Does Diversity and Multicultural Training Work for Police Training?

One main hot topic that is now under debate is whether training police officers in the areas of diversity and multiculturalism is effective. I will address this issue in this paper. I will use the articles, 'The relationship between multicultural training for police and effective law enforcement" and "Incorporating diversity police response to multicultural changes in their communities" to argue whether this training seems to be working from the author's perspective.

Coderoni's, 'The relationship between multicultural training for police and effective law enforcement" was an article for Federal Bureau of Investigation officers addressing the topic of multicultural training. He spells out why it is so imperative for departments to not only have training on this topic, but to make sure that the training is effective. His main reasoning behind making this such an essential training step is because of how much money it can cost a department in lawsuits and loss of community support (16). He stated that 90 percent of all civil disorder conflicts that have happened in the United States have been conflicts between the police and the citizens. If they can find ways to improve relations and sensitivities between these groups, the rate of civil disorder should drop also.

He believes that some police officers, just like citizens, tend to think of people only by their race (Coderoni 17). They do not take into consideration the differences that can occur even within races. Just because someone looks Asian does not mean that they have the same values. There is a large difference in the way each specific nationality and culture acts and reacts to certain situations (18). There will also be a large difference in people that have migrated to the United States compared to the ones that have been born and raised on American soil. If officers stereotype or treat them all the same, then many of them will grow to resent or distrust them (17). He believes that training officers to work with all of these groups will lead to better community/police relations (18).

In Bennet's article, "Incorporating diversity police response to multicultural changes in their communities," he shows how training officers' diversity has helped the officers in four cities in California react to a minority population that is half of their community population. The cities all came up with unique ways that have worked to make their communities work well with the police.

One of the main methods to promote cultural awareness was to hire very diverse officers that represent all cultures in their command area (Bennet 1). They would attend events that were catered towards minorities to try to recruit officers. Bonuses are given to every officer that learns, or knows, more than one language. Programs were even developed to help potential recruits that don't speak English as their first language pass tests and training so they could use their skills with the minority population (2). This is a method that can save huge amounts of time, hassle, and money for departments

Another essential component of the plan is to involve the community in the multicultural training programs (Bennet 2). Each race and minority group within these communities has their own "advisory group" that meets with the police to inform them of issues in their neighborhoods. Youth programs and citizen police academies were formed to inform and involve citizens in the daily police functions (3). Incorporating community policing into these areas has also greatly improved the relations between the citizens and police.

Both Coderoni and Bennett come to the same conclusion as our textbook, "Police Administration 5^th edition," that multicultural and diversity training is an invaluable tool in the relations between police and community. Training officers how to handle different groups and by them knowing how they could possibly react to certain situations could make a massive impact on how these groups interact with the police. All three articles all stress the importance of the hiring process in this issue. The best way for a community to be served by its police is by an officer of the same group or at least an officer that is fluent in their language. A department can save money and resources by hiring someone that is already well acquainted with these groups and knows that language instead of training someone else that has to be taught everything from scratch.

The only issue that is not addressed in the Bennet article that is explained in the Coderoni article is the argument that if the training isn't right then it can actually do more harm than good. By Bennet's view all of the training in the four cities he studied was effective. Coderoni had a much larger audience in the entire FBI which may explain why this was not dealt with in the Bennet article.

I do believe that training officers the core values and language of the citizens they serve is something that should be an essential element of any department. It is after all the community that gives the officers the power to police them. If the officers cannot respond to their need and concerns, they will not be effective or wanted members of the overall community.

References Cited

Bennet, B.R. (1995) Incorporating diversity police response to multicultural changes in their communities. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. 64, 1-6. Retrieved May 4, 2007, from the WilsonSelect database.

Coderoni, G.R. (2002) The relationship between multicultural training for police and effective law enforcement. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. 71(11), 16-18. Retrieved May 4, 2007, from the WilsonSelect database.

Cordner, G.W., Scarborough, K.E., & Sheehan R. Police Administration 5^th edition. (2004). Anderson Publishing Company.