Policing scholars typically agree that a diverse police force is better suited to deliver service to the community. But is this true? To hire police officers based on race, ethnicity, religious affiliation or sex leaves out an important dimension–suitability. Is a person more suitable based on these attributes than someone without these attributes? How about the opposite: not hiring someone based on these attributes, should that be allowed if too many one one group are already represented?
It seems to defy logic that one person is better suited for police work than another based on these qualities alone and without knowledge about their ability to perform–regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or sex.
For this discussion:
1. Is a diverse police force better at delivering police services than one that lacks diversity?
2. What is the ideal level of diversity (in terms of percentages)?
3. Should race, ethnicity, religious affiliation and sex be used to determine police hiring?
1. Follow the Toulmin Model of Argumentation only Claim, Evidence, Warrant, and References
2. Use at least 3 Sources as Evidence ONLY from the following list:
1. American Journal of Political Science
2. American Journal of Psychiatry
3. American Journal of Sociology
4. American Political Science Review
5. American Sociological Review
6. British Journal of Criminology
7. Crime and Delinquency
8. Criminology
9. Criminology and Public Policy
10. European Journal of Policing Studies
11. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
12. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology
13. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
14. Journal of Politics
15. Journal of Quantitative Criminology
16. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency
17. Justice Quarterly
18. Law and Human Behavior
19. Law and Society Review
20. Policing and Society
21. Police Practice and Research
22. Police Quarterly
23. Policing : A Journal of Policy and Practice
24. Policing : An International Journal of strategies and Management
25. Social Problems
26. The Police Journal