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Why diversity on the front lines of policing isn't enough

Maryland state troopers
The shadows of Maryland state troopers standing guard on the ground near a CVS pharmacy that was destroyed during rioting after the funeral of Freddie Gray, on April 28, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. Gray, 25, was arrested for possessing a switch blade knife April 12 and died a week later in the hospital from a severe spinal cord injury he received while in police custody.
Andrew Burton | Getty Images

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In the aftermath of Ferguson last year, we heard a lot about how white the police force was in a town that is two-thirds African American. After incidents in Cleveland, New York and Baltimore, there have been more calls for diversity on our police forces to avoid racially charged incidents.

New data shows that 27 percent of the nation's police forces are members who are racial or ethnic minorities. That's up from 15 percent back in 1987, the first year they tracked such data.

Two experts joined MPR News' Tom Crann to discuss what sort of difference that's making, if any, in police and community relations.