Officers’ views on women in policing

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 734-748
Author(s):  
Doris C. Chu
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Work ◽  
Attitudes Toward Women ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Police Organizations ◽  
Women's Role ◽  
Female Officers ◽  
Cross National

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how receptive police officers are to having women as partners and supervisors at work in a cross-national context. Specifically, it compares male and female police officers’ views on women in policing along three dimensions in Dubai and Taipei: perceived efficacy of women in policing; receptiveness of women at work (as partners and supervisor); and perceived women’s role in police work.Design/methodology/approachSurveys (with the same instrument) were conducted with 622 officers (344 male and 278 female officers) in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates and 391 officers (297 male and 94 female officers) in Taipei, Taiwan. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were employed to compare male and female officers’ views on women in policing in both countries.FindingsIt was found that female officers (in Dubai and Taipei) were more likely than their male colleagues to see women as capable and effective in performing police duties. Compared to their colleagues in Taiwan, the Emirati male and female officers were more likely to be supportive of women’s restricted role in policing. Dubai male officers were less likely to be receptive to working at a unit with a female as their supervisor in comparison to their female colleagues in both countries.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough this study provides important information from a cross-national perspective, caution should be taken while interpreting these findings. The gender roles embedded in Islamic cultures seem to explain Dubai officers’ favorable attitudes toward women’s restricted role in policing. Future studies should incorporate in-depth interviews to explain why officers in Dubai prefer women’s restricted roles in policing.Practical implicationsThe statistical analyses show that officers with higher levels of confidence not only held more positive attitudes toward women in policing, but also were more receptive to having women as their partners and supervisors. It suggests that confident officers would be more open-minded and welcome the entry of women into police work. By offering training courses that enhance officers’ work confidence, police organizations in both countries might well cultivate a welcoming work environment for women.Social implicationsIf police organizations in Taiwan and the UAE instill cultures with an emphasis less on masculine traits than on collaborative style, male officers might free themselves from traditional gender norms and become more welcoming to women who work in policing.Originality/valuePrevious scholarly efforts on examining different areas of women in policing have mainly focused on police officers in western countries, leaving a relative scarcity of information about how officers perceive women’s role in policing in the other parts of the globe. Female officers have to work hand in hand with male officers in policing. To enhance the efficiency of deployment and cohesion of work relationship among male and female officers, it is important to understand how male officers perceive women’s roles in policing and how receptive they are to having women as partners. Understanding their perceptions from both sides can help administrations initiate effective training and educational programs.

Assessing cross-national differences in police officers' domestic violence attitudes

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 469-482
Author(s):  
Shannon Harper ◽  
Angela Gover ◽  
Samara McPhedran ◽  
Paul Mazerolle
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officer ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Content Type ◽  
National Differences ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Officer Attitudes ◽  
Female Officers ◽  
Cross National

PurposeComparative research provides a mechanism to understand how justice systems throughout the world operate. McPhedran et al. (2017) conducted a comparative examination of police officer attitudes about domestic violence (DV) in the USA and Australia and reported fairly high levels of agreement among male and female officers within each country. The current study builds on these findings by examining officer attitudes toward DV among male and female officers cross-nationally. This was accomplished by examining whether American and Australian male and female officers agree with one another on a number of DV issues.Design/methodology/approachTwo-way ANOVA was used to examine the effect of two factors (gender and country) on law enforcement officer attitudes about DV.FindingsThe results suggest that male and female officers from the USA and Australia significantly differ on 14 of 24 attitudes about DV with the greatest number of attitudinal differences found between American and Australian male officers.Research limitations/implicationsScholars who conduct future research examining police officer attitudes about DV should use the instrument from this study as a springboard to develop an updated survey in terms of content and one that would be applicable to cross-national analyses. Methodological study limitations are described in depth in McPhedran et al. (2017).Originality/valueWhile gender differences in attitudes have received scholarly attention, questions remain regarding the degree to which attitudes align among male and female officers across different countries. The current study seeks to fill these gaps in knowledge by examining attitudes about DV between American and Australian law enforcement officers.

