Why is it so hard to hire black police officers? BBC News
Summary
TLDRThe Norfolk Police Department in Virginia faces challenges in recruiting a diverse workforce, particularly African-Americans, to better reflect the community's demographics. With only 16% of officers being black in a 43% black town, the department is exploring innovative recruitment strategies, such as radio shows targeting African-Americans and outreach to black colleges. The script highlights the importance of diversity for better decision-making and addresses the historical and cultural barriers that must be overcome to improve community-police relations.
Takeaways
- 👮♂️ The Norfolk Police Department is actively trying to recruit a more diverse workforce, particularly targeting African-Americans, to better reflect the community they serve.
- 🔍 The police department acknowledges the historical role of police as agents of social control and recognizes the need to overcome this perception to improve community relations.
- 📉 Despite efforts, the recruitment of minority officers remains a challenge, with only 16% of officers in Norfolk being black in a city that is 43% black.
- 💼 The police department offers competitive benefits and pay, including pay starting from the first day of the Academy, to attract potential recruits.
- 📢 The department is using innovative recruitment strategies such as radio shows and open houses aimed at minority candidates to increase diversity.
- 🏢 There is competition from the private sector, especially for educated African-Americans, which makes recruiting for the police force difficult.
- 🚔 The community's relationship with the police is described as tense, with some individuals feeling that joining the police force would be akin to entering a 'lion's den'.
- 🏛️ There have been incidents of police shootings involving young black men in Norfolk, which have contributed to the strained relationship between the police and the community.
- 🙏 Some community leaders suggest that the focus should be on changing the police culture rather than simply increasing recruitment numbers.
- 👥 The script highlights the complexity of the issue, suggesting that having a diverse police force is just one part of the solution to improving policing in America.
Q & A
What is the current percentage of black officers in the Norfolk Police Department?
-Only 16 percent of officers in the Norfolk Police Department are black.
What percentage of Norfolk's population is black according to the script?
-Norfolk's population is 43 percent black.
Why is the Norfolk Police Department making efforts to recruit more minorities?
-The department believes that without a diverse and inclusive workforce, they may not make good decisions because they lack everyone's perspective.
What is one of the challenges the Norfolk Police Department faces in recruiting minority officers?
-One challenge is the competition with other police departments and the private sector, especially after incidents like Ferguson and Baltimore, which have increased the demand for diversity.
What are some of the new recruiting approaches the Norfolk Police Department is using to attract minority candidates?
-They are hosting open houses, making more funding visits to black colleges, advertising in black newspapers, and updating the entrance process to reduce the rate of failures among minorities.
What is the significance of the radio show 'We Are One' in the context of police recruitment?
-The radio show serves as a platform for police officers to engage with the community, particularly the black audience, and discuss policing in the community, which is part of their recruitment strategy.
What is the starting pay and benefits for an officer entering the Norfolk Police Academy?
-Officers are paid from the first day of the Academy, and they receive a nice paycheck along with other benefits.
Why is the community's relationship with the police described as tense and tight?
-The tense relationship is due to historical issues and recent incidents involving police shootings of young black men, which have created a barrier between the community and the police force.
What does Pastor Chris Hines suggest the police department should focus on instead of recruitment?
-Pastor Chris Hines suggests that the police department should focus on repentance and changing the culture of policing rather than recruitment.
How do some community members view the idea of joining the police force?
-Some community members, like the barber in the script, feel that joining the police force would be like throwing them into the lion's den, indicating a lack of trust and a belief that they would not make a significant difference.
What is the role of the police in the community according to the script?
-The script suggests that the police have historically been used as agents of social control, and that the police need to become part of the community to improve relations and win the recruitment battle.
Outlines
👮♂️ Diversifying Police Force in Norfolk
The police department in Norfolk, Virginia, is actively seeking to diversify its workforce, which currently has only 16% black officers in a city that is 43% black. The department is employing various recruitment strategies, including a radio show pitch, open houses, and outreach to black colleges, to attract African-American candidates. The radio show, 'We Are One,' features officers answering questions from the community and discussing the benefits of joining the police force, such as immediate payment and benefits from the first day of the academy. The chief acknowledges the historical challenges and the need for a more inclusive approach to policing, especially after incidents like Ferguson and Baltimore, which have made recruitment more difficult. The community's perception of the police is tense, and there's a call for more than just recruitment but also for cultural change within the police force.
