The decision has affected law enforcement practices throughout the U.S. in terms of recruitment, training, and appointment standards at all levels of law enforcement within the public sector. The central issue in Blake was not primarily that of women and minorities in police work, but the inherent validity of the hiring practices followed by the L.A.P.D. and the city of Los Angeles. The primary areas of research explored in this study were the background characteristics of police recruits hired before the Consent Decree and those hired subsequent to it, and the effects that increased representation of women and minority officers have had on factors such as interest in police work, academy experiences, probationary success, and police professionalism. Chapter notes, 167 references, and 1 appendix