A criminal justice course at Minnesota State University-Mankato teaches students that police officers are more racist, sexist, and homophobic than the general population.
The course, CJ 101, is taught by Dr. Jeffery Dennis, an associate professor of criminal justice. Alpha News obtained test questions given out by Dennis this semester.
One question asked students to complete the following sentence, “Police officers in general tend to be more ____ than the general population: A) racist, B) sexist, C) homophobic, D) none of the above, E) all of the above.”
According to a source, the “correct” answer was option E); “all of the above.”
Alpha News reached out to Dennis to ask about the rationale behind the question. In response, the professor did not dispute that E) was the “correct” answer on the test.
In addition, Dennis told Alpha News that increased levels of racism, sexism, and homophobia among law enforcement has been “common knowledge in criminal justice for at least 50 years.” The professor claimed that “numerous studies” in different countries have demonstrated as much.
Dennis did note that those studies do not “imply that all or most police officers exhibit these attitudes,” just that “they are more evident in police workspaces than in other professional labs and offices.”
Dennis continued, “There are a variety of potential explanations for the disparity; recruitment techniques that emphasize ‘catching bad guys’ rather than building community relationships; the ‘battlefield’ mentality, the perception that the officers [are] at war, entering hostile enemy territory; and a policing subculture that prizes tenets of hegemonic masculinity, such as stoicism, aggression, and disdain for anything perceived as feminine.”
Dennis sent Alpha News excerpts from several studies that he teaches in his class on the subject. The professor cited these statistics to defend his claim that police officers exhibit racism at higher degrees than the general population. According to Dennis, these studies found that people of color are stopped or investigated by police at a disproportionate rate.
Additionally, the professor defended the claim that police officers are more homophobic than the general population. Dennis said studies indicate that “LGBT persons are regularly charged with indecent exposure, disorderly conduct, or even sodomy for holding hands with a same-sex partner, wearing a pride symbol, or ‘walking while gay.’”
The professor also mentioned a study involving police officers, LGBT people, and harassment. Specifically, Dennis said the study indicated that LGBT people experience harassment during police stops in the form of “homophobic slurs, grabbing the genitals, informing them that they were going to hell, and assuring them that the officer was sexually proficient enough to ‘cure’ them.”
“The Criminal Justice Department at Minnesota State University, Mankato includes training in institutional and interpersonal racism, heteronormativity, and homophobia in most of its classes,” said Dennis. “In addition, majors must take Policing in a Diverse Society or Cultural Competency in Corrections, as well as at least one other course in cultural diversity, such as Human Relations in a Diverse Society, Queer America, and History in Black and White.”
On Rate My Professor, a site that lets students review their professors, one student wrote that Dennis “wastes a ton of time by bringing his political views into the classroom.” Another person wrote, “He is very bias [sic] and shows his political views.”
One of Dennis’ main research focuses is “homophobia in the criminal justice system,” according to MSU Mankato. Dennis is the author of a book titled “The Myth of the Queer Criminal,” among other books focused on sexual minorities.
MSU Mankato’s Department of Criminal Justice told Alpha News that the department has “embraced the mission to prepare students to be ethical and effective members of the criminal justice system by introducing them to research-based knowledge and practical skills needed to promote public safety, quality of life, and restorative justice in the diverse communities they serve.”
The statement continued: “The work around social identity and identity threats in the fields of psychology and criminal justice directly addresses topics of racism, stereotyping, sexism and homophobia in law enforcement. We are committed to helping our students be the change in criminal justice organizations, which requires an understanding of these issues.”
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
