James D. Ward

RACE, ETHNICITY, AND LAW ENFORCEMENT PROFILING: IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC POLICY

The proposed Traffic Stops Statistics Study Act of 2001—Title II of Senate Bill 19 of the 107th Congress—was the third consecutive legislative proposal aimed at addressing the perceived problems of racial profiling and police abuse in the detention of minority motorists for allegedly unjustifiable reasons. The measure followed Senate Bill 821 from the 106th Congress and House Bill 118 from the 105th Congress. This study looks at the purpose of these bills, explores the reasons supporters believe that federal policy mandating law enforcement agencies to collect racial data on motorists stopped and detained is needed, and examines a number of public policy questions that a Traffic Stops Statistics Study Act might raise.

Employment Equity and Institutional Commitments to Diversity: Disciplinary Perspectives from Public Administration and Public Affairs Education

Abstract Are racism and discrimination forgotten issues in public administration research on the promotion of diversity in graduate education and faculty employment? Studies touching on diversity and employment equity usually address subjects such as education and training—the competencies needed by professional administrators, for example—as well as best practices in diversity management, persistent problems such as the lack of racial or gender diversity in upper management positions in public sector agencies, and the enduring challenges of minority recruitment and retention in public administration programs. The subjects of racism and discrimination as such—or of underlying factors generally—are seldom addressed centrally. Consequently, questions such as the following arise: What role might racism play in academic as well as public sector employment? What about other lines of causation impacting discrimination? How do individual, group, and institutional predispositions and actions affect employment equity? How have such questions been addressed in the public administration literature? In other research and research applications in the social, behavioral, and management sciences? And, finally, what can be learned from successful and failed diversity-promotion practices among academic programs? A significant body of empirical research is uncovering patterns of action that have the intended or unintended effect of excluding candidates of color from recruitment pools, interview short-lists, and faculty hiring and advancement opportunities. This essay reviews and analyzes some of this literature, particularly as it relates to public affairs education. On that basis, it suggests the following: (1) new directions for diversity-related research, (2) changes in the articulation of diversity commitments, particularly by public administration departments and programs, and (3) ways to successfully realize those institutional commitments (assuming that they are more than rhetorical), pointing to research that specifies proven practices.

Institutional racism, organizations & public policy

Contents: Introduction: Institutional Racism and Its Multiple Dimensions - The Legacy of Race and Public Policy in Contemporary America - Institutional Racism and the Management of Government Organizations and Policies: A Critical Examination of HAMP - Religious Institutions, Race, and Belief Systems - Institutions of Higher Learning and the Promise of Diversity: An Ethics Dialogue for Public Affairs Education and Diversity/Cultural Competency Training - Nonprofits, Community Service Organizations, and Philanthropy - Racial Profiling and Law Enforcement Agencies - Employment Equity and Institutional Racism: Diversity Advocacy in American Public Administration Education and Practice - Transformative Leadership and Remedial Action: Prospects for a Public Ethics Focused on Claims to Equity.

