Summary
"The federal government cannot investigate or litigate every meritorious case of employment discrimination that may exist, especially given that there are nearly 18,000 state and local law enforcement agencies in the United States. The President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, however, is uniquely situated to highlight the importance of workforce diversity for police departments and other law enforcement agencies. We believe that a crucial component of that message should be identifying barriers that undermine diversity and equal employment opportunity, while also highlighting best practices that departments can use to recruit, hire, and retain qualified and diverse personnel. We hope that the attached review—which assembles research and academic scholarship that have addressed the issue of diversity in law enforcement—can aid in that process. Although this review is not exhaustive, it is designed to provide a cross-section of relevant information that we hope will be helpful and informative to the Task Force."--Page 2.