Does Malden Police Force Lack Diversity?

The New York Times recently looked at “The Race Gap in America’s Police Departments,” and in eastern Massachusetts, Malden had the fifth highest “race gap,” with the percentage of whites on the police force 37 percentage points higher than in the community.

According to The New York Times, 89 percent of Malden’s police force is white, while only 53 percent of the community is. Malden was fifth behind: Chelsea, 53 percent difference; Lawrence, 52 percent; Lynn, 40 percent; and Brockton, 39 percent.

More from the Times:

Experts say that diversity in the police force increases a department’s credibility with its community. “Even if police officers of whatever race enforce the law in relatively the same way, there is a huge image problem with a department that is so out of sync with the racial composition of the local population,” said Ronald Weitzer, a sociologist at George Washington University.

Does Malden’s police force lack diversity in your opinion?