Problem-Solving Technique Employed
The key issue of the problem was identified as public mistrust and critic of the police departments for their engaging in racial profiling, which caused the ineffectiveness of the law enforcement authorities in preventing general security. In order to rectify the problem of racial profiling, the program consisting of the following stages was implied. The first stage required identification of the issue and its impact on society and recognizing its possible causes.
The second stage required the development of appropriate policy guidance, formulating consistent provisions and procedures, providing the resources needed, and establishment of the action plan. The third stage was the implementation of the policy and conducting the ongoing monitoring of the implementation process and assessment. The final stage was the evaluation of the results of the process and the outcomes of the policy.
Potential Sources of the Problem
The factor of population growth and demographic changes in a chosen jurisdiction can be assumed to be one of the sources contributing to the racial profiling problem. The number of the population has increased by 63000 over the last 50 years, and the proportion of a racial minority has significantly risen. In these circumstances, the established organizational structure of the police department and lack of awareness about the way of operation in a racially heterogeneous society caused inappropriately, sometimes constitutionally prohibited actions of the police officers.
The other possible factor of the problem could be defined as the absence of active engagement with minority groups. Public-police regular communication is necessary for monitoring their feedback on police performance, as well as for obtaining information about the cases of racial profiling. The policy program was based on the new goals and objectives in order to improve the situation multidimensionally, including the indicated concerns.
Goals and Objectives
The project scenario was intended to improve public-policy relationships, ensuring the trust between racial minority groups and law enforcement authorities, excluding the possibility of racial profiling. Meeting this long-term target required setting the two main objectives, such as identifying instances of racial profiling within the police departments, and eliminating this social phenomenon.
Policy
The policy was targeted at the law enforcement officers and implied the rise of their awareness of the non-discriminatory tactic of the law. For the implementation of the new policy, a strategy that included particular principles has been developed. The first group of practices included general acknowledgment of the impact of racial profiling on society, engagement with ethnic minorities, monitoring, and analyzing particular instances of discrimination.
The second group was related to the human resources management within the police department and aimed for the increase of awareness about the problem by providing guidelines and organizing personal training. It also included hiring new officers who belong to racial minority groups. The third step was the preparation of an action plan and its execution.
The actions applied for policy implementation in the police department had to follow Law Enforcement standards (Civil Rights Act, 1964; Guidance, 2014) and United Nations Human Rights principles (The United Nations, 1966, art. 5(a); United Nations High Commissioner, n.d). In order to prevent the cases of racial profiling within the police departments, the norms of accountability in case of inappropriate actions of police officers were established.
Action Plan
For the successful performance of the provisions, the following concerns had to be considered:
- Providing access to human, informational, social, and financial resources;
- Determining the responsibilities of the authorities and the staff (Police Chief, Training Division Commanders, The Police Human Resources Manager, police officers).
The term expected for the execution of the program was half a year; the actions had to be accompanied by constant monitoring, analysis, and mid-term assessments. At the end of the term, the final evaluation of the design, outcomes, and limitations of policy had to be presented.
Tools for a Process and Outcome Evaluation
A process evaluation of the new policy involved the collection and analysis of data about the progress and the impact of the activeness, observing the appropriacy of the resources and advantages and disadvantages of the program. The tools used for the evaluation may be divided into quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative methods were required for process evaluation of policy included (with examples of their application):
- Headcount: the number of police officers who attended the training, the number of newly hired staff representing racial minority groups;
- Testing: checking police officers’ awareness of the law standards about racial profiling;
- Data analysis: difference in the number of collaborating community members within various racial minority groups;
- Comparison: change in the number of complaints to the Center for Justice regarding the issues of racial profiling.
Qualitative tools were used for collecting more complex and intangible data, such as the attitude of police officers, their awareness, and the level of public trust in police departments. The results were based on such methods as surveys, interviews, observations, and case studies.
Outcome evaluation has to assess the effectiveness of policy and the end of the term determined for its implementation. The tools for it also include testing, data analysis, comparison, surveys, interviews, observation, and case studies. However, unlike process evaluation, which focuses on the effectiveness of the provisions and procedures of the program, outcome evaluation assesses the result of these procedures and also its limitations and possible improvements.
Conclusion
The result of the implementation of the new policy may be evaluated as positive. The process of implantation of the new policy displayed that the overall design of the program, consideration of the resources, and determining the responsibilities were effective. As a result, the level of awareness of police officers, their effectiveness in managing social issues, as well as a public trust and desire for collaboration with law-enforcement authorities have increased, which might be proven by factual data.
Evaluation Measures
The objectives of the policy were formulated as indicating instances of racial profiling within the police department and eliminating them. The level to which the first objective has been met can be measured by the following methods:
- The number of reports about the cases of racial profiling received weekly were increasing during the policy implementation term. The reports were presented both by police officers who were engaged in communication with racial minority communities and by the members of those communities. It indicates the improvement of public-policy communication and gradual change in the general assessment of police performance;
- The appearance of case studies where newly hired police officers from racial minority groups indicated improper treatment of the issues and violating standards of the Federal Law by their department colleagues.
The evaluation of meeting the second objective can be measured by the following methods:
- The number of complaints about police harassment or ineffectiveness received by the Center for Justice has decreased since the beginning of policy implication.
- Factual data received from the anonymous surveys regarding public opinion about police performance indicated the improvement of public attitude and success in facilitating public-police trustful relations.
All described measures represent numerical data; therefore, they might be considered valid for the evaluation of policy outcomes.
References
Civil Rights Act of 1964 § 7, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq (1964). Web.
Guidance for Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Regarding the Use of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, National Origin, Religion, Sexual Orientation, or Gender Identity. (2014). U.S. Department of Justice. Web.
The United Nations. (1966). International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Treaty Series, 660, 195. Web.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Center for Human Rights. (n.d.). International human rights standards for law enforcement. Web.