How can police do a better job of recruiting new officers? This article can be found int the Room for Debates. Throughout the country, police stations continue to struggle to find qualified candidates to serve and protect. One of the biggest aspects of being a police officer according to the debaters is sensitivity towards suspects and people. Some people believe military veterans are perfect because they already have this sort of training. Others believe more women must be present. Many people believe that a diverse police force filled with various races and genders is necessary for police stations. However, creating this ideal diverse police force is obviously difficult because the applicant must not only be of a minority race but also be qualified. Some police stations have started outsourcing their recruiting to private companies in order to get more minorities. The problem with that is that those companies may not be the best when it comes to determining whether or not somebody is qualified for the job. So, what do you all think? Do we need a diverse police force? Is outsourcing for police candidates truly a good idea? What are your ideas on how police should recruit new members?
In my opinion, the color of your skin should not matter when determining if you are a qualified officer. We should not need a quota for specific races. I do think a diverse police force will aid in exposing the police to different cultures, but what really matters is a person’s ability to perform and make right decisions. I don’t care if the police force is all black, all white, all women, or has an exact equal number of people from every identification possible. If they are willing to serve their community to the best of their ability with an open mind, their ethnic background should not matter.
Zachary, I could not agree more with your argument. Especially during this period, the reputations on the police force have continued to plummet sharply due to long-running racial tensions. Which has caused even fewer numbers of recruits yearly. Although this ideal diverse force is claimed to be needed, a less number of minorities continue to sign up yearly especially African Americans due to their global opinions on police officers. However, to change the reputation and later increase the number of people enlisting in the system, police departments need to take a multi-faceted approach to make the occupation more appealing to the people. Including, community interactions in a non-enforcement role and even minorities taking charge and signing up themselves to change opinions on the system. Society needs to take a different approach to how we see people. It does not matter what gender or race you are if you met the criteria you should be chosen for the job. Individuals should not be categorizing people based on the color of their skin and just see them as people. An ideal force should not be seen as one that is just diverse, but a well-trained system that is sensitive to the people that they serve.
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ReplyDeleteDiversity is, of course, nice to have in any workforce because it broadens public reach to all races. This diverse marketing has helped the police force thrive in creating partnerships with organizations run by minorities, and has also shown communities that they are more inclusive. However, race shouldn’t determine whether or not you get a job. In truth, the only factors that matter are having the right qualifications and work ethic. One particular race should not have more benefits than everyone else, especially when competing for a job position as important as a police officer. As long as an applicant is; dedicated to their job, has the essential skills, and is willing to sacrifice their life for their community, then race shouldn’t play a part in the hiring process. Hiring someone who belongs to a certain minority group but has no prior experience will put the applicant’s life and other lives at risk, therefore, the police force should not at all be biased during police recruitment.
To answer the question, police can do a better job of finding those who are the most qualified. I agree with your idea that people who want to join the police force should not just be hired for their race or ethnicity to fill some quota. However, police stations should still be outsourcing for police officers. Since their is a shortage nationwide for the position, that is one of their only options. What should be the most important is that all of those in the police force have what's best in mind for citizens. All in all, the process of recruitment can be improved. It is just a matter of choosing quality over quantity.
ReplyDeleteYes, diversity is a great thing to have in the police force and for all jobs in general. But to answer the question, I believe that in order to become a police officer, they need to be more educated on how to handle certain case scenarios and people. Our world is ever changing and every person is unique in their own way. Officers need to learn to respect and handle cultural differences and opinions, with out jumping to the gun and assuming the situation to be bad. A handful of cases have led to death and social outcries of justice just because the police jumped to conclusions and did not assess the matter at hand properly. With teaching future officers and educating them on how to properly react to what looks like a threatening offender and not just putting a gun to their head, I believe our police force would be much better off. It is obvious that it wont be perfect, but even with somewhat of an improvement, I would say that is a win for humanity.
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