Gender bias at the heart of Horry County police problems?
Gender bias at heart of Horry police problems?
That the Horry County Police Department merger might not result in financial savings raises good points but sidesteps other issues, including issues that are system wide and go beyond cases in the news. Keep HCPD as is? Look at the Chesapeake, Va., sheriff and police departments having similar division of duties to justify keeping the system “as is.”
It appears that Chief Saundra Rhodes was a victim of gender bias, in that a few under her command did less than their best because of their “gender bias.”
An independent performance audit of the HCPD should be performed to strengthen the department in the long term. There appears to be a breakdown in report writing, consistency and sensitivity to gender bias, guidance that was sent by the U.S. Department of Justice to law enforcement agencies to be more sensitive to issues involving women, men and people in the LGBT communities.
Keep HCPD as it is - but strengthen the internal systems and accountability to the public.
Kenneth Pledger, Loris
This story was originally published June 24, 2016 at 1:45 PM with the headline "Gender bias at the heart of Horry County police problems?."