🔍 Community Perception and Police Recruitment
This paragraph delves into the daily interactions of the police with the community and the importance of being part of that community to win the recruitment battle. It discusses the historical use of police as agents of social control, particularly during the civil rights era, and how this history creates a barrier that the police department must overcome. The narrative includes perspectives from a local pastor, who initially tried to encourage young black men to join the police force but later felt it would be like sending them into a dangerous situation. The paragraph also touches on recent incidents of police shootings involving young black men, which have further strained relations between the police and the community. It highlights the complexity of the issue, with some individuals recognizing the good intentions of some officers while also expressing a general distrust due to the uniform's association with authority and potential abuse of power. The conversation suggests that diversifying the police force is just one part of a larger puzzle in improving policing in America.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Diverse and Inclusive Workforce
💡Recruitment Qualifications
💡Agents of Social Control
💡Community Policing
💡Repentance
💡Fortune 500 Companies
💡Physical Fitness Test
💡Stereotypes
💡Civil Rights Era
💡Police Shootings
💡Grand Jury
Highlights
The importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce in decision-making within police departments.
The historical context of white police officers recruiting is no longer effective.
The benefits of joining the police force, including a nice paycheck and being paid to work out.
The Norfolk Police Department's struggle to recruit black officers in a predominantly black town.
The impact of Ferguson and other incidents on police recruitment efforts.
The competition between police departments and the private sector for educated African-American recruits.
The challenges of finding qualified candidates for the police force, especially among minorities.
North Oaks' strategy to attract minority candidates with open houses, funding, and community outreach.
The need for police to become part of the community to win the recruitment battle.
The historical use of police as agents of social control and the challenge to overcome this perception.
The tense relationship between the black community and the police department.
The perspective of a pastor on the difficulty of recruiting black youth to the police force.
The impact of police shootings involving young black men on community relations.
The complexity of the police recruitment puzzle and the need for a diverse police force.
The stereotype of police officers and the challenge of being seen as individuals beyond the uniform.
The ongoing efforts to figure out how to police in today's America with a focus on diversity.
Transcripts
if you don't have a diverse inclusive
workforce you end up not making good
decisions the days of you white police
officers coming out trying to recruit
that's just over with in all the
benefits you're getting a nice paycheck
I really wouldn't be looking for a lot
of recruitment I would be looking for a
lot of repentance we were as an
occupation used as agents of social
control and that's a challenge of the
area that we've got to overcome
thanks a lot for listening you're
listening to we are one the Norfolk two
Police Department and you and of course
we've got the men in blue of course here
it's Thursday morning at a gospel music
radio station in Norfolk Virginia and
the officers are making their regular
visit have a system in place where
people who are suspected of committing
crimes they're here to take questions
from a mostly black audience about
policing in the community okay but also
and again give us the recruitment
qualifications requirement the moment
that you enter into the Academy the
first day of your of your Academy you're
actually being paid you're an employee
of the police department Wow yes you
know all the benefits you're getting a
nice paycheck and you're being paid to
uh work out man I'll take that yes sir
it's a pitch targeted at
african-americans
that's because Norfolk is a department
where only 16 percent of officers are
black in a town that's 43 percent black
you know the issue for us is we've not
been successful in in recruiting
minorities the problem becomes is if you
don't have a diverse and inclusive
workforce you end up not making good
decisions because you don't have
everybody's perspective at the table
driving a wreck it doesn't have to be
spotless right so the radio show is one
type of new recruiting approach for
Norfolk the chief says his department
has always looked for ways to diversify
but but I will say when Ferguson
happened you know we had to redouble
what we were doing so it has been a
factor and it's just a tough sell at
this point and it does get a little
frustrating that you put a lot of effort
into it and you still can't seem to to
bring what you need to into your police
academy
Ferguson New York North Charleston
anything about half of this community is
african-american yet 80% of the Police
Department as I understand it is white
is it time for that to change yeah this
has all been the past year in America
and police forces are boosting efforts
to make themselves look more like the
communities they serve an analysis by
USA Today found that in at least 50
medium to large cities the percentage of
black officers is less than half the
percentage of the african-american
