Arrested diversity at BPD
Officers in the Boston Police Department’s most sought-after units — including homicide and gang squads — are predominantly white, while their supervisors are overwhelmingly white men, according to statistics obtained by the Herald.
Of the 224 officers working in the units — homicide, gang, drug control, fugitive apprehension and special investigation — between 61 percent and 67 percent are white men, per BPD statistics.
Of the 44 supervisors atop those five units, nearly 90 percent, or 39 of the 44, are white men. There are no white women, Hispanics or Asians in any supervisory role, stats show.
“Opportunity is not the same for me than it is for others. That’s the message they’re conveying. That if you get your foot in the door, you should be happy where you are and just sit down — that these jobs are not for you,” said Larry Ellison, president of the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers.
His group is drafting a letter to Boston police Commissioner William B. Evans saying there has been no progress under his watch to improve diversity, including within the specialized units that are among the most coveted.
Ellison, who is also a Boston police detective, hopes to send the letter later this week.
Evans hand-picks officers for these popular jobs, Ellison said.
“You have a system that has been rigged from the beginning that doesn’t allow a fair process. The commissioner says he knows who is best. That’s what he told us. How is this a fair process? You clearly are picking people who look like you,” he said.
Boston police said yesterday in a statement: “The needs of the community are the priority of the Boston Police Department. The BPD takes every opportunity we can to increase diversity in our department, and always strives for our specialized units to reflect the diverse community we serve.”
Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice, said the lack of diversity in the specialized units is creating a wedge between cops and the public. He pointed to BPD’s past difficulties solving homicides as an example.
“These are elite and highly sought after specialized units that are majority white as Boston continues to diversify and is already a majority-minority city. ... The lack of meaningful diversity within the specialized units creates distance between residents of color and our public safety officers. This contributes to mistrust and tension,” he said.
“In order to resolve many of the complex cases and investigations that are part of the day-to-day work of the specialized units, the officers need to build trust and collaborative relationships with people of color. Without more people of color in these key roles in the specialized units, it makes problem-solving in investigations harder,” Espinoza-Madrigal said.
Tanisha Sullivan, president of the NAACP Boston, said police should evaluate hiring practices for these units because greater diversity will help minorities feel safer.
Black officers in the specialized units fared better than other minorities, comprising 28 percent of the gang unit and 26 percent of homicide police.
Sullivan said: “I’m hopeful the BPD will review their hiring practices to help ensure we’re all doing all we can to not only keep our neighborhoods safe, but to also make sure that all of our residents feel safe.”