The following is a news release from the Lubbock Police Department:
In January of 2014, the City of Lubbock (City) and the Lubbock Police Department (LPD) were notified that the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) was investigating recent hiring practices of the LPD. In June of 2015, the City and LPD were informed of a lawsuit regarding LPD’s hiring practices from January 2010 to June 2015 by the DOJ. The DOJ specifically alleged that the LPD’s written entrance exam had an adverse impact on Hispanic applicants and the physical agility test had an adverse impact on female applicants. It also stated that the alleged adverse impact was not intentional.
In April of 2016, the DOJ and the City settled the lawsuit and entered into a Consent Decree to implement new valid selection devices in the hiring process with the intent to eliminate any unintended disparate impact. The settlement allowed eligible claimants to receive financial settlement or preferential hire status.
On February 6, 2019, the DOJ and the LPD filed a Joint Motion for Dismissal of Action, agreeing that all issues had been resolved. On February 8, 2019, that Joint Motion for Dismissal of Action was granted and the LPD was released from the Consent Decree.
The LPD is satisfied with this jointly-filed dismissal and maintains there was no intended disparate hiring impact of Hispanic and female applicants. The LPD embraced the Consent Decree as an opportunity to instill valid best hiring practices and selection devices while improving recruiting and hiring, notably for minority and female applicants, and ensuring no unintended disparate impact occurred. In so doing, the LPD did not lower hiring standards but maintained the high hiring standards befitting a Lubbock Police Officer while increasing hiring and staffing levels to new heights. The LPD is committed to these valid best practices in an effort to proactively avoid unintended disparate hiring impacts now and in the future while maintaining the high hiring standards our citizens rightly demand and deserve as we continue to fill the ranks of the LPD.
(News release from the Lubbock Police Department)
