Workforce Diversity in Police Hiring: The Influence of Organizational Characteristics

Abstract In recent years, many law enforcement agencies have found themselves in legitimacy crises, where police have difficulty winning the support and trust of the communities that they serve. One strategy suggested to improve legitimacy is developing personnel rosters that share demographic characteristics with a jurisdiction’s service population. This study examines how characteristics of police agencies, including existing workforce diversity, predict subsequent success in hiring non-White applicants. We merge applicant and hiring data from agencies reporting to the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) with organizational data from the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies (CSLLEA). Results suggest that existing workforce diversity and some measures of organizational complexity influence successful hiring of non-White applicants.