NCJ Number
79302
Journal
Criminal Justice Review Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: (Fall 1980) Pages: 22-33
Date Published
1980
Length
12 pages
Annotation
The effectiveness of an affirmative action program in a metropolitan police department is analyzed.
Abstract
A workforce analysis was conducted to determine how closely racial minority and female representation in the subject police agency approximated the representation of these groups in the general labor force of the city and in the Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) of the agency for the period 1975-1977. Data are presented for sworn and civilian personnel. Findings indicate that the representation of women and blacks in protective service increased modestly in 1976 and 1977, and the representation of racial minorities increased in 1977. However, women were drastically underused, and blacks and racial minorities were underrepresented to varying degrees, depending on whether the city or the SMSA workforce figures are used as a comparison unit. The absence of women, blacks, and other racial minorities at the top levels of the agency is the most striking feature of the data. Explanations for the poor results of the affirmative action program can be drawn from the 'internal operations' level and the 'structural' level. At the operations level, three major barriers appear to be inhibiting the recruitment of minorities and women: (1) the real or perceived small size of the local black workforce available for recruitment, (2) the unresponsiveness of racial minority organizations to the agency's requests for assistance, and (3) the problem of passing written examinations required for becoming a police officer. Structurally, the job categories of officials, administrators, and professionals have been a closed stratum, based primarily on sex and to a lesser extent on race. The promotion selection process favors middle-class males. Tabular data, six reference notes, seven references, and five footnotes are provided.