Before answering the question of why diversity is important, we need to understand what it is. According to Belfield, “multiculturalism is a system of beliefs and behaviors that recognizes and respects the presence of all diverse groups in an organization or society, recognizes and values ​​their sociocultural differences, and encourages and enables their continued contribution within a cultural context inclusive. that empowers everyone within the organization or society.” To put it simply, it is the exchange of knowledge and understanding of other cultures for the betterment of humanity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay The growing tensions between law enforcement and the public have reached a boiling point and they are starting to boil over. Some will say tensions are as high as they were during the civil rights era of the early 1960s, others will say they are worse. These conditions have left lawmakers and law enforcement officials searching for answers on how to repair their relationship with the public and become an entity in which the people can place their trust. To aid in the research, in 2015, President Obama created the 21st Century Policing Task Force. This task force brought together a diverse group including law enforcement officials, community advocates, legislators and community members, to explore ways to improve community-police relations, reduce crime and to advance public safety in the 21st century. In one of their key findings aimed at building better police-community relations, they focused on the need to ensure law enforcement agencies better reflect the diversity of the communities they serve. Through their research, they discovered that a more diverse police force can bring about many changes. and reforms not only for law enforcement, but also for the community as a whole. This is supported by years of studies and research confirming that when members of the public believe that their law enforcement agencies represent them, listen to them, respect them and when communities perceive their agencies as fair, legitimate and accountable , this greatly increases their confidence in law enforcement and engenders trust in their government. This trust is crucial to defusing tensions in the community, allows law enforcement to better solve crimes, and creates a system in which residents view law enforcement as fair and equitable. Members of the public, including victims and witnesses of crime, cannot approach or interact with law enforcement if they do not perceive that their concerns are being addressed. An example of this is in urban communities where the police are unable to find cooperating witnesses to a crime because the witnesses feel that the police are unable to protect them or do their job properly. This improved relationship also allows police officers to act more effectively and safely in the field and rid neighborhoods of the stigma they have toward the police. This study also showed that the greater the diversity within the agency, the more open it is to reform. According to the report by the Department of Justice/EEOC, "Research further suggests that increased diversity can make agencies burdenedof law enforcement more open to reform, more willing to initiate cultural and systemic changes, and more responsive to the residents they serve. Some pointed to increased diversity as a catalyst for reform, allowing law enforcement officers and leaders to become more introspective and thoughtful about their department's problems. A more thoughtful and open-minded culture within an agency can help drive reforms across a range of areas, including civilian oversight, community policing, and racial bias. Furthermore, while greater workforce diversity alone cannot ensure fair and effective policing, a large – and growing – body of evidence suggests that diversity can have a positive influence on specific activities and practices of law enforcement. Diversity should not only apply to minorities but also to women. Women make up 51% of the U.S. population, but they make up only 12% of police officers nationwide. The advantages of female officers have already been proven time and time again. Research has shown that female police officers have a policing style that uses less physical force, leading to fewer complaints of excessive force and less accountability. It also showed that they are more effective at defusing potentially violent confrontations with the public and communicate better than their male police colleagues. Because of these great benefits, law enforcement as a whole must make a substantial effort to hire more minorities and women into the workforce. However, this goal will not be easy to achieve as there are many obstacles preventing this from happening. Barriers to Diversity Diversity is an issue that has plagued law enforcement for years, and this isn't the first attempt to diversify the ranks. Over the past 20 years, departments across the country have worked to diversify their workforces, but without much success. Even departments that were mandated by the federal government to diversify have had difficulty achieving their objectives. The Chicago Police Department (CPD) has been on a hiring spree over the past three years, trying to increase the size of its force to help deal with rising crime rates and rising rates of retirements from the department. The testing process itself can be a barrier to hiring minorities and women. According to the Chicago Tribune, the department was successful in getting a higher percentage of minorities applying to the department and taking the entrance exam, 38% of applicants were black the last time CPD held an exam before May 2018, but the number of black officers decreased slightly. CPD officials say that while the number of black applicants has increased, they are not seeing the same number taking the exam. Statistics from the December 2017 test showed that 44% of black test takers did not take the exam. City leaders believe other parts of the hiring process unfairly screen out black applicants and that's why they are discouraged from taking the exam. They believe a change in education requirements and debt and credit policy would allow more minorities to access these positions. The biggest obstacle to overcome is poor relations between the community and law enforcement. This leads to a "Catch 22", diversity may be the answer to better community-police relations, but poor relations may also be the reason why.