NCJ Number
142144
Journal
NCJA Justice Research Dated: (January-February 1993) Pages: 3-5
Date Published
1993
Length
3 pages
Annotation
While police departments in large cities made some gains in hiring blacks and Hispanics over the past decade, there has been little progress in hiring more women officers, according to a study by the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Department of Criminal Justice.
Abstract
Minority employment levels were measured using an index representing the percentage of a particular minority group in a police force measured against the percentage of that minority in the larger community. A police department with an index of .75 or higher was considered to have an ideal employment level. The number of departments reaching the ideal level for hiring blacks rose significantly from 6 percent of those surveyed in 1983 to 40 percent in 1992. The record for hiring Hispanics was not as impressive; the proportion of departments reaching the ideal level rose from 6 percent in 1983 to only 20 percent in 1992. The study results showed that no department in the Nation has come close to reaching the ideal level for hiring women officers. And fewer women, blacks, and Hispanics are employed in upper-level positions; most cities reported that less than 10 percent of their supervisory positions were filled by minorities or females.