Does Diversity Matter? Police Violence, Minority Representation, and Urban Policing

Abstract

This paper argues that, while increasing officer diversity may prove beneficial to some urban departments, for the majority, increased diversity within law enforcement does not substantially decrease the amount of violence towards racial minorities due to police culture and institutional practices. Specifically, I examine how structural policing methods target and excessively monitor Black and Hispanic communities, which leads to increased police encounters. Through police culture, these increased encounters then create further opportunities for acts of violence to be used against these minority communities. I begin by discussing several claims regarding the value of increased officer diversity. I then discuss why these claims do not prove beneficial to decreasing violence against racial minorities through various aspects of police culture and policing methods. Honorable Mention, 2022 short-form paper prize