The impact of civil service and affirmative action programs on minority employment in the law enforcement setting is addressed in this monograph. Each stage of the federal government's program to insure equal employment opportunity from nondiscrimination through affirmative action has been accompanied by acrimonious public debate, focusing particularly on affirmative action, which is designed to develop guidelines, timetables, and other measurable indexes by which employers can be held accountable for their progress, or lack of it, in implementing national policy. The principal burden of finding answers to the complex issues surrounding minority employment has fallen to the courts. Numerous judicial decisions, with enormous implications for police agencies, have been translated into procedural regulations covering the measures, techniques, criteria, and processes that may be used for employment decisions and employment selection. Several employment practices which may create problems in the area of employment discrimination are included. Whether due to enlightened police leadership, community pressures, political circumstances, civil service intervention, or a combination of all these factors, the racial characteristics of American policing have begun to change substantially over the past decade. Ten years ago, approximately 4 percent of the sworn police personnel in the nation were racial minorities; today, that figure has risen to 10 percent. Findings of the public service administration show that one of the most important factors in changing the nature and quality of policing is the courage and commitment of police leadership. To the extent that increasing minority and female participation in the ranks of sworn police officers is a crucial part of this change process, there is the added finding that such efforts are not enhanced by a reliance on the regulatory role of civil service. Several suggestions for institutionalizing this change process are noted.

Positive and negative effects of civil service regulations on urban police systems is the focus of this research project conducted over approximately a 2-year period beginning in November 1976. Data from the study were collected from 42 randomly selected American cities, ranging in size from 50,000 to 750,000 persons. In each study site, current civil service laws and police union contracts were collected, interviews were conducted with the most knowledgeable municipal officials and organization representatives, and police departments provided information on programs and policies in a police departmental questionnaire. Supplemental data were provided by the Police Foundation, the National Planning Association, and the FBI. The absence of an overall civil service system which governs police personnel affairs in America is noted. Civil service commissions differ from city to city in the roles they play in police personnel administration and, as a result, in the impacts they have on local officials, on police departmental programs and practices, and on the general quality of local law enforcement. While some commissions pose significant constraints on the abilities of local officials to promote innovative police programs, others work to promote departmental innovation and more efficient criminal apprehension procedures. The study examines a number of issues, among them the statutory supports for local civil service commissions and the impact of community politics and police unionism on local police personnel administration. Proposals for civil service reforms in the urban police context should be tailored to local circumstances and to meaningful variations in civil service roles. Numerous charts, footnotes, a bibliography, and diagrams illustrate the text. Appendixes include content analysis checklists for police bargaining contracts and personnel systems, a police questionnaire, an interview schedule, and a letter to urban executives.

The impact of civil service and affirmative action programs on minority employment in the law enforcement setting is addressed in this monograph. Each stage of the federal government's program to insure equal employment opportunity from nondiscrimination through affirmative action has been accompanied by acrimonious public debate, focusing particularly on affirmative action, which is designed to develop guidelines, timetables, and other measurable indexes by which employers can be held accountable for their progress, or lack of it, in implementing national policy. The principal burden of finding answers to the complex issues surrounding minority employment has fallen to the courts. Numerous judicial decisions, with enormous implications for police agencies, have been translated into procedural regulations covering the measures, techniques, criteria, and processes that may be used for employment decisions and employment selection. Several employment practices which may create problems in the area of employment discrimination are included. Whether due to enlightened police leadership, community pressures, political circumstances, civil service intervention, or a combination of all these factors, the racial characteristics of American policing have begun to change substantially over the past decade. Ten years ago, approximately 4 percent of the sworn police personnel in the nation were racial minorities; today, that figure has risen to 10 percent. Findings of the public service administration show that one of the most important factors in changing the nature and quality of policing is the courage and commitment of police leadership. To the extent that increasing minority and female participation in the ranks of sworn police officers is a crucial part of this change process, there is the added finding that such efforts are not enhanced by a reliance on the regulatory role of civil service. Several suggestions for institutionalizing this change process are noted.