NCJ Number
211012
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 33 Issue: 4 Dated: July/August 2005 Pages: 377-386
Date Published
July 2005
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Using panel data collected on a representative sample of U.S. police departments that served populations of at least 25,000 residents across the country in 1993, 1996, and 2000 (n=281), fixed-effect panel models were used to assess the influence of environmental and institutional variables on the hiring of African-American and Latino officers.
Abstract
The dependent variables of percentage of African-American officers and percentage of Latino officers included both genders. Two fixed-effect Ordinary Least Square regression models regressed the dependent variables on a set of independent variables. A total of nine independent variables were used in each statistical model. The percentages of African-Americans and Latinos in the population of each city were determined, and the external political environment was measured by the presence of a minority mayor. Five variables gauged the impact of departmental institutional factors on minority officer employment. The study found that statistically significant changes were observed for the percentage of Latino officers between 1993 and 2000. In contrast, the employment of African-American officers remained statistically unchanged at approximately 9 percent over the same period. There was statistically significant change in the Latino populations of the cities over this time period, but not in the African-American population. Affirmative action programs, either informal or formal, apparently were not closely associated with the minority officer measures. The presence of an African-American police chief, a Latino police chief, and a Latino mayor were all significant predictors of the employment of their respective ethnic groups in police departments. The hiring of one ethnic group did not diminish the hiring of another ethnic group, nor of White female officers. 3 tables, 3 notes, and 43 references