“A Piece of the PIE” and More: Competition and Hispanic Employment on Urban Police Forces

• Published in: Urban Affairs Quarterly 1999-01, Vol.34 (3), p.456-475
• Main Authors: Alozie, Nicholas O., Ramirez, Enrique J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cities; Competition; Employment; Employment discrimination; Employment Opportunities; Equal opportunities; Ethnic aspects; Ethnic groups; FEMALE SEX; Females; Gender aspects; Hiring Practices; Hispanic American people; Hispanic Americans; Hispanics; Law enforcement; LOCAL GOVERNMENT; Metropolitan areas; Minorities; MINORITY GROUPS; POLICE; Police Community Relations; Police officers; Policing; United States; United States of America; Urban Affairs; Urban Areas; USA; Whites; Work with minorities; WORKERS, LABORERS, AND WORKING CONDITIONS
• ISSN: 1078-0874; 0042-0816; 1552-8332
• DOI: 10.1177/10780879922184022

Further diversification of local police forces is essential in any systematic response to current difficulties in police-minority relations. The authors explore the relevance of out-and intragroup competition on Hispanic employment—one dimension of police diversification. The results indicate that competition is relevant in any dialogue on evolving ethnically diverse police forces or on increasing the role of Hispanic women. Black employment casts a negative influence on Hispanic employment generally, and that negative influence extends to Hispanic males and females separately. Generally, white females compete with Hispanics, particularly in minority Hispanic cities. Within Hispanic groups, the successes of Hispanic males and Hispanic females are zero-sum.