Race and Ethnicity in Police Employment Practices � PAGE �1�
Running head: Race and Ethnicity in Police Employment Practices
Race and Ethnicity in Police Employment Practices
Jolene J. Orlowski
Cultural Diversity in Criminal Justice CJA420
University of Phoenix
Instructor Kevin Dzioba
August 5, 2007
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Race and Ethnicity in Police Employment Practices
"Minorities are encouraged to apply," is what it states on most, if not all, criminal justice applications and job descriptions today. What does that mean for minorities? Does it mean minorities can feel safe and secure applying to that department just because all departments are required by state and/or federal laws to include that phrase in their hiring practices? I have personally seen that exact phrase on employment applications and job descriptions of departments that are or have been involved in discriminatory lawsuits. As a result, I do not believe that minorities are "encouraged to apply" because police departments want them there but more so because the departments need to meet their percentage of minority representation.
Martin Luther King leaning on a lectern. Deutsch: ...
President Lyndon B. Johnson and Rev. Dr. Martin Lu...
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the 1964 Civil R...Currently race and ethnicity is not any less discriminated against than it was a century ago, the only difference is that employing agencies know what rules they can and cannot visibly break, and how much they can "bend" the rules before potentially getting into trouble.
What does this mean for the millions of people that are minorities searching for jobs in the criminal justice system today? It means that all of us need to be aware of exactly what practices are illegal and what exactly we can do about it if our rights are violated. Stopping the cycle and not accepting discriminatory practices, regardless of the circumstances, is the key to stopping discriminatory police employment practices nationwide. In the following pages I will identify the history of race within police employment, the...