The topic of diversity in policing will be the focus of the next Conversations on Race and Policing featuring Maria “Maki” Haberfeld, professor of police science at John Jay College in New York City.

Haberfeld’s talk, “Policing Different DNAs: How Our Focus on Diversity in Policing May Be Misguided,” will take place at 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 3, on Zoom. It can be accessed from a PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android at https://csusb.zoom.us/j/97960458784.

Haberfeld was born in Poland and immigrated to Israel as a teenager. She is an expert in law enforcement, terrorism and white-collar crime in the United States, Eastern and Western Europe, and Israel. She has a Ph.D. in criminal justice from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, a master of philosophy also from the Graduate Center, a master’s in criminology from Hebrew University, and bachelor’s degrees in history and archaeology also from Hebrew University.

She has authored close to 20 books on policing, including police leadership, organization, and training. Since 2001, Haberfeld has been involved in developing, coordinating, and teaching in a special educational program at John Jay for the New York City Police Department.

Conversations on Race and Policing began in the aftermath of the May 25 death of George Floyd while in the custody of four Minneapolis, Minn., police officers. A video of the incident posted on social media has led to widespread protests, the firing of four police officers, the arrest of one officer on a second-degree murder charge, the other three on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder – and a spotlight worldwide on race and policing.

Previous forums also are posted online (more recordings will soon be available for viewing) on the CSUSB History Club Lecture Series YouTube channel.

The ongoing Conversations on Race and Policing series is hosted by CSUSB students Marlo Brooks and Yvette Relles-Powell.

The series is organized by Brooks and Relles-Powell, CSUSB faculty members Mary Texeira (sociology) and Jeremy Murray (history), Robie Madrigal, public affairs/communication specialist for the CSUSB John M. Pfau Library, and community member Stan Futch, president of the Westside Action Group.  

For more information, contact Robie Madrigal at rmadriga@csusb.edu or Jeremy Murray at jmurray@csusb.edu.

Race and Policing presentation flyer, March 2, 2021