fbinaa_JANFEB2018_WebPress (002).REVFINAL

www.fbinaa.org

J A N 2 0 1 8 F E B

E ach participant was also asked to rate their perspective of significance for each interview question to determine their perspective on how im- portant the question related to the research project. The interview participants included police administrators, officers, a human resource manager, an elected official and residents of three municipalities. The interview results were com- pared to a literature review to reach a conclusion. The research concluded that mirroring police officer staffing to community population was a desirable goal that was not possible, but cultural awareness training was the realistic alterna- tive. The conclusion provided a recommendation for those in police leader- ship positions to recruit for diverse staffing, and mandate cultural awareness training on a regular basis. The benefit of conducting this research provided guidance in staffing law enforcement workforces to effectively meet the chal- lenges of the present with a foundation for the demands of the future. INTRODUCTION The most visible component of government in many communities is the presence of the police department. That presence may be in the form of a marked patrol car, an officer in uniform, and a police station. In many com- munities, police headquarters are the only part of government that is staffed and open for business around the clock, seven days a week. People come to the police for many reasons that include making arrests. When situations occur, the police are always available and are called upon for assistance. In most cases, the police have resources available themselves or by referral to other law enforcement and government agencies. Regardless of race or eth-

This research investigated strategies related to sworn police department staffing in diverse commu- nities. The significance of the research was to assess whether police officer racial and ethnic makeup needs to mirror the population in the community served or if cultural awareness training can serve as an alternative in lieu thereof, for effective delivery of services. The research addressed three principle questions that related to staffing and service delivery. This was a qualitative, single case study. In addition to a literature review of what other organizations have learned, the research included an interview process with three groups of three participants using fifteen semi-structured questions.

continued on page 10

9