BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT
C-11 YOUTH COMMUNITY SERVICE OFFICER
The Boston Police Department is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the department.
Boston Police Department employees — sworn and civilian — are our most valuable asset. The men and women of the Boston Police Department are dedicated public servants who work hard every day to serve the community. We are confident in their ability to identify and address barriers to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Boston Police Department is guided by community policing, community engagement, and procedural justice, with the communities we serve as well as our community of employees at the core.
We understand that trust is built by working closely with the community and treating people with dignity and respect. The Boston Police Department prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion in recruitment, hiring, promotion, career advancement opportunities (i.e. assignments, professional development, and training), and retention within the confines of the law, Civil Service, and collective bargaining obligations.
Definitions
Diversity: All aspects of human difference, social identities, and social group differences, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, language, culture, national origin, religion/spirituality, age, (dis)ability, military/veteran status, political perspective, and associational preferences.
Equity: Fair and just practices and policies that ensure all community members can thrive. Equity differs from equality in that equality implies treating everyone as if their experiences are the same. Being equitable means acknowledging and addressing structural inequalities, both historic and current, that advantage some and disadvantage others.
Implicit bias: Refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions unconsciously. It impacts well-intentioned people outside of conscious awareness, and the discriminatory behavior is not based on animus and is not deliberate.
Inclusion: A community where all members are and feel respected, have a sense of belonging, and are able to participate and achieve their potential.
Procedural Justice: The procedures used by law enforcement officers where community members are treated with respect, dignity, and fairness. The four elements of procedural justice are:
Respect: Treat people with dignity.
Trustworthiness: Convey worthy intentions, professional competence, and good character.
Voice: Allow a person to share their point of view.
Neutrality: Make bias-free decisions.
Importance of Diversity in Building Trust with the Community
Diversity within law enforcement agencies — including but not limited to race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, language, culture, national origin, religion/spirituality, age, (dis)ability, military/veteran status, political perspective, and background — is critical to building trust with the communities they serve. Research has found that:
When members of the public believe their law enforcement organizations represent them, understand them, and respond to them — when communities perceive authorities as fair, legitimate, and accountable — it deepens trust in law enforcement, instills public confidence in government, and supports the integrity of democracy. This trust is essential to defusing tension, solving crimes, and creating a system in which residents view law enforcement as fair and just. Victims and witnesses of crime may not approach or engage with law enforcement if they do not perceive such authorities to be responsive to their experiences and concerns. This trust and the cooperation it facilitates also enables officers to more effectively and safely perform their jobs.
The Boston Police Department is committed to strengthening relationships and building trust with the community. The BPD's model of community policing and engagement has been recognized nationally. This model includes extensive outreach, innovative programs, events, and activities, and connecting those in need with services, support, and opportunities.
Importance of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within the Department
The Boston Police Department embraces and encourages employees' differences in lived experience, race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, language, culture, national origin, religion/spirituality, age, (dis)ability, military/veteran status, political perspective, and other characteristics that make our employees unique and able to connect with the diverse communities we serve.
Affinity groups such as the Benevolent Asian Jade Society of New England, Cabo Verde Police Association, Emerald Society of the Boston Police, Gay Officers Action League (GOAL) of New England, Haitian American Law Enforcement Community (HALEC), Latino Law Enforcement Group of Boston (LLEGO), Massachusetts Association of Italian American Police Officers, Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers (MAMLEO), Massachusetts Association of Women in Law Enforcement (MAWLE), and Women in Blue play a critical role in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Department through advocacy and mentoring.
All employees of the Boston Police Department have a responsibility to treat others with fairness, dignity, and respect at all times, whether engaging with the public or with fellow employees. (See Rule 113 Public Integrity Policy, Rule 113A Bias-Free Policing, Rule 113B Transgender Policy, and Rule 114 Sexual Harassment, Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation Policy and Complaint Procedure.)
Training
The Boston Police Department is committed to ensuring that our police officers receive training in fair and impartial policing. This includes procedural justice and implicit bias. Officers also receive training in the constitutionality and proper documentation of police interactions to reduce the effects of implicit bias and more effectively serve the diverse communities they represent.
Accountability
Employees who believe they have been subjected to any kind of discrimination or have witnessed discrimination by other BPD employees should report the incident pursuant to Rule 114 Sexual Harassment, Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation Policy and Complaint Procedure. Any employee found to have exhibited inappropriate conduct or behavior against others may be subject to disciplinary action per Rule 109 Discipline Procedure.
This definition is taught at the Boston Police Academy to recruits in the Fair and Impartial Policing curriculum.
Advancing Diversity in Law Enforcement
U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, October 2016, Pg. ii
