Introduction
A sufficiently large part of the US population perceives the police system as a conservative-minded structure, rather closed to innovation. Especially the general attitude changed after the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota (Groves, 2021). While there are some issues and areas for improvement, the police are on the right path toward embracing diversity and equality. This paper will focus on several academic sources to understand the background and current concerns. The main thesis is that police violence, the estrangement of police from society, and lack of accountability are the main reasons for vicious police culture.
Background of the Problem
To address the background of the issue of police culture and diversity, it is beneficial to choose a book that summarizes all literature in the field. For example, one of the influential works on this topic is Sarah Charman’s Police Socialisation, Identity, and Culture: Becoming Blue. It has 160 citations in Google Scholar and is highly applicable to the discussion of police culture. The only limitation is that it focuses on police in the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, the similarity of cultures and the same language highly unite experiences in the UK and the US.
A great volume of research on police culture is devoted to the sociological characterization of the institutional environment. Charman (2017), summarizing the literature, indicates “the almost universal condemnation of the cultures of the police as sites of masculine hegemony, racism, prejudice, discrimination, and exclusion” (p. 128). The argument was that the constant sense of danger, authority, pressure, and the police’s preoccupation with these factors led to the distinctive culture. Such all-encompassing characterization may depict some “dark” sides of police culture but is highly generalized and subjective. One may always see counter-examples of police behavior, especially after American society has become more tolerant and cosmopolitan.
New sociological trends of poststructuralism and constructivism have changed the universalistic perception of police culture. It was not until the 1990s that some groups of scholars called for a rethinking of police culture (Charman, 2017). They argued about the multiplicity of distinctive cultures, which depends on gender, race, ethnic background, and rural/urban location (Charman, 2017). The phenomenon has become more complex after the introduction of constructivist critique, which says that police culture is what people think of it (Charman, 2017). Considering this background of scholarship, the discussion of issues and concerns below is guided by a new not-holistic understanding of police culture.
Issues in Police Culture
Disproportionate Police Violence Towards Minorities
A large body of research raises the issue of the lack of diversity in police departments. Maddy McVaugh’s article “Does Diversity Matter? Police Violence, Minority Representation, and Urban Policing” is an informative source that uncovers this idea. This article was written recently, in the spring of 2022, and focuses specifically on the United States. The author admits that in 2021, 665 of 1134 killed people by law enforcement belonged to racially marginalized groups, while these groups make up a smaller percentage of the population (McVaugh, 2022). This issue is more complicated because most police officers are white, with approximately 67% of them classified as Caucasian (McVaugh, 2022). This trend can be explained by the historical development of US law enforcement and the overall past of racial segregation policies.
It seems common sense that increasing diversity in law enforcement agencies will eliminate this trend of disproportionate oppression. However, McVaugh’s (2022) research shows that ” increased diversity within law enforcement does not substantially decrease the amount of violence towards racial minorities due to police culture and institutional practices” (p. 5). In other words, racially marginalized groups are targeted because of the institutional arrangements that reinforce and perpetuate systemic injustice and racism.
Alienation of the Police from Society
Another trend raised by academic research is a perceived alienation of the police from communities. Initially, before entering law enforcement, young people are full of excitement and motivation. As Charman (2017) points out, “recruits, upon joining the organization, are generally highly idealized and highly motivated with a strong public service ethos” (p. 121). However, some elements of further training create a suspicious attitude toward people. To understand this, listening to people engaged in law enforcement activities on the ground is valuable. An excellent source is a discussion published on the Brookings Institution Youtube channel with the participation of professionals and activists. Capt. Joe Perez, president of the Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association, has argued that the heavy focus on officer safety unconsciously puts officers in opposition to the society they protect (Brookings Institution, 2022). Such emphasis on safety provokes constant suspicion, which creates barriers to proper social work.
Lack of Transparency
The last issue in police culture is the lack of accountability to society which also sustains the border between law enforcement and society. In her book, Charman (2017) greatly recalled the general principle that when an organization is built upon principles of fairness, equity, and dialogue, it increases its legitimacy in the eyes of the public and employees. However, the participant of the above-mentioned panel mentioned that it influences how American law enforcement operates (Brookings Institution, 2022). This commonality should be taken into account in the solutions section.
Solutions
Although the great complexity of this issue requires voluminous argumentation, an attempt will be made to provide some solutions. This paper’s analysis showed that targeting racially marginalized groups cannot be solved through small diversity reforms. Many modern scholars show that the police system may be inherently unreformable and urge for the abolition of the police system. For example, the main lobbying group for changing law enforcement with other forms of safety is the police abolition movement. Some such activists may provide policy plans that may change the status quo. However, policymakers should weigh all pros and cons and form the best evidence-based policy.
As for some minor changes, two other solutions are reformed training practices and a transparent community-based control system. A reformed training system may change law enforcement’s perception that society poses a threat to their safety. For example, additional attention may be directed toward social work training. As for the control system, it will provide more accountability between the police and the local community. It will create closer relations between the two groups and subsequently reduce police violence.
Conclusion
To conclude, this paper discussed the topic of police culture and diversity. In the current American law enforcement system, there are some instances when some police departments do not appreciate diversity and behave highly unfriendly to the local community. Modern research on police culture transitioned from all-encompassing notions of deteriorating police culture to more constructivist ones. An overall conclusion, many scholars say about the need to rethink how the institution of law enforcement works. The provided solutions were better training practices and more accountability between police and communities. As for the extreme solutions, this paper also mentioned some suggestions for replacing policing with other safety forms.
References
Brookings Institution. (2019). Policing in America: Race relations, community policing, and technological innovations [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Charman, S. (2017). Police socialisation, identity and culture: Becoming blue. Springer.
Groves, S. (2021). Explainer: Use-of-force experts evaluate Floyd arrest. Associated Press. Web.
McVaugh, M. (2022). Does diversity matter? Police violence, minority representation, and urban policing. Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs Paper Prize. Web.