{"id":915,"date":"2014-07-23T12:09:05","date_gmt":"2014-07-23T16:09:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.townehouse.net\/phoenix\/?p=915"},"modified":"2016-12-03T06:35:05","modified_gmt":"2016-12-03T11:35:05","slug":"does-diversity-really-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=915","title":{"rendered":"Does Diversity Really Matter?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/PWEM-diversity2-2.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"916\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?attachment_id=916\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/PWEM-diversity2-2.jpg?fit=674%2C338&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"674,338\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"PWEM-diversity2-2\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/PWEM-diversity2-2.jpg?fit=674%2C338&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-916\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/PWEM-diversity2-2-150x150.jpg?resize=150%2C150\" alt=\"PWEM-diversity2-2\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>Recently in a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cincinnati-oh.gov\/police\/about-police\/\" target=\"_blank\">news release<\/a> published on the City of Cincinnati Website, Chief Jeffrey Blackwell was quoted as saying \u201cHaving a workplace that resembles your communities\u2019 demographics is critically important in your public service delivery efforts and we are proud of that in Cincinnati.\u201d This made me wonder how important diversity is, and what efforts were made to achieve the results obtained in the makeup of the 104th Recruit Class. Did the results occur naturally, or was it necessary that some qualified individuals be passed over to achieve the balance desired. If candidates were passed over to achieve the balance, did the City actually hire the best qualified candidates?<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The next question that comes to mind is to what degree of granularity should the concept of \u201crepresenting your community\u201d be taken. For example, is it important that units within the police department represent the community they serve? Than if so, than I believe there is work yet to be done. For example, the Youth Services Squad is predominately composed of African-American Officers. Does this represent the community they serve? Another interesting example is the ethnic makeup of the \u201cChief&#8217;s Office\u201d which, based on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cincinnati-oh.gov\/police\/linkservid\/15C74F50-D3BF-51E7-7DD04AB3CDD2E82A\/showMeta\/0\/\" target=\"_blank\">June 2014 Organizational Chart,<\/a> is made up as follows: An African-American Police Chief, an African-American Executive Assistant, an African-American Adjutant, an African-American City Hall Safety Liaison, an African-American Public Information Officer, an African-American assistant Public Information Officer, an African-American Executive Aide\/External Project Coordinator, and a female white Community Liaison Unit Commander. Additionally, reporting directly to the Police Chief is the Finance Management Section. This section is comprised exclusively of female members, both white and African-American. Hmmm, not a white male in the bunch. How diverse is that? Apparently diversity doesn&#8217;t count when the Police Chief selects his staff.<\/p>\n<p>While discussing the concept of diversity, I can&#8217;t help but wonder how diverse the entire city workforce really is. The last I recall, almost all individuals who serve at the level of Director are persons of color. Many of them appointed by former City Manager Milton Dohoney. Does the entire city workforce represent the community they serve? Is each department fully diverse and each sub unit in each department diverse as well? I don&#8217;t have the numbers, but would be interested in seeing them.<\/p>\n<p>Chief Blackwell also said \u201cPerspective, balance, and increased efficiencies are all by-products of a diverse workforce\u201d. I would be interested in seeing the data that supports this comment. I believe when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, most citizens really don&#8217;t give two hoots about this. Do you think a citizen who is a victim of a crime in progress cares what the racial make up is of the Police Officers who respond and protect them? If you are in a burning building, would it matter if the hero who came to save you was white or African-American? When you damage your car driving to work, is it important that the work crew that comes to fill the pothole be diverse? At what point is the line drawn to define diversity? Should there be inclusion of all groups? Should there be inclusion of the gay and lesbian community? Should we ensure proportional representation of Christians, Jews, and Muslims? What of other ethnic groups? Italian Americans? Irish Americans? This list could be broken down to the point of ridiculous, or are we already there?<\/p>\n<p>Those are my thoughts, what are yours?<\/p>\n<p>Thanks for reading and please consider commenting, liking, sharing, and following the blog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recently in a news release published on the City of Cincinnati Website, Chief Jeffrey Blackwell was quoted as saying \u201cHaving a workplace that resembles your communities\u2019 demographics is critically important in your public service delivery [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_daextrevo_audio_file_creation_date":"","_daextrevo_text_to_speech":"","_daextrevo_document_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-opinion"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/THFI.png?fit=214%2C200&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11498,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=11498","url_meta":{"origin":915,"position":0},"title":"The Most Qualified Candidate Is . . .","author":"Tom Lind","date":"June 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"On June 4th, 2015 Cincinnati Executive Assistant Police Chief Paul H. Humphries announced his intention to retire after 30 years of service to the City of Cincinnati. Paul has accepted a job\u00a0with the Coca Cola Company in Tampa, Florida. I know Paul, having worked with him, and for him, over\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/1406830828000-001HARRY-BLACK.jpg?fit=680%2C510&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/1406830828000-001HARRY-BLACK.jpg?fit=680%2C510&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/1406830828000-001HARRY-BLACK.jpg?fit=680%2C510&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":27,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=27","url_meta":{"origin":915,"position":1},"title":"Corruption In Cincinnati City Government","author":"Tom Lind","date":"September 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"There is a form of corruption in City Government that is insidious and is undermining the Civil Service process. As a tax payer, you have the right to expect that individuals being hired and promoted within the Civil Service Process are the best candidates, the most qualified, the best bang\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Political&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Political","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"It's not who you know . . . . .","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/favoritism-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1314,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=1314","url_meta":{"origin":915,"position":2},"title":"The Wrong Man","author":"Tom Lind","date":"April 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I have followed\u00a0\u00a0the news regarding the incident in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9th, 2014 when a man, Michael Brown, viciously attacked a Police Officer, Darren Wilson, who subsequently had to resort to deadly force in order to defend himself from life threatening violence. Notice how the preceding relates the basic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/o-FAKE-SMILE-facebook.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/o-FAKE-SMILE-facebook.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/o-FAKE-SMILE-facebook.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/o-FAKE-SMILE-facebook.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/o-FAKE-SMILE-facebook.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":590,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=590","url_meta":{"origin":915,"position":3},"title":"There&#8217;s A New Chief In Town, Again!","author":"Tom Lind","date":"September 28, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"On August 4th, 2011 I wrote a blog article reporting that the City of Cincinnati had a new Police Chief, James E. Craig. It is hard to believe just over two years later I am once again commenting on the fact that the City of Cincinnati Police Department has a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jeffrey Blackwell","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Blackwell_copy_t750x550-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11533,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=11533","url_meta":{"origin":915,"position":4},"title":"The Most Qualified Candidate Is . . .. The Sequel","author":"Tom Lind","date":"July 25, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I have thought long and hard as to whether I really want to publish this blog article. I know before reading the first paragraph that there will be those who take it the wrong way and those who will accuse me of bias, regardless of what my intent may be.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/310.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/310.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/310.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/310.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11778,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=11778","url_meta":{"origin":915,"position":5},"title":"The Next Police Chief","author":"Tom Lind","date":"September 25, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Several weeks have now passed since the firing of Jeffrey Blackwell from his position of Police Chief of the Cincinnati Police Department. The dust seems to have settled and those who were vocal over the validity of the firing have calmed their rhetoric. Certain Council members have accepted the fact\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/preview.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/preview.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/preview.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/preview.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p38YRh-eL","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}