Monday, August 10, 2020

Investigation finds whites are over-represented in many Midwestern police forces, including rural ones

The police force is a lot whiter than the general populace in many Midwestern areas, according to a collaborative reporting project by Lee Enterprises newspapers.

Reporters at 14 newspapers and online media companies sampled 68 municipal, county and state police departments in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and found that white officers were over-represented in 62 of those agencies. The gap is seen across urban, suburban and rural areas.

"Most police and other public officials interviewed for the Lee diversity analysis acknowledged diversity in proportion to community demographics is important on police forces," the story reports. "But challenges persist in recruiting that balance, and diversity within police ranks is no panacea for the systemic racism alleged by many who continue seeking reform throughout the nation's web of law enforcement agencies, many officials throughout the four states say."

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