Response to Croson

To what extent has the Supreme Courts decision in City of Richmond V. J.A. Croson Co.(1989) affected the amount of money spent by local governments on minority business enterprises (MBEs)? The ruling stipulates that nonfederal minority set-aside programs must be based upon actual incidence of discrimination. Otherwise, such programs violate the equal protection use of the Fourteenth Amendment. In this exploratory study, I examine the short-term impact of the Croson decision. Fitch (1992) concludes that Croson may only make it more difficult for state and local governments to have set-aside programs and that nothing in the decision suggests the death of set-asides. He recommends that state and local governments first establish that race-neutral remedies fail to correct discrimination in awarding contracts. Second, lawmakers should be provided with concrete statistical evidence of unexplained disparity between the amount of contract dollars nonminority firms receive and what minority firms should receive in the absence of discrimination. Third, corroborating anecdotal evidence of the inference drawn from results of statistical evidence should be provided. Fourth, state and local officials should set flexible numerical goals allowing for a reduction of disparity between the amount of contract dollars minority firms receive and what they should receive (Fitch, 1992, pp. 584-585). Two questions are pertinent to this investigation. Have cities moved away from minority set-aside programs? Have cities found race- and gender-neutral remedies for accomplishing the goals of set-asides? If so, what are they? Some of the options cities took in the aftermath of Croson are shown in Table 1. Table 1 Comparison of Selected Expenditures on Minority Business Enterprises, 1988 and 1990 (in dollars) Race and Gender Neutral City ID Number 1988 1990 6 69,950 1,990,704 38 16,145,713 24,109,011 41 2,786,108 8,897,427 Nonneutral Goals 8 283,250 650,139(*) 13 372,578 238,439(**) 21 2,001,706 2,383,175(***) 31 86,079,778 87,053,238(*) 40 N/A 3,312,547 Retained Set-Asides 23 3,778,443 1,469,737(***) 30 16,244,943 31,567,009(*) 32 23,262,711 9,000,890(*) 49 12,459,300 8,663,000(**) 51 12,149,725 4,445,663(***) 52 3,901,100 3,543,286(***) (*) Disparity study ongoing (**) Dismantled voluntarily. (***) Dismantled by judicial order. Disparity studies are the route taken by many jurisdictions as a means to justify the continued existence of set-aside plans given evidence of past or present discrimination in awarding city contracts. More than 50 jurisdictions instigated disparity studies (National Urban League, 1990). Evidence of past discrimination as a basis for set-aside justification was found in all jurisdictions studied. Race and gender neutral plans are attempts to comply with the Courts ruling by protecting previous set-aside levels within larger overall goal percentages to accommodate both minority and nonminority small businesses. Nonneutral goals, like set-asides themselves, often have been dismantled by judicial order (Engineering News Record, 1990). The initial hypothesis of this research is that cities with a greater percentage minority population will exert greater effort to retain set-asides. Thus, are strategies related to minority presence? This is an important question because one would assume that greater minority presence translates into greater minority influence over public policy. One would also assume that various minority groups concentrated in different regions of the country reflect similar efforts. Analysis How do the various responses to Croson reflect the current level of municipal contracting with MBEs? …

The CROSON decision and the demise of set-ASIDES: a national survey

This research examines the policy response to City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Company and explores the impact of the decision on minority business enterprises (MBEs) one year after the decision was handed down. This is done by focusing on dollars spent on MBEs and on how localities differ based on region and percent minority population. For most of the cities studied, dollars spent on minority business enterprises had not declined one year after Croson. Various means of securing spending such as the disparity study and race/gender neutral goal progams explain why such is the case. The need for further study is cited in order to determine the impact of multi-year contracts and to see if race and gender neutral goal programs are as effective as “set-asides” in targeting minority as well as non-minority small businesses.

Exploring the implementation of solid waste recycling programs

This article explores the implementation of municipal solid waste recycling programs through comparisons of mandatory vs. voluntary programs and privatized vs. in-house programs. It also looks at whether or not the adoption of recycling service fees impact levels of participation. The linkage between the collection mechanism and recycling participation is a pertinent issue because local jurisdictions must respond to tougher state mandates and federal guidelines on environmental standards and waste stream reduction. Evidence presented here suggests that recycling studies should incorporate more characteristics of voluntary programs to better understand compliance variation and methods used to enhance effectiveness.

Privatization and Social Equity: A Research Note

Abstract This brief study outlines ongoing research by the author, research that explores the relationship between levels of privatization and minority1 employment in the 1980s and 1990s. The privatization of municipal services, either through service contracts between government and industry or through government’s total divestment2 of responsibility, often enabled financially strapped communities to maximize efficiency. On the other hand, many observers questioned whether the increased efficiency of contracting out resulted from a decreased emphasis on diversity goals and affirmative action. Employee groups, it may be said, often opposed privatization when a loss of jobs was at stake (see Ferris, 1986, and Murray, 1985). This research note indicates an ongoing exploration of the empirical links between privatization initiatives and diversity commitments.