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

AuthorRoberto Gallardo
DOI10.1177/0734016820916763
Published date01 December 2020
Date01 December 2020
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

Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI

Get Started for Free

Start Your 3-day Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant

  • Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database

  • Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength

  • Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities

  • Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting

vLex

Start Your 3-day Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant

  • Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database

  • Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength

  • Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities

  • Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting

vLex

Start Your 3-day Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant

  • Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database

  • Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength

  • Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities

  • Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting

vLex

Start Your 3-day Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant

  • Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database

  • Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength

  • Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities

  • Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting

vLex

Start Your 3-day Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant

  • Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database

  • Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength

  • Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities

  • Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting

vLex

Start Your 3-day Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant

  • Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database

  • Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength

  • Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities

  • Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting

vLex

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT