Police-Community Partnership: Exploring the Impact of Cultural Diversity - Essay Sample

Introduction

Cultural diversity has overtime proved to be a critical force in law enforcement, and yet a significant challenge in its various operations. This diversity has often been considered a crucial source of cultural understanding, varying language skills, and a key component for the collaboration of law enforcement and citizens through community policing. The legitimacy of a police department or a force sent to a community lies in the resemblance in culture and identity that the policemen share with the target community, and this thus creates a necessity for law enforcement to develop a pool of culture that avails different cultural resources in terms of policemen to such communities (Matthies, Keller & Lim, 2012). However, the trend in the United States criminal justice systems and particularly law enforcement is heartbreaking as most of the posts and department experience a wave of cultural and gender uniformity mostly consisted of the Caucasian male officers thus leaving out racial and gender minorities. In most cases, this is an issue that stems from the leadership of the criminal justice system and perforates down the other ranks, making the mainstream culture the only culture within these systems. It is thus critical to analyze the issue of diversity in reference to the case scenario and evaluate the impacts that a culturally stringent leadership has on collaborating with other agencies, and in fighting crime.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Effect of Sheriff's Racial Perspective on His Leadership Role and Interaction With Another Agency

The criminal justice system has been mandated with the responsibility of ensuring that all Americans, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion or socioeconomic status are treated in a manner that is just and respectful. This is a role that has been entrusted to the police leaders, generals, and sheriffs. Ever since the advent of globalization, cultural diversity has been emphasized as a significant trend in any department or organization. While a lot has been said regarding the diversification of the criminal justice system, it is up to the heads of the various department to actualize these pleas (Pizzaro, 2018). However, to a Sherriff like Jones, who is openly against a diverse police force, he speaks volumes to his minors and the communities he operates within. Leadership and power are often intertwined, but once race is introduced as part of the leadership, the power becomes a weapon of institutionalized inequalities that provide privileges to individual perspectives and communities at the expense of other (Ospina & Foldy, 2009). Therefore, the Sherriff's role is no longer one that involves the imparting of values to his minors, but rather one that spreads malice against racial minorities, owing to the fact that his force is purely Caucasian. This trend would also create a problem as the Sheriff's department collaborates with the FBI, more so given that the FBI is led by an agent with an Asian origin. His view of the other racial groups as minor races will probably have him view the agent as inferior, and his views and opinions likewise.

Impacts on Community and the FBI Relations

Police departments are often a multifaceted unit that aims to represent every member of the communities they operate within. However, when such a department assumes a single face, this becomes problematic to the others. Cultural diversity within the police department boosts police legitimacy and create a sense of trust in the work that the police do, more so when it comes to racially sidelined communities (Oliver). These communities develop a sense of confidence in law enforcement and thus outgrow their fear of police brutality. However, when this diversity is unavailable, spite, lack of confidence, and fear dominated the police-community relations. This is the fate that the Sherriff's department is bound to, regarding its leader's attitudes and the composition of the force. Therefore, there is an anticipated repulsion from the community. Jurisdictions often create tension between departments and agencies. However, it is the leaders of the groups that often eliminate these tensions. The Sherriff and the Asian FBI agent are bound to cross paths, judging from the reaction of the Sherriff once aware he would be working with him.

Possible Moral Problems

In the cause of the operation, were the Sherriff to hold back critical information regarding the perpetrator leading to his escape, he would be causing a moral and ethical breach. The law enforcement code of ethics demands that a police officer refrains from prejudice and act with no compromise to crime. It similarly permits the concealing of confidential information unless required of the work. Therefore, by concealing information that might result in the escape of a suspect, the Sherriff commits an ethical offense. As a leader, the entire department follows in his footsteps. Therefore, his lie creates a cycle that is bound to be repeated by his juniors. The officers will, thus gradually emulate his actions. This is not to state that they lack autonomy, but the tendency of those who follow to master this as a norm is high.

Conclusion

Diversity had dominated various aspects of human life. Organizations, states, departments, and institutions strive to ensure that they are an accommodative environment for people of diverse racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, gender, or political groups. Diversity is more so critical in law enforcement as it creates a representation of the force as a comprehensive unit. However, when this diversity lacks, communities lose their trust in the efforts and decisions made by law enforcement. Diversity starts at the head and down to the different organs of a department, and it is thus crucial that police leaders master this.

References

Matthies C. F., Keller K. M. & Lim N. (2012). Identifying Barriers to Diversity in Law Enforcement Agencies. Issues in Policing. Pp. 1-12. Retrieved from https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/occasional_papers/2012/RAND_OP370.pdf

Oliver P. creating a multicultural law enforcement agency: an intentional priority. Police Chief Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/creating-a-multicultural-law-enforcement-agency/

Ospina S. & Foldy E. G. (2009). A Critical Review of Race and Ethnicity in the Leadership Literature: Surfacing Context, Power and the Collective Dimensions of Leadership. The Leadership Quarterly. 20. Pp. 876-896. DOI: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2009.09.005

Pizzaro J. M. (2018). Diversity in criminology and criminal justice: a cautionary note for administrators. The criminologist. 43(1). Pp. 1-7. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322644655_Diversity_in_Criminology_and_Criminal_Justice_A_Cautionary_Note_for_Administrators