Discrimination in the Criminal Justice Workplace

Gregory P. Orvis

At the beginning of the twentieth century, there were virtually no women or minorities employed in the U.S. criminal justice system, as employment discrimination by law and practice kept qualified individuals from pursuing criminal justice careers. Although changes in employment law since the 1960s have reversed the legal bias, some discrimination still exists. By the turn of the twenty-first century, great strides had been taken towards greater representation of women and minorities in criminal justice administration. Still, discriminatory practice can keep qualified candidates from being hired and promoted, and minority and female employees in the criminal justice system may suffer significantly greater job stress than their white male counterparts. As of June 1998, federal agencies employed over 83,000 full-time nonmilitary personnel authorized to carry firearms and make arrests (i.e., sworn officers); 14.2 percent of these were women, and 29.4 percent were members of a racial or ethnic minority. Percentages varied ...

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