Improving African-American Representation in the Brooklyn Park Police Department

Report and presentation completed by students enrolled in PA 8081: Master of Public Affairs Capstone Workshop, taught by Greg Lindsey in fall 2016.This project was completed as part of the 2016-2017 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with the City of Brooklyn Park. Brooklyn Park is one of the most diverse cities in Minnesota, but the Brooklyn Park Police Department currently does not reflect this diversity. To develop a police force that is more representative of city demographics, Brooklyn Park wanted to identify proven methods for recruiting more applicants of color. City of Brooklyn Park project lead, Deputy Police Chief Mark Bruley, worked with two students in Dr. Greg Lindsey’s PA 8081 capstone course to analyze available data to determine the demographics of students enrolled in police training programs in Minnesota. Based on this analysis and interviews with key stakeholders, the students recommended that Brooklyn Park examine current barriers for applicants of color, use pro-diversity messaging in recruitment, reach out to current African American police officers, and embrace diversity as a means to improve performance. The students' final report and presentation are available.This project was supported by the Resilient Communities Project (RCP), a program at the University of Minnesota whose mission is to connect communities in Minnesota with U of MN faculty and students to advance local sustainability and resilience through collaborative, course-based projects. RCP is a program of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA). More information at http://www.rcp.umn.edu