Diversity in municipal police agencies: a national examination of minority hiring and promotion

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to better understand the institutional and external factors associated with African-American and Latino representation in policing at the line and managerial ranks. Line representation analyses utilize new data sources and a full range of theoretically informed covariates. Managerial representation analyses provide the first comprehensive attempt to understand the dynamics behind minority promotion. Design/methodology/approach – Portions of the 2000 US Census of Population and Housing Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Tabulation, Division of Governmental Studies, and Services (DGSS) survey and Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey were combined to produce a sample of 180 cities/municipal departments for analysis. Findings – Results indicate that the representation of minorities in political office and their presence in police leadership positions are among the most influential predictors of line officer diversity. Proportions of minorities in administrative police roles are greater in larger departments paying higher salaries. There is also evidence that the career advancement of minorities can be limited when multiple minority groups compete for the same promotional opportunities. Originality/value – This study provides a thorough examination of minority officer line representation and the first multivariate examination of minority representation in managerial positions using a national sample.

Ethnic diversity in policing: An application of quantile regression to the New York City Police Department

“…Specifically, studies on policing and ethnic and gender integration have found that the employment and promotion of minority men and women officers is related inversely with police ranks (e.g., Guajardo, 2014aGuajardo, & 2015bGustafson, 2013;Harrington & Lonsway, 2004;Martin, 2004;Schulz, 2004;Townsey, 1982). Gustafson (2013) observes that opportunities for advancement in policing are rare. In examining minority diversity in managerial police positions, Gustafson (2013) found that the promotion of minorities to higher positions is independent of the percentage of minorities in subordinate positions.…”

“…It does so by including the ethnicity and gender of employees jointly to obtain a more comprehensive measurement of workforce heterogeneity. In prior studies, the percent of Black, minority, or women officers in policing have served as dependent (or response) variables (e.g., Gustafson, 2013;Hochstedler & Conley, 1986;Kellough, 1990;Kim, 1993;Zhao, Herbst, & Lovrich, 2001). While these measures are useful for assessing ethnic or gender integration of specific populations into policing, they provide limited information in terms of the overall workforce diversity achieved by a police agency (e.g., Guajardo, 2015a).…”

“…At the organizational level (i.e., macro level), internal organization-based covariates (e.g., the type of workforce and the size of the workforce) effect the rate to which minority men and women are hired into a police agency and effect the level of ethnic diversity (e.g., Guajardo, 2014cGuajardo, & 2015cGustafson, 2013;Warner et al, 1989;Zhao, He, & Lovrich, 2006;Zhao, Herbst, & Lovrich, 2001). Within the hierarchical structure of police agencies (i.e., micro level), internal organization-based covariates also effect the integration of minority men and women into supervisor and command positions (e.g., Bolton, 2003;Guajardo, 2015c;Gustafson, 2013). As illustrated by Figure 1, this study examines whether ethnic diversity within the NYPD's hierarchical structure is a function of the type of workforce within the agency, the types of police and civilian positions that exist in each workforce, or the size of the each workgroup (i.e., total number of employees).…”

“…This study is based in the theoretical framework that factors within police agencies determine the extent to which they hire and promote minority men and women into and within their workforces (see Figure 1; e.g., Guajardo, 2014cGuajardo, & 2015cGustafson, 2013;Warner et al, 1989;Zhao, He, & Lovrich, 2006;Zhao, Herbst, & Lovrich, 2001). At the organizational level (i.e., macro level), internal organization-based covariates (e.g., the type of workforce and the size of the workforce) effect the rate to which minority men and women are hired into a police agency and effect the level of ethnic diversity (e.g., Guajardo, 2014cGuajardo, & 2015cGustafson, 2013;Warner et al, 1989;Zhao, He, & Lovrich, 2006;Zhao, Herbst, & Lovrich, 2001).…”

Black and Hispanic Representation in Policing: Organizational and Local Labor Market Context

“…As previously mentioned, past research on racial diversity in police departments has largely failed to integrate insights from minority threat theory (but see Gustafson 2013). The threat hypothesis predicts that minority and majority group members compete with each other for economic and political resources and higher levels of minority group representation increase potential competition between groups, creating a perception of threat among majority group members (Blalock 1967).…”