Critique the past recruitment practices of the Fire Department in light of what you know about the legal principles of discrimination, particularly the disparate impact theory of race discrimination.

Critique the past recruitment practices of the Fire Department in light of what you know about the legal principles of discrimination, particularly the disparate impact theory of race discrimination.  Would you recommend following the same recruitment practices of the past (e.g., word-of-mouth recruitment, essay-based exam questions)?  Why or why not?  If the same practices were followed and approximately the same outcomes achieved, could these outcomes be challenged under the disparate impact theory of racial discrimination?  What would have to be shown to defend the outcome?