EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Diversity in personnel crucial for efficient police force

Diversity in personnel crucial for efficient police force

Introduction

After twenty years of diversity policy, The Dutch police have a bad image when it comes to the status of immigrant police officers. There have been sporadic reports in various media concerning discrimination, too little inflow, and poor chances for promotion of immigrant officers within the police organisation. In research by Mohammed Essafi and Kam Mai Tan of PriceWaterhouseCoopers the authors argue for a clearer vision of diversity within the Dutch police force. A vision that could enjoy an inspiring interpretation both at the level of the Raad van Hoofdcommissarissen (RHC) as of the police officer on the beat. This vision attempts to do justice to the crucial importance of diversity for the performance of the Dutch police in the future.

Proposition

How can the police achieve internal diversity?

Description

The police should regard diversity as a 'business case'. In the past, positive discrimination was used by the police as a means of acquiring immigrant personnel. These employees, however, did not possess the necessary skills, and as a result, their work did not fulfil expectations. This led to a negative image of the abilities of immigrant workers. A good diversity policy can lead to an ideal balance of personnel and in turn to maximised achievement within the police force.

The task of the police is to be a binding element and to guarantee security.

In order to achieve this, they should have a good relationship with the community and be sensitive as to how to deal with various situations. Immigrant police officers can make contact more easily with immigrant citizens; they can question them more effectively, and have better knowledge of the language, beliefs and culture of their own group.

Conclusions

PriceWaterhouseCoopers has used the five-pronged model as a proposed handle for introducing more diversity. The model consists of the following points:

Leadership: the involvement of directors and (top) managers in the deployment of diversity management is of utmost importance. Leaders bear the standard, are committed, are role models and are the guardians of diversity within the organisation.
Policy: there needs to be a clear diversity policy or a vision concerning diversity. The drawing up of this policy starts with the formulation of a clear mission.
Organisational culture: diversity should not exist on paper alone, but also within the minds of employees. This calls for a change in behaviour and the stimulus of understanding, tolerance and mutual respect. Middle management plays a crucial role here.
Organisational structure: diversity has to be integrated within existing processes and anchored in the organisational structure. This concerns rules, procedures and formal statements.
Instruments: diversity must then be translated into tangible instruments: Recruitment and selection instruments, assessment instruments and monitoring instruments. These are necessary for monitoring results and performance agreements effectively.

In summary: "Diversity calls for a full approach, supported by both top and middle management. Diversity must be integrated within existing organisational processes and must become a self-evident part of the culture."

Contact info

PriceWaterhouseCoopers
www.pwc.nl
Mohammed Essafi (Senior Advisor), tel. 0031 (0)20 568 48 94

Publication date

01/12/2007

Project finished

01/12/2007

Researcher

Mohammed Essafi and Kam Mai Tan

Click here to download the full article "Meer schakeringen, sterker blauw" (PDF, NL, 285 kB)

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration

Keywords

Integration of social groups