population and most are in concentrated
areas a fifth of all black officers work
in just three cities son across town
from the radio station applicants for
Norfolk PD get ready for a physical
fitness test quad whoo they've already
failed it once today will be their last
shot
police say just finding qualified
candidates of any color is a big
challenge and when it does come to
minority candidates because of Ferguson
and now recently because of the
Baltimore incident everybody wants to
try to you know have more diversity and
more inclusion so we're constantly
competing against all the other area
police departments you'll remember
sergeant Bratton from his pitch at the
radio show he says there's private
sector competition to an educated
african-american coming out of college
they're being recruited by fortune 500
companies you know a law enforcement is
more like an afterthought gosh I get out
of college and I have $80,000 in you
know college tuition not people not a
lot of people want to come and work for
$40,000 a year
so North Oaks strategy there was its
first open house aimed at minority
candidates more funding visits to black
colleges adverts and black newspapers
just trying to get out in the community
more even updating the old entrance
which had a disproportionate rate of
failures among minorities now police say
they've been more and more successful
but it's still tough the days of two
white police officers coming out trying
to recruit that's just over with and
nobody's doing that anymore
I and I've seen it myself I you know I I
wouldn't say it unless I had seen it
myself and I've talked to a lot of
police departments and a lot of
recruiters it's just not out there
anyone but there's another piece of the
recruiting puzzle we haven't talked
about yet so whatever the victim is
stating that when she came home she saw
that the back window of her residence
was busted out into some kind of forced
entry when she started call 9-1-1 shared
commotion inside the house and she these
are the daily interactions of a police
force in the community and as the chief
told a local paper if you don't become
part of the community you'll never win
the recruitment battle there's no doubt
that that we were as an occupation used
as agents of social control back during
the civil rights era back before that so
there's a lot of of history there and
that's a challenge a barrier that we've
got to overcome
you know we talk about the relationship
between the black community and the
police department how would you
summarize that tits I would summarize it
as tense and tight and at this point if
I was the police department
I really wouldn't be looking for a lot
of recruitment I would be looking for a
lot of repenting Pastor Chris Hines is a
former pro musician born and raised in
Norfolk who now heads the church his
grandfather founded he says he once
tried to convince young men in the black
community to join North Oaks police it
was an opportunity for a good study job
but upon my interactions with them and
how they felt about the police I really
felt like it would be and not to be too
biblical but I felt like it would be me
throwing them into the lion's den I'm
not as concerned about police recruiting
as I am concerned about police changing
the culture like many US cities Norfolk
has had its own experiences with police
shootings involving young black men just
recently a special grand jury charged an
officer with voluntary manslaughter and
the shooting death of David Latham as we
headed to the pastor's barber shop
another reminder omar johnson who once
worked here was killed by police in 2013
after he started backing his car towards
an officer during a confrontation
officers were cleared of criminal
charges and a civil lawsuit against them
was settled out of court at one point we
had tried they work on it but the
continuing on
killings and the black youth is
separating their community from the
police force I'm not saying that all
police are bad but you know as a whole
you know it has to be some type of good
software it's hard to have a
relationship with with the police when
when you feel like they ought to get you
one of my home business a cop and my
cousin I actually died on the police
force so I know that it's a lot of good
guys that wannabe cops and they feel
like they can actually help the
community and I salute to them but I
wouldn't see myself being apart uh why
not I feel I can make a bigger
difference up doing something else I
don't really feel like I'd be making
much of a difference
there's one more thing something each
officer in this story brought up whether
they were asked to or not I think police
are some of the most stereotyped people
you know walking the planet it's you
know we're all gonna love ours we all
like to hunt we all it which none that I
do but that's you know near the
stereotype that goes along with us and
we're much more rich than that you know
this this uniform that we put on doesn't
change who you are where you came from
all these emotional things that people
experience we experience the same thing
you have to take each officer as an
individual but for some it's tough to
get past that uniform you you want us to
love you as people but when you put the
uniform on there is also a arrogance
that's often carry with that that they
are above the law having a diverse
police force may be part of the solution
but how much a part depends on who you
ask it's just one more piece of the
puzzle to figure out about how to police
in today's America
David Botti BBC News Virginia
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