Should the NJ State Police have recruited more minority candidates?

It was with Fergurson as a backdrop that State Sen. Shirley Turner said she was ‘disappointed' with number of minority graduates from the last NJ State Patrol class.

Ironic - since there’s been a very active drive to recruit from the minority community.
And while the numbers don’t match those of the past couple of years – according to acting Attorney General John Hoffman, while they don't match the numbers of previous years; the numbers still reflect the efforts made by community organizations to try and bolster minority recruitment.

Still, with all that in mind, the senator feels we’re going in the wrong direction. It’s as though she looks only to one’s ethnic background or the color of one’s skin as a qualification to join what some say is the finest police force in the country.

So while she vented about the numbers not representing the percentage of the population of minorities, she was taken to task by members of the aforementioned community organizations.

I guess that pretty much says it all right there.

That is, one needs to have an unblemished record when it comes to drug use in the last couple of years. Should that be overlooked when a minority candidate wishes to join the force?
According to Bishop James, there should be no lowering of the standards to join the force merely to bolster the number of minority candidates.

So again, if one were to parse Turner’s statements, she’s saying that race should be taken into account when being hired by the State Patrol.

In your view, should the NJSP hire a minority candidate whose qualifications don’t necessarily match up with another candidate who happens to be white? Is the state patrol too "white"; and do they need to lower the standards just to achieve some sort of ethnic or racial parity?

You tell me! Take the poll below.