First Responder Diversity Can Benefit the Community in Myriad Ways

Diversifying the first responder workforce not only positively impacts response but also could have beneficial impacts on the local economy, according to a study offered by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The study was conducted by a research team that visited five agencies and first responder training providers, including two police departments (Atlanta and Dallas), two third-party training providers (Area Youth EMT program and Camp Fully Involved in Concord, N.H.) and the San Francisco Fire Department.

Thestudy, conducted by Coffey Consulting and the American Institutes for Research (AIR) for the Labor Department, found that successful first responder agencies were representative of the communities they serve with respect to ethnicity, race and gender.

“To be successful, our research suggests that first responder agencies, at a minimum, must work toward institutionalizing diversity and inclusion as an organizational priority,” said Stephanie Cronen, report co-author and AIR principal researcher.

The study found, among other things:

•    Diversity institutionalized. All five study sites established and supported a diverse organizational structure and diverse leadership.
•    The sites used specialized and targeted recruitment approaches.
•    They took an equitable approach to screening and hiring and some implemented less restrictive hiring requirements.
•    They engaged the community by providing support for staff to interact with the public in positive ways.