Background: Lack of Diversity in the Police Department as a Source of Concern
The significance of diversity in the law enforcement department can hardly be overrated. Since the members of the police are supposed to safeguard the community and represent its interests as far as the security issues are concerned, it is crucial to make sure that the law enforcement units are diverse and able to comprehend their roles and responsibilities. However, researches show that there is a significant lack of diversity in the modern police units (Impact of cultural diversity on law enforcement, 2015). As a result, racial, ethnic, and cultural prejudices become the foundation for the decision-making process in law enforcement institutions. To address the situation, one should consider increasing diversity rates in the target area by changing the current hiring policies, values, ethics, and philosophies, followed by the members of the police.
Effects of Inconsistency Between Diversity Rates in the Community and the Law Enforcement Unit
As stressed above, the lack of understanding of the target population’s needs is the primary source of concern for the people living in the local community. The differences between the ethical and cultural backgrounds of the police and the local residents contribute to spreading prejudice and creating obstacles in the successful communication between the parties involved. As a result, the members of law enforcement are incapable of representing the identified community and meet its needs.
Losing the focus on the priorities that they have in the identified community, the members of law enforcement are likely to fail to meet the existing ethical standards, as well. For example, with the absence of a strong emphasis on the ethical principles and the importance of diversity, police members may succumb to unethical practices, and racial profiling is currently the primary area of concern.
Providing Security for the Homeland: Tools and Strategies for Increasing Diversity Rates
The first and the most obvious, the present-day hiring policies used by the HR officials in police departments need to be revisited. Providing job opportunities for the people belonging to different social classes, ethnicities, and races should be the key principle behind the new hiring approach. As a result, the diversity rates in police departments are likely to increase within a comparatively short amount of time.
A more time-consuming yet nonetheless efficient strategy implies a change in the leadership approach and the set of values by which the members of the police are guided. It will be necessary to convey the concept of workplace ethics, moral values, and the philosophy based on ethnic, religious, and cultural tolerance to the target audience. The process can be carried out with the help of the principle of multiculturalism (U.S. Department of Justice, 2015).
Problems Related to Policing in a Diverse Society: Meeting the Needs of the Community Members
Apart from the obvious ethnic and cultural issues that the members of the law enforcement units are likely to face unless they learn more about the diverse local population, the conflicts based on the political premises are likely to become a threat. For instance, as a recent study pointed out, the absence of knowledge about the Apartheid and the effects that it had had on the population triggered a massive conflict between the local population and the police (Farkash, 2015).
Addressing the Policing Issues: Management Strategies
It should be borne in mind that the subject matter will have to be addressed on several levels. First, the current leadership framework will have to be reconsidered, and new values based on following the appropriate ethical standards must be provided. Afterward, the problems within the police subculture will have to be managed. Destroying the phenomenon does not seem to be an option as this step will only make the members of the police opposed to the changes. Therefore, the principles of ethical behavior must be introduced carefully to the existing structure of police relationships so that the ideas of multiculturalism, diversity, and equality could transform the misguided concepts of justice that the modern police members have.
Possible Issues to Confront: Resilience Toward Changes
Naturally, resistance toward changes should be expected among the police department members. The change involves, and ethics will require that the unofficial hierarchy that they have been building for decades will be in shambles after the transition to a new policy. Therefore, the target audience must be driven to accept the change, which will become possible after the application of the transformational leadership approach.
Managing the Incipient Problems: Determining the Appropriate Tools
A change in the leadership strategy is viewed as the key to resolving the issue as it will help restore the values that the police department members will be guided by, as well as motivate the officers to accept the changes willingly and consciously. The identified transfer to a different framework of operations will become a possibility once the target audience receives a behavioral model that they will be able to follow, as well as a set of principles with which they will feel inclined to comply.
References
Farkash, A. T. (2015). The ghosts of Colonialism: Economic inequity in post-Apartheid South Africa. Global Societies Journal, 3(1), 12-19.
Impact of cultural diversity on law enforcement. (2015). Web.
U.S. Department of Justice. (2015). Diversity in law enforcement: A literature review. Web.