New Cop Class 70% White

I can already read the comments;

'Why the focus on race??"
"I just want the most qualified!"
"Who cares where they are from?!"

I want my police department to reflect my community... and live in my community- just like all the other communities get to have.

Better, less click bait headline:

New NHPD class, 100% human.

Stop the divisive rhetoric.

77% SUBURBAN? And Hartman says that's an improvement?

WVM,

You'll have your wish when the people you're imagining first apply and then surpass other applicants in testing.

Garbage headline.
The enrollment was open to all, just like teachers firemen and public works.
These numbers suggest that either the Caucasian minority of new haven is more interested in the job, or that someone did an awful job trying to diversify the process. Either way, not the new recruits problem

Headline should have read Cop class 70% white because minorities either A. Did not pass written test, B. Did not pass physical agility test , C. Did not pass background check, D. Did not pass polygraph test or, E. Did not pass Psychological test. Those are the requirements everyone needs to pass to become a police officer, Living in New Haven gets extra points but if you can't pass the requirements Your as they say out of luck !. P.S. they went down i 114 slots on the list to get that class in.

Robn, Too bad it's not that simple. Very complex problem that most likely not be dealt with in our lifetime.

Westville Man, I support affirmative action. The city should actively recruit people from populations that have been historically underrepresented in the NHPD ranks and regularly review its tests to ensure that they do not discriminate on the basis of race, etc. But assuming these conditions have been met, the fact that 70% of the successful applicants are white is not a problem. The labor market is regional - lots of city residents work in the suburbs and vice versa. I would guess that the region is about 70% non-Hispanic white, so it is not suprising that this is the proportion of successful applicants. I understamd the argument that police officers should largely come from the communities they are working with, but state law precludes a residency requirement.

To NHI - What a disgusting headline. There's nothing wrong with a news agency provoking public thought, however, If I were a new recruit, I'd feel slighted. I'd feel that my contribution was for not.

Policing nationwide does not equally reflect each community. No one argues that it does, but instead of welcoming those who are embarking on a dangerous career; instead of applauding an individual's decision to delve into a physically and mentally taxing vocation - one based entirely on protecting our community, you've "profiled" first.

The public generally has no idea of the recruitment efforts undertaken by a city police department. With an aggressive campaign to recruit minority men and women, the end result is a list of candidates that must and do meet the same criteria. There aren't different qualifying standards based on race, gender, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation.

This is how it works: the city announces the enrollment. Those interested apply. Physical agility, Civil Service, polygraph and psychological tests are taken. Those who've passed are investigated based on the same standards. Those who best satisfy those standards are offered enrollment into the academy. That's it.

Disqualifications from the list this class was chosen reflect the applicant pool. To A. T; Yes. It's an improvement. The New Haven residents from the last three classes were 5, 3 & 0. Seven is an improvement. Thanks NoClovers. We're 100% human.

Thanks Bradley, but like I said- it's due to a very complex set of issues that are beyond posts on the NHI. Even your post reflects some, not all, of the difficulties ("the city should"...."assuming these conditions have been met").

I'll leave it at that.

@ Ozzie

I have to say that the idea that the NHPD qualification guidelines are the only thing that leads to the demographic imbalance in the new class is preposterous. Have you never heard of white privilege? Are you turning a conveniently blind eye to the decades of unfair treatment of minority communities at the hands of the police?

@ Hartmann

I applaud the NHI for the provocative headline. In an era in which race relations and policing are justifiably in the front of everyone's mind, I think taking a look at the racial makeup of the new class of people who will serve and protect our community is the duty of responsible journalists.

@ NoClovers

If only it were so simple as that we're all 100% human. The results of white privilege are so deep in our culture that a statement like that is decades away from having any validity. That being said, it's not the NHPD's responsibility to solve that problem. But, they can do a better job of finding a more diverse set of recruits.

"NHPD recruits 87% right handed" does that mean left handed people were discriminated on? No, it is that simple. 100% human. Stop with the privilege non sense.

People that succeed in society: hard workers, focused, stable and supporting families, level headed, social, positive and driven.

Possess or develop those qualities, results will follow.

@ NoClovers

The handedness comment has no relevance. Around the 87% you quoted is the actual number of right-handed people in the general population: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-are-more-people-right/ So, in that case 87% would be representative of the community being policed. More importantly, there is very little history of people being abused; denied housing, jobs, and services; denied the right to vote; denied entry into the country; and so on because they were left-handed.

21 white, 6 black, and 3 Latino do not represent New Haven's population at all. That's the main point. More people who have experienced a life with the privileges of their race, than people who have not.

Denying white privilege is simply a denial of the facts. There's no other way to spin that. It is only being privileged that allows for someone to not acknowledge that privilege exists. If you're not totally set in your dogma, answer some of these questions: https://www.deanza.edu/faculty/lewisjulie/White Priviledge Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.pdf, and see what they tell you about privilege.

If you care to learn more, come to the dinner and conversation about racism and privilege at the Stetson Library on 2/17 at 5:30. You might be surprised by what you hear.

Will never understand the decision to want to discriminate against any candidate who scored higher, came more prepared for test, or had a cleaner background due to skin color. I suppose the content of their character is irrelevant.

Doesn't the city receive much of its funding through State assistance? Why can't the avability of a public servant position be open to the entire public?

Billy- where can I find more about the racism discussion at the library on 2/17? Library web page wasn't to easy to navigate. thanks.