Attitudes toward women in policing

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 324-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doris C. Chu ◽  
Chang-Chi Tsao
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Work ◽  
Attitudes Toward Women ◽  
Patrol Officers ◽  
Police Recruits ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gender Integration ◽  
Physical Strength ◽  
Physical Skills ◽  
Rule Out

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare Taiwanese male and female cadets’ attitudes toward women in policing. Specifically, this study assesses whether female and male recruits differ in: their assessment of women in policing; and their preferred roles of women in policing. Design/methodology/approach – Surveys were conducted with 438 cadets (229 males and 209 females) who received recruitment training at the Taiwan Police College in 2011. This methodology provided a rich sample to explore police recruits’ attitudes toward women in policing. Findings – Although male cadets had reservations about females’ capability and physical strength in handling certain aspects of police work, they supported women being assigned to equal or similar duties as men upon entry into the police force. Compared to male cadets, female cadets were more likely to perceive females as being competent as males and thus adequate for police work. Nevertheless, female cadets were reluctant to embrace women's integration into police work, which might require them to perform duties similar to or the same as those of men, such as patrol. Research limitations/implications – It should be noted that the survey in the current study was conducted while recruits were going through training at the police college. The authors cannot rule out the possibility that surveys conducting under this type of circumstances may result in socially desirable responses. Future study should include surveys with cadets at different stages of their training (before, between, and at the end of the training) to further examine if the levels of recruits’ receptiveness to gender integration change over time. Practical implications – This finding highlights the importance of equipping female recruits with mental preparation and physical skills. The training at the academy should prepare cadets with the required skills to serve as patrol officers to boost their confidence. Equally important is to provide suitable training to help cadets raise stress awareness and develop coping mechanisms. Originality/value – Most studies conducted in the past have mainly focussed on police officers’ perceptions of women in policing. Only a handful of studies examine future police recruits’ attitudes toward women in policing, and most of these studies are conducted in western countries. A better understanding of police recruits’ attitudes toward women in policing in a non-western cultural setting can provide insight into theoretical and policy perspectives related to these issues.

Sex differences in posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms in police officers following exposure to violence in Ferguson

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 623-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marin C. Beagley ◽  
Zoë D. Peterson ◽  
David R. Strasshofer ◽  
Tara E. Galovski
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Female Officers

PurposeWomen comprise a significant and growing proportion of the law enforcement population. Despite this, their potentially unique reactions to job-related posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and depression have been underrepresented in the relevant literature, particularly within the context of exposure to community violence. Also understudied is the role of empathy in the development of post-trauma reactions, which has been a risk factor for the development of posttraumatic distress in previous studies. With the recent endorsement of empathy training by the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, it is important to examine ways in which empathy may contribute to differences in PTSS and depression for male and female officers. The paper aims to discuss this issue.Design/methodology/approachMale and female police officers (n=189) exposed to violence during the 2014 Ferguson protests completed a battery of measures designed to assess demographic information, prior trauma history, and mental health outcomes.FindingsModeration analyses showed that empathy moderated the relationships between exposure and PTSS and exposure and depression in female officers, such that exposure was associated with higher posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms only for female officers with high levels of empathy. These relationships were not found for men.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine sex differences and the role of empathy in the mental health effects of law enforcement secondary to violence during community protests against policing.

Empowering Women in Blue Uniforms—Gender and Police in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanta Singh ◽  
Sultan Khan
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Work ◽  
Police Force ◽  
Police Culture ◽  
The South ◽  
South African Police Service ◽  
Female Police Officers ◽  
South African Police ◽  
Female Officers

Gender in the police force has received scant attention by researchers, although there are complex social dimensions at play in how male and female law enforcement officers relate to each other in the workplace. Given the fact that males predominate in the police force, their female counterparts are often marginalised due to their sexual orientation and certain stereotypes that prevail about their femininity. Male officers perceive female officers as physically weak individuals who cannot go about their duties as this is an area of work deemed more appropriate to men. Based on this perception, female officers are discriminated against in active policing and often confined to administrative duties. This study looks at how female police officers are discriminated against in the global police culture across the globe, the logic of sexism and women’s threat to police work, men’s opposition to female police work, gender representivity in the police force, and the integration and transformation of the South African Police Service to accommodate female police officers. The study highlights that although police officers are discriminated against globally, in the South African context positive steps have been taken to accommodate them through legislative reform.

