Grand Valley Police Academy Growing In Size Diversity

The Grand Valley State University Police Academy educates and trains police recruits so they graduate with the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to begin a successful career in law enforcement. Grand Valley is known as a leader in the state for police academy training and has been setting the bar for law enforcement for over 40 years. ...

Some departments — including many of the largest, like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Dallas — narrowed the gap between the share of white police officers and white residents when comparing 2016 with 2007. But most police forces did not keep pace with the changing demographics of their cities, as the charts below show. ...

Researchers have found that greater diversity in police departments and local government boosts trust in those institutions in nonwhite neighborhoods. Some have also found that white officers are more likely than Black officers to use guns or other force in neighborhoods where the majority of residents are not white. ...

For example, according to the data, Chicago’s 12,000-member police department grew more diverse in 2016 compared with 2007, relative to the city it serves. But the shift in demographics did not necessarily translate to improved relationships with Black and Hispanic communities and other communities of color. ...