To Help “La Gente”: Examining Helping People as a Motivation for Becoming an Officer in the Los Angeles Police Department Among Male Mexican American Officers

• Published date: 01 December 2020
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016820916763
• Date: 01 December 2020
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

To Help “La Gente”:

Examining Helping People as

a Motivation for Becoming an

Officer in the Los Angeles

Police Department Among

Male Mexican American

Officers

Roberto Gallardo

1

Abstract

The most commonly declared motivation for pursuing a career in law enforcement is helping people.

As part of a study focusing on male Mexican American police officers in the Los Angeles Police

Department, data were collected on initial motivations of police officers. The data reveal that a

significant motivation for respondents was not only helping people but specifically helping minority

communities receive improved services. This motivation stems from their interactions and per-

ception of police while growing up in minority communities. Based on the findings, this article

concludes with a call for a more grounded approach to research on Latinos in law enforcement.

Keywords

Latino, Mexican American, police, motivations

Historically, policing in the United States has been an occupation predominantly composed of White

males. As such, the experiences of White male police officers are well-documented (Barlow &

Barlow, 2000; Van Maanen, 1974). Currently, White males still constitute an overwhelming major-

ity of officers on the state, federal, and local level across the country (Reaves & Maskaly, 2015).

However, minority demographics in law enforcement have increased substantially over the last 30

years (Walker, 1999). Currently, the three largest departments in the country, The New York Police

Department, Chicago Police Department, and The Los Angeles Police Department, have minorities

constitute a substantial percentage of their rank and file officers. Along with the increase in minority

1

Department of Criminal Justice, Springfield College, MA, USA

Corresponding Author:

Roberto Gallardo, Department of Criminal Justice, Springfield College, Springfield, MA 01109, USA.

Email: rgallardo2@springfield.edu

Criminal Justice Review

2020, Vol. 45(4) 452-463

ª2020 Georgia State University

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/0734016820916763

journals.sagepub.com/home/cjr