Essay on Hiring and Recruitment of Police Officers

The hiring and recruitment of new officers in the law enforcement is one of the more important issues in law enforcement.  These new law enforcement officers will augment the need for more police visibility.  They will also help in addressing the problem of crime.  They will be the one’s who will enforce the law in the community.  Moreover, these newly hired law enforcement officers will eventually replace and occupy the position of senior officers.  For this reason, the hiring and recruitment of new law enforcement officers should be its priority.

However, the reality is that the hiring and recruitment of law enforcement officers is not considered a priority in many police departments.  Oftentimes, those in charge in the hiring and recruitment of police officers neglect to take into account that there are existing laws and Supreme Court decisions that should be observed. 

It must be emphasized that regardless of the opinion of the recruitment officers, these laws are applicable even to law enforcement officers.  For instance, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on act of sex, or race.  This law makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an employee on account of his sex or even race.  Recent laws and Supreme Court decisions also aim to protect the majority in cases of reverse discrimination.  Reverse discrimination happens when there is discrimination against members of a dominant or majority group usually as a result from policies established to correct discrimination against members of a minority or disadvantaged group.  For instance, employers who seek to avoid liabilities by ensuring that the company’s hiring policies accommodate the minority should avoid setting a quota in hiring minorities.  Employers should realize that establishing a quota or a fixed number of minorities to be hired in effect discriminates against the majority.  Thus, any hiring policies to be adopted should be in relation to an overall affirmation action plan.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibits discrimination on the basis of age.  If an applicant possesses all of the qualifications and none of the disqualifications then he should not be disqualified or terminated on account of his age.  The Equal Pay Act also prohibits discrimination in pay (Suzanne M. Crampton, p.1).  If two employees perform the same task and responsibility and have the same qualifications and work experience, there should not be distinction on pay simply on account of gender. 

The law enforcement officers should also be updated on recent Supreme Court decisions as they could also be the basis of a suit against the police department.  In many countries, Supreme Court decisions are accorded respect and they have the impact similar to any other laws.  In many instances, the Supreme Court decisions supply the inadequacies of the law and render interpretations that broaden the application of the law.  

The case of Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 527 US 775 (1998), highlights that the state is not immune from suits from its employees.  In this case, a female employee who works as a lifeguard brought an action against the City and her immediate supervisor alleging that her supervisors had created a “sexually hostile atmosphere” at work by subjecting her repeatedly and other female lifeguards to uninvited and offensive touching and by speaking of women in offensive terms.  This case has been used by many female employees in filing sexual harassment suits against their employer and the state.

If the police department will neglect to take into account these laws and Supreme Court decisions it may be sued by its employees for violation of their rights.  They may be rendered liable for moral damages suffered by their employees.

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