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Do Racial Minority Applicants Have a Better Chance to Be Recruited in Predominately White Neighborhoods? An Empirical Study

Ball State University

For decades, police departments across the nation have made notable progress in aggressively recruiting racial minority officers and female officers. The main controversy is primarily centered on the adverse impact of recruitrelated testing, such as psychological tests, on racial minority applicants. This study examines racial disparity in the police selection process by analyzing the effect of race on police department recruitment decisions. Results show that the applicant’s race is not correlated with the department recruitment decision. This study also finds that racial minority applicants are less likely to be recommended by psychologists on the basis of psychological testing and assessment. Interestingly, a psychologist’s recommendation does not have any significant impact on police recruitment decisions among the non-White group. Most importantly, this study finds that racial minority applicants in the police selection process have no apparent preferential privilege in a predominately White community.

Key Words: police recruitment • minority police applicants • officer selection • recruitment decision

Police Quarterly, Vol. 8, No. 4, 454-475 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1098611104265533


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