photo by Emily White

A lot of news stories recently have focused on race and law enforcement. One factor that’s caused tension in the Ferguson, Missouri community and elsewhere is the racial makeup of its police force. According to the US Department of Justice, in Ferguson and across the US, the percentage of white officers is significantly higher than the percentage of the white population.

KQED asked students, “Should the members of a police force reflect the larger population they serve?” Here’s what we said:

Some students believe it is important that the members of a police force reflect their communities racial makeup.

The police should be a mirror of the community they protect, so racial diversity is essential. @KQEDEdspace #DoNowPolice #boydbence

— Brooke Sherrell (@BrookeNewTech) October 3, 2014

It’s better for officers to reflect it’s community , and the customs and values that they serve in. @KQEDedspace #DoNowPolice #boydbence

— Eva Fox (@_evafox) October 1, 2014

@KQEDedspace If the population of community and police are diverse then there’ll be no reason for racist conflict. #DoNowPolice #boydbence

— Aoife Khan (@NewTechAoife) September 29, 2014

Alex Lightfoot argues that, in theory, race shouldn’t matter. But for now, police departments need to be more sensitive to race when hiring new officers.

I think that we shouldn’t have to make the races of cops equal but for now we should. @KQEDedspace #DoNowPolice #boydbence

— Alex Lightfoot (@aleexsofia_) September 30, 2014

Other students disagree that the members of a police force must reflect their communities’ population.

It isnt imp. for the police dep. to be racially different. There actions dont apply to their skin color @KQEDedspace #DoNowPolice #boydbence

— Emily White (@Emily6White) September 30, 2014

Humans shouldn’t look upon race,but look as if police are doing their job in protecting us or not. @KQEDedspace #DoNowPolice #boydbence

— Bakhtawar Yasir (@QueenBakhtawar) September 29, 2014

It doesnt matter if PD are racially diverse as the communities they work in if equality is the goal. @KQEDedspace #DoNowPolice #boydbence

— Gabi Badillo (@gabibadillo_) September 29, 2014

Police diversity shouldn’t matter because we are all equal Americans, and skin color is irrelevant. @KQEDedspace #DoNowPolice #boydbence

— Michael Mylar (@MichaelMylar) September 29, 2014

Some students said that their own police force does match up racially with the people in their community, so equality isn’t completely absent everywhere.

@KQEDedspace The police force matches up equally in my community racially . There is White,Black, && Hispanic officers around. #DoNowPolice

— TakeCare. (@Drakee___) October 7, 2014

The police force match up racially with the people in my community by having a mixed race of police men. #DoNowPolice

— D€€ (@__Dearaa) October 7, 2014

One student looked into the racial diversity in her own community, and was surprised by what she found.

@aha_lev i am surprised that Berkeley has a more diverse p.d compared to St. Louis or even San Mateo #DoNowPolice

— Giuliani M (@AHA_gugu) October 7, 2014

Vanessa Mendoza found that her own community’s police department isn’t as diverse as it could be, and that fostering diversity might help with trust.

@KQEDedspace police shld b as diverse as community bc ppl wld trust thm more. In my community we dn’t rly match up equally #donowpolice

— Vanessa Mendoza (@AHA_nessaisBOSS) October 6, 2014

While most of the students who participated in the Do Now activity believe that the racial makeup of a police force is an important issue, not all of them felt it was a problem in their own community.

This post was written by Carlos Avila, Victor Herrera, and Matt Krump. They are students at Judge Memorial Catholic High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. Carlos, Victor, and Matt are also involved in the PBS Student Reporting Labs.