Author ORCID Identifier
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-17-2018
Publication Title
Police Practice and Research
Volume
19
Issue
5
First Page
490
Last Page
504
Abstract
Many have suggested police diversity will improve police-community relations, but research testing this hypothesis is inconclusive. We investigated perceptions of police race, ethnicity, and diversity in a heterogeneous sample of prospective police officers. Data are drawn from interviews with 42 criminal justice college students in the Southwestern United States, of which 15 were Hispanic, and who each wanted to become a police officer. Participants supported diversity in policing, and collectively expressed a belief that race plays a central role in policing today. Furthermore, participants expressed support for the ideals of both passive and active representative bureaucracy. Hispanics in the sample in particular anticipated they would positively affect police relations in Hispanic neighborhoods and encourage immigrants to cooperate with police.
Recommended Citation
Todak, N., Huff, J., & James, L. (2018). Investigating perceptions of race and ethnic diversity among prospective police officers. Police Practice and Research, 19(5), 490-504. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/15614263.2018.1428097
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Comments
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Police Practice and Research on January 17, 2018 available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/15614263.2018.1428097