On March 2, 2014 St. Paul Police Department in Minnesota
graduated its first ever East African Junior Police Academy. Even more remarkably, in their class was the
first Somali woman, Kadra Mohamed, to join the St. Paul Police Department
(SPPD). For those of you who do not
know, the Twin Cities are home to the nation’s largest Somali-American population. Immigrants have come to the United States due
to war. SPPD held its East African Academy in hopes to bridge the gap between
law enforcement and these immigrants.
Most East African immigrants do not trust law enforcement as they have
had nonexistent or corrupt officers in their home country.
The SPPD demographic is comprised of 18% female, 70% white,
followed by Asian, Black, and then Hispanic ethnicities. Minneapolis Police Department (the other
‘twin’) is three quarters white and 85% male.
SPPD had only one Somali police officer who joined the department in
2012. As Commander Matt Toupal said, “We need to have a police department that
reflects the community in which we serve…It is very true that we need
representation in this department.” SPPD
started its attempt to recruit Somali-Americans in 2004 and hope that with
recent changes – such as the East African youth citizen academy and the
allowance of the hijab – that they will have a more effective and
representative police force.
Kadra sites the allowance of the hijab as the reason she is
pursuing a career as a police officer once she graduates from St. Cloud
Tech. This is, in my opinion, a truly
monumental moment in history as Kadra is shattering social barriers. She is not only an immigrant, but she is also
of a minority religion that has been persecuted against since 9/11. The allowance of hijab in the police uniform
allows her to practice her religious beliefs (as is her right as an American). SPPD is only the second department in the
nation to allow the issued hijab as part of the officer’s uniform (behind
Washington D.C.). As pictured in the
first link, the hijab closes closely around the face and unsnaps from around
the chin if pulled. In this way it will
not hinder any duties she holds as an officer.
I thought these articles were important, even if they do not
directly hit on the type of Civil Rights we are talking about in class. They do hit on the topic of minorities being
underrepresented in law enforcement – a socially and politically controlled
position. I do, however, have
reservations on how effective these types of programs will have. So, some similar questions to what I asked in
class about Battling Plantation Mentality:
Do you think the addition of the hijab to the police uniform and increased
relations between the police and immigrant population will increase diversity
in the police department? What kinds of
issues do you think Kadra will face in the future should she continue in her pursuit
of becoming an officer of the law?
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