Predicting the employment of minority officers in U.S. cities: OLS fixed-effect panel model results for African American and Latino officers for 1993, 1996, and 2000

Using panel data collected on a representative sample of police departments serving populations of 25,000+ residents across the country in 1993, 1996, and 2000 (N = 281), fixed-effect panel models were used to assess the influence of environmental and institutional variables on the hiring of African American and Latino officers. The primary findings were that the presence of a substantial minority population was among the most important predictors of minority officer employment in city police departments. The presence of a Latino mayor and the presence of an African American or a Latino police chief were also significantly associated with increased minority police officer employment. Additionally, no evidence was found to suggest a detrimental impact caused by different minority groups competing with each other for limited police employment resources. Implications for future research are discussed in some detail.