A special commission on racial diversity within the Massachusetts State Police is facing criticism over some of its eight featured recommendations. One recommendation proposes that the department train recruit classes on a standardized time basis rather than the current nonperiodic approach, which has undercut diversity outreach.
The commission was spurred by a 2017 Boston Globe investigation into widespread cases of discrimination and severely inappropriate behavior. Through interviews and court documents, state troopers and civilians claim to have experienced “racist jokes, homophobic taunts, sexual advances, and lewd remarks,” which the state has paid hundreds of thousands to settle.
Troopers also have said that bias affects employment decisions. At least nine troopers have alleged employment discrimination — whether it be in the form of promotions or preferable assignments — based on their race or gender through lawsuits.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker did not comment directly on the alleged discrimination and harassment within the State Police. However, in a Globe article Baker did say, “There’s no room for discrimination of any kind anywhere.”
Other recommendations include eliminating a ban on visible tattoos and favoring individuals who demonstrate proficiency in a second language or successfully complete a program that teaches high schoolers about the duties of state troopers.
However, the recommendations justifiably did not receive the full support of the commissioners.
Proposing a regulated time for recruitment is a stepping stone to help diversify. It opens up the potential for the state to reach out to underrepresented minorities for recruitment. But it does not ensure it.
Favoring those who know a second language does not necessarily tie into promoting gender or race. However, considering there are many Massachusetts residents who don’t speak English, this proposal will help state troopers communicate with all of the people it serves to protect.
About 72 percent of Massachusetts’ residents identify as “white alone, not Hispanic or Latino,” according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Yet as of last September, 89 percent of the State Police force were white, according to department statistics given in a Globe article.
Ninety-four percent were male, and of the people with a top rank in the department, nearly 91 percent of them were white men, and the other 9 percent were white women.
Any organization that is 89 percent white and 94 percent male needs a shakeup.
In a 2016 U.S. Department of Justice report on “Advancing Diversity in Law Enforcement,” the following was said: “When members of the public believe their law enforcement organizations represent them, understand them, and respond to them … it deepens trust in law enforcement, instills public confidence in government, and supports the integrity of democracy.”
A dominantly white male police force is not representative of the communities it serves. This can lead to a non-sympathetic culture that is more likely to commit acts of systemic racial profiling and misogyny.
This commission is clearly far from a complete solution. Rather, the recommendations can be a stepping stone in undoing the wrongs of the Massachusetts State Police force.
