peace Officers Association (GSPOA), the NYPD’s Gay
6. It is unknown how many transgender individuals are in law enforcement because
they don’t always choose to share this information.
a. The Transgender Community of Police Sheriffs (TCOPS) is a peer support
Media Tool
Women in Law Enforcement: Parts 1 and 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLKLORKmaIM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK1WAZmwrU8
o Video discussion of women in law enforcement
o Discussion: Discuss what you see in the video. How do you feel about women in law
20
enforcement? Should women be in law enforcement? Why or why not?
1. The first challenge encountered is the recruitment and hiring issue.
3. Once on the force, it is a constant balancing act by female officers between their
more feminine characteristics that have been encouraged by their socialization
4. Sometimes a female employee can be a target for workplace harassment.
5. Policies on pregnancy and job assignment are issues that need to be addressed by
7. Family issues and conflicts between personal and professional demands also pose
a challenge for women and the advancement of their careers.
8. As women obtain seniority by accruing more years in law enforcement, it is
B. Challenges for African Americans
What if Scenario
You are the training officer of your department. You have been assigned to increase the recruiting
of minority officers, especially African American officers. What will you do to meet this need?
2. Another issue that arises with African American police officers more than other
officers is the issue of friendly fire or fraternal fire shooting incidents.
3. The perception of tokenism by themselves, their coworkers, and the public.
C. Challenges for Other Minorities
2. Recruitment
4. As the numbers of minorities increase in law enforcement agencies, opportunities
22
23
5. Challenges remain to achieve appropriate representation of underrepresented
groups in law enforcement.
6. Great progress has been made by minorities in law enforcement, and we hope that
discrimination in U.S. police departments will soon be completely eliminated.
VII. Summary
Lecture Notes
1. Why are there so few minorities in policing?
All races and ethnic groups are represented in policing today. However, until the 1940s, there
was not a single African American police officer in the Deep South. The first female police
2. What provisions of the U.S. legal system have enabled minorities to overcome job
discrimination?
The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, passed in 1868, guarantees equal protection
3. What strides have African Americans made in increasing the numbers of minorities in
policing?
4. How are law enforcement agencies addressing the issue of family and conflicts between
personal and professional demands of law enforcement?
Family issues and conflicts between personal and professional demands pose a challenge for
24
Key Terms
affirmative action An active effort to improve employment or educational opportunities for
minorities, which includes ensuring equal opportunity as well as redressing past discrimination.
Civil Rights Act of 1964 Prohibits job discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or
consent decree An agreement binding an agency to a particular course of action for hiring and
de facto discrimination The indirect result of policies or practices that are not intended to
discrimination Unequal treatment of persons in personnel decisions on the basis of their race,
double marginality The simultaneous expectation by white officers that African American
officers will give members of their own race better treatment and hostility from members of the
African American community who consider black officers to be traitors to their race. (p. 196)
Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 (EEOA) Extended the 1964 Civil Rights Act
Fourteenth Amendment Amendment to the U.S. Constitution passed in 1868 that guarantees
“equal protection of the law” to all citizens of the United States; frequently used to govern
National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals Presidential
commission formed to study the criminal justice system and recommend standards to adhere to
for police agencies to reduce discrimination. (p. 197)
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 Enacted to aid communities in reducing
the crime problem, it created the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA), which
quotas Numbers put into place as part of goals and objectives in affirmative action plans. (p.
reverse discrimination The label used by those who believe quotas discriminate against whites
and males to describe the preferential treatment received by minority groups and women under
Assignments
1. Many officers today don’t realize the past struggles of the women and minority pioneers and
some of the hurdles that have been overcome. Prepare a presentation for new recruits, outlining
2. Using the Internet, research various affirmative action policies that police agencies use. You
will find a wide range of such policies. What are some of the different policy approaches to
3. Using the Internet, conduct research on women in law enforcement. What have been their
4. You have been assigned to the recruiting division of your police department. Your chief is
concerned because there don’t seem to be many women applying to be police officers with your
department. You currently have 10 women in your department of 250 sworn officers, but that is
below the number the chief would like to see. Your chief asks you to determine how many
women you should strive to hire to put the agency in line with the national average. The chief
also requests that you research why women aren’t applying, what might be keeping them from
seeking the job, and what efforts you can put forth to increase the numbers. You are to come up
5. You are the police chief of the Anytown Police Department. Your city has a large Spanish-
speaking population; however, only a small percentage of the force in your department speaks
6. Your city has an Asian American population of approximately 8 percent of the total
population, yet there are only 2 Asian American officers in your department of 250 sworn
officers. Your chief would like the department to more closely reflect the population of the city
and would like you to determine how to increase the number of Asian American applicants and
(ultimately) police officers. Research why they are not applying and what the barriers might be,
