Who are police today? On the January 21st edition of Your Call, we’ll continue our series on police, community, race and justice with a conversation about police departments across the country. The total number of minority police officers has risen, but they’re concentrated in larger cities. The percentage of white cops is more than 30 points higher than in the communities they serve, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. What does the police force look like in your area? It's Your Call, with me, Rose Aguilar, and you.
Guests:
Jim Chanin, civil rights attorney based in the East Bay.
Marion Jackson, board member with Officers for Justice, an organization representing police of color in the city.
Web Resources:
Reuters: Off Duty, Black Cops in NY Feel Threat from Fellow Police
NPR: Strife In Ferguson Focuses Microscope On Police Diversity
Washington Post: Where Police Forces Don’t Resemble the Community (Interactive map)
Washington Post: Where minority communities still have overwhelmingly white police
Washington Post: Do diverse police forces treat their communities more fairly than almost-all-white ones like Ferguson’s?
National Journal: Obama Confronts Race Relations and Ferguson in State of the Union Address
Mercury News: Ranks of Bay Area police departments largely white