Affirmative Action and the Police

Paper Summary:

This paper studies the morality and efficacy of following an affirmative action policy for making decisions regarding the hiring and promoting of police officers. The author bases his findings on a case study of the Pittsburgh police force, focusing in particular on the hiring of women.
I Introduction to Affirmative Action and the Pittsburgh Police Department
A. Affirmative Action as a Policy
B. Affirmative Action Under Attack
II The Pittsburgh Police Department
A. Statistics on New Cadets Over the Past Three Years
III The Importance of a Diverse Police Department
A. Moral Question
B. Psychologically Important for Victims and Witnesses
C. Psychologically Important for Young People
D. Potentially Better Suited for Job
IV Census Statistics
A. Population of Pittsburgh
B. Gender Breakdown of Pittsburgh
C. Racial Breakdown of Pittsburgh
D. Minority Officer/Resident Ratio in Pittsburgh
V Pittsburgh P.D.'s Policy Effect on Women
A. Number of Females in the Pittsburgh Police Department
B. Effect of the Policy Change on Number of Women in Pittsburgh Police Department
C. Comparison with Number of Female Police Officers in Other Large Cities
VI Police Department Hiring Procedures that are a Deterrent to Females and Minorities
A. Military Record
B. College Requirement
VII Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Affirmative action. Only a few public policy issues, namely abortion and capital punishment, can evoke such strong opinions as affirmative action. Some say that it is an outdated policy that is no longer needed while other claim that affirmative action is needed now more than ever. Some claim that affirmative action is grounded in the constitution while others claim that the whole concept of affirmative action is unconstitutional. Today, affirmative action policies are under attack. Universities are under fire for using race as a component in admission processes as are private companies making hiring decisions based on race. Every day in the news seems to bring more news of affirmative action. How then is a company or a local government to handle this policy? Some have taken the steps of reaffirming affirmative action, private schools claiming that they will continue the policy even if the courts make it illegal for public schools to do so. Companies, striving to be as community-friendly as possible saying that they will continue to be blind in their hiring process, while other institutions and local governments have gotten rid of affirmative action altogether."

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• Argumentative Essay # 98484 : "Affirmative Action"

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