Course Project Part C

Running Head: DIVERSITY TRAINING FOR POLICE DEPARTMENTS 1
2
DIVERSITY TRAINING FOR POLICE DEPARTMENTS
TITLE: DIVERSITY TRAINING FOR POLICE DEPARTMENTS
Student Name:
Instructors Name:
Course:
Date:

The current state of policing has been facing a lot of debate on the ethics of its service. Despite the decrease in society’s criminal activities, there is tension between the police and some communities (Espiritu, 2017, p. 7). The increased tensions have led to a proactive policy for policing. Tensions arise as a result of discrimination towards race, sexual identity/orientation, and socioeconomic class. For better service and harmony within the society, cultural diversity, cultural sensitivity, and race relations must be mandatory for police training protocols and policy (Barlow & Hickman, 2015, p. 70). For the minorities to regain trust in law enforcement and justice legitimacy, Diversity training is the future for police departments.
The number of police trainees absorbed into the system should reflect a nominal distribution across all the minority groups. Black, Mexican, Gay, and Transgender individuals should be represented in the force. Inclusivity is the first step towards diversity. The people involved in the vetting and decision-making to be selected should receive adequate training on community policing and cultural inclusivity (Espiritu, 2017, p. 12). While in practice, the intakes must be exposed to multicultural society models to adjust their skills to serve a diverse community better (Coon, 2016, p. 1). Inclusive and non-discriminating police officers lower the perception of biasness within the organization, which translates to an effective police-society relationship.
Police departments must maintain service legitimacy to heal from the miscarriage of social justice. Comprehensive recruitment alongside cultural diversity and sensitivity training is the way for all police departments’ departments.
References
Barlow, D. E., & Hickman, M. B. (2015). Cultural Diversity Training in Criminal Justice: A Progressive Or Conservative Reform? Social Justice, 20(3/4(53-54)), 69-84. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/29766756
Coon, J. K. (2016). Police officers’ attitudes toward diversity issues: Comparing supervisors and non-supervisory on multicultural skills, values, and training. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 1-11. doi:0.1177/1461355716643091
Espiritu, D. (2017). THE FUTURE OF DIVERSITY AND POLICE LEGITIMACYDoes Diversity make a difference? The Journal of California Enforcement, 51(3), 1-26.