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Editorial: A police force should reflect its diverse community

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Heisey

Lancaster city police Chief Keith Sadler.

Updated

“Is my skin color a target?” read the sign hoisted by Raheem Sandoval in front of the Lancaster city police station.

We would hope not.

But Sandoval’s sign reflects a strong belief among African-Americans that they are indeed  targeted. While racial profiling is illegal, no one should deny that it still occurs.

Statistically, African-American men are more than six times more likely to be incarcerated in state and federal prisons than whites, according to the Pew Research Center analysis. That’s greater than it was in 1960. Hispanics are three times as likely to be incarcerated as whites and African-American women are three times more likely to be incarcerated than white women. Those are the facts.

And that brings us to Ferguson, Missouri, and the shooting death of   unarmed Michael Brown, a young African-American, by a white police officer.

Ferguson is a city that is 60 percent African-American with a police force that is 95 percent white.

That has raised new concerns and old fears. In the wake of the shooting, outside protest groups have seized on the black-white issue.

Related: Ferguson bound: Lancaster resident heads home to be part of protests, work for peace

But there is another factor as well: Many of the officers do not reside in Ferguson. Hence, there is no sense of community. And that may be the bigger issue.

In the wake of the shooting and protests, Ferguson Mayor James Knowles said he wants to diversify the police force.

His views are not unique. Police forces should not only reflect the population they serve, they should know the community and the people in it.

Lancaster city’s 144-person police force consists of 7 percent Hispanic police officers, or 10 officers, and 6 percent African-American officers, or 9 officers. That’s in a city that, according to the 2010 Census, is 13 percent African-American and 35 percent Hispanic.

Keith Sadler, Lancaster city’s Chief of Police and himself an African-American, would like to increase minority hiring on the force. But police departments cannot simply recruit new officers. Third-class cities such as Lancaster are bound by civil service regulations.

To address that, Sadler intends to restart the city’s cadet police program. The goal is to interest city residents between the ages of 18-21 in becoming police officers. They must enroll in college and earn their associate’s degree while working as a cadet before taking the civil service test to join the force. Nine current officers on the city’s force came through the cadet program.

In some respects, Lancaster has a head start. Police officers now serve as School Resource Officers in city schools. The students and officers know each other.

Neighborhood policing also has served the city well. That allows residents and officers to interact and build bonds.

Sadler said the shooting and resulting protests in Ferguson could happen in any town, including Lancaster.

But when police and residents know each other, when those bonds are established, things are less likely to get out of hand.

And one’s skin color may provide assistance rather than become a target.

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Heisey

Lancaster city police Chief Keith Sadler.