An Exercise in Fire Safety: Readying Ourselves for the Unintended Consequences of Traditional I-O Approaches to Diversity Management

This commentary elaborates on the position taken in the focal article, “Baltimore Is Burning†(Ruggs et al., 2016), that partnerships between industrial–organizational (I-O) psychologists and law enforcement agencies could offer valuable insight and practical tools that help to alleviate long-standing and ongoing conflict between police officers and communities of color. I fully support this stance as well as many of the recommendations proposed within the focal article. I-O psychologists indeed have knowledge and resources that could prove useful for supporting police reform efforts. However, although I-O psychologists have much to contribute to the conversation, a recent review by Hall, Hall, and Perry (2016) draws attention to several ways in which law enforcement as a context and police officers as a population are distinct from many of the workplace environments and civilian employee populations that have informed current I-O knowledge and best practices. As such, our traditional methods may be wrought with unique challenges when implemented in law enforcement contexts. If we fail to give serious consideration to this, the role of I-O psychologists in preventing future fires in Baltimore and throughout the United States may be accompanied by unintended consequences. As I-O psychologists prepare to help law enforcement extinguish the flames between police and communities of color, we must anticipate and prepare to safely combat these dangers so we do not add fuel to the fire or get burned in the process of rendering aid.