Equalizing Opportunity in Police Departments

• NCJ Number: 74856
• Journal: Journal of Intergroup Relations Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1980) Pages: 29-37
• Author(s): D S Days
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 9 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. Adapted from remarks to the International Association of Chiefs of Police meeting last September in Dallas, Texas.

Annotation

Suggestions for equalizing opportunities in police departments and information on Federal responsibilities for police employment are presented.

Abstract

Police departments should assess their situations regarding the employment of women and minorities and, if necessary, voluntarily cease discriminatory practices and undertake affirmative action. Among the agencies which have an interest in the employment practices of police departments are the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, which enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which has the authority to investigate complaints of discrimination filed against public employers and based on Title VII; and LEAA, which may suspend funds to grant receivers if discriminatory practices are found. Employers may be liable for discriminatory employment practices even when they did not intend to discriminate. Personnel statistics showing that few women and minorities have been hired can be used to establish a plaintiff's prima facie case of discrimination in hiring. If a police agency uses a test that disqualifies a disproportionate number of minorities or females, the agency must show that the test is job-related or valid. Special recruitment programs for minorities and women can help overcome the image of a police department as an exclusively white male employer. Recruitment teams can visit schools and use the media to publicize their efforts. Furthermore, once hired, minorities and women should not be restricted in assignment or in promotion. The effects of past discrimination should be eradicated through the setting of temporary hiring goals favoring those groups which have been discriminated against. Moreover, court decisions in the Weber and Bakke cases have protected employers against liability arising from reverse discrimination. No references are given.