Diversity and race are topics of interest in many discussions in many sectors, especially the criminal justice field. Therefore, to understand the phrases well, people should know its components. The first term is race, which refers to people with the same visible physical characteristics like texture, skin colour, eye formation, hair, and facial features ( Healey, 2012). The unique features also associated with geographical locations or continents like the Asian race, European race, African race, etc. Next, minority refers to people who are treated differently by other individuals in the society because of their cultural or physical traits. The minority groups receive unequal and differential treatment; thus, they are collective discrimination objects. Another term is inclusion, which is an act of an organization or society accepting, welcoming, and treating people equally with different backgrounds. Healey (2012) argues that the difference might be socially or culturally, which include race and ethnicity, nationality, socioeconomic status, religion, marital status, gender, etc.
Also, while discussing diversity and race, persons should know the difference between prejudice, discrimination and implicit bias. Prejudice is an incorrect or unjustified attitude, mostly negative, towards people based on their social group. For instance, according to Cobbina (2020), there are many complaints about police brutality cases against people of colour in the United States of America. The cases show prejudice because officers have negative attitudes towards the group of individuals, which leads to cruel treatment. On the other hand, discrimination is when people do not equally enjoy their legal or human rights compared to others because of certain treatments, policies or laws. Cobbina (2020) shows an example of discrimination by discussing that in the U.S., people of colour encounter discrimination in police forces because they do not receive fair chances like their white counterparts. Regarding implicit bias, it occurs when individuals associate stereotypes with others or have some attitudes (negative) towards them. Implicit bias may counter persons' conscious beliefs without their knowledge. An example of implicit bias is the "broken windows" policing, where the police in the United States aggressively target social disorders and minor offenses, assuming that it will lower serious crimes (Cobbina, 2020). Instead of reducing crimes, policing leads to hatred and distrust between police and the community in less fortunate regions.
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There are many news stories and current events in America related to diversity in criminal justice. One of the news stories about diversity in criminal justice is "Is Hiring More Black Officers the Key to Reducing Police Violence?" by Jennifer Cobbina. In the article, Cobbina (2020) discusses how the many recent cases of police brutality against African-Americans make citizens question diversity in police departments. The news story shows how some advocates believe that diversity in police forces can reduce officers' violence against people of color. The article discusses its interviews with residents and protesters of Baltimore and Ferguson cities after the riots due to the deaths of Freddie Gray and Michael Brown, who were black men. The findings show that increasing representation is not the solution to the diversity problem because structural inequality and police culture creates tension between officers and the community. Therefore, for the police department to solve the issue, it must ensure residents have positive views towards officers. The move will make the community cooperate with the police officers; hence, increase their trust towards each other. Also, Cobbina (2020) argues that racial diversity in the U.S. police department has been there for ages. However, between 1987 and 2016, there was an increase in the proportion of minority police officers from fourteen to twenty-seven percent. However, the number is still low because forty percent of Americans are the minority. The article also shows that many people in Ferguson and Baltimore believe that black officers enforce the law with more respect and courtesy compared to their white colleagues (Cobbina, 2020). On the contrary, people served by black officers claim they are more aggressive when dealing with black people, which denotes that the officers' race does not reflect how they treat civilians. Also, there is a police culture that every officer should adopt, for instance, the "broken windows" policing, which makes them equal. The article shows that the policy works against the police because it creates distrust and animosity between officers and the community. The article concludes by recommending that reconciling the past by addressing the economic and educational inequities can rebuild trust in the criminal justice system.
Diversity is essential in law enforcement matters, and it is a critical area for the field. With a diverse criminal justice system, the department will earn its trust in the community, which will make its work easy ( Healey, 2012) . Also, diversity will make the justice system to educate civilians and officers ways of not using assumptions that lead to misunderstandings. Another pro of diversity in law enforcement is the department will solve crimes on time and maximize interviews with the civilians because there will be trust and cooperation with the community. Besides, diversity will make members of criminal justice communicate with different cultures well. Moreover, diversity makes all communities understand that everyone can work in criminal justice, which reduces hate among people. Finally, diversity in the criminal justice department changes people's perspectives towards how a law enforcement officer should be like, which reduces stereotyping. Also, Healey (2012) asserts that persons with changed attitudes will understand that police officers are not employed because of their personalities, but skills and merit.
References
Cobbina, J. (2020). Is hiring more black officers the key to reducing police violence? U.S.News. Retrieved at https://www.usnews.com/news/cities/articles/2020-02-05/is-hiring-more-black-officers-the-key-to-reducing-police-violence
Healey, J. F. (2012). Diversity and society: Race, ethnicity, and gender . Thousand Oaks, Calif: Pine Forge Press/Sage.