scholarly journals Police subculture and the influence of machismo on women's position in the police

2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 404-435
Author(s):  
Dane Subošić ◽  
Milena Vranešević
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Police Work ◽  
Police Force ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Research Show

The aim of this research was to establish the position of women in the police force regarding the fact that this profession is traditionally considered to be a male working environment, in which it is easy to discern the presence of "machismo". With that in mind, it was necessary to explore the attitudes, values and convictions among the members of the police force, who are a part of the police subculture. For that purpose 90 police officers - male and female, were interviewed in the Police Department in Sremska Mitrovica. The results of the empirical research show that there is an improvement in the field of integration of women in the police force. However, there are still significant differences between male and female respondents when it comes to the comprehension of the competence of women for the police work.

Work–family culture and organizational commitment

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 1467-1486
Author(s):  
Tanuja Agarwala ◽  
Amaia Arizkuren ◽  
Elsa Del Castillo ◽  
Marta Muñiz
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Commitment ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
National Context ◽  
Normative Commitment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Family Culture ◽  
Managerial Support ◽  
Work Family ◽  
Cross National

PurposeTo understand whether the three dimensions of work–family culture, namely managerial support, negative consequences and organizational time demands relate in different ways with different types of commitment; affective, continuance and normative. The relationships were examined in a three-country cross-national context.Design/methodology/approachQuestionnaire survey was conducted in India, Peru and Spain among executives and managers drawn from both the manufacturing and the services sectors.FindingsThe three countries were both similar and different with Peru and Spain more similar to each other than with India. Managerial support dimension of work–family culture predicted affective commitment across all the three countries. Differences were found with respect to predictors of normative commitment. Managerial support predicted normative commitment for Spain. Lower negative career consequences resulted in decreased normative commitment among the managers in Peru and Spain.Research limitations/implicationsThe study has limitations of generalizability and common method variance.Practical implicationsHuman resource managers will find the study useful to determine which dimensions of work–family culture would predict the outcomes desired. The study has implications for the design of human resource practices in the industry.Originality/valueThe study is the first that addresses the three dimensions of work–family culture and organizational commitment in a cross-national context. The study suggests that the way in which work–family culture is conceptualized and experienced by employees may vary even among countries classified as “collectivist.”

scholarly journals A cross-national comparison of police attitudes about domestic violence: a focus on gender

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 214-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samara McPhedran ◽  
Angela R. Gover ◽  
Paul Mazerolle
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Police Attitudes ◽  
Enforcement Officer ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Officer Attitudes ◽  
Cross National

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold. The first goal is to conduct a cross-national examination of law enforcement officer attitudes about domestic violence (DV) by comparing officer attitudes in the USA to officer attitudes in Australia. The second goal is to examine law enforcement officer attitudes about DV using a gender lens to identify whether patterns in attitudes among male and female officers in the USA are similar to those among Australian male and female law enforcement officers. Design/methodology/approach The current study involves a comparative analysis of DV attitudes in two different countries (the USA and Australia). Officers in the USA were asked to indicate their level agreement with 28 attitudinal statements about DV. The Australian survey adapted the Gover et al. (2011) instrument by including 24 of the 28 attitudinal statements. The survey followed a mixed-methods design with both quantitative and qualitative components. Bivariate analyses were conducted to determine whether attitudes varied by country and gender of the responding officers. Analyses of attitudinal questions and categorical variables (e.g. gender) were conducted using t-tests. Findings According to survey data gathered from police officers in Colorado (USA) and Queensland (Australia), male and female officer attitudes within each country are more similar than different. When comparing the overall sample of American officer attitudes to Australian officer attitudes, they significantly differ about half the time. Research limitations/implications The Australian survey had a considerably low response rate, and therefore it cannot be stated with certainty whether the responses given are truly representative of the views of Australian officers as a whole, although the demographic characteristics of the sample were comparable with the overall police population demographics. Another limitation is that not all demographic and background variables were collected by both surveys. For example, the US survey asked about officers’ ethnicity, while the Australian survey did not, and the Australian survey asked about how many DV jobs officers attended per month, while the US survey did not. Practical implications Improving knowledge about police attitudes towards DV can help to inform future policy or practice implementation, as well as training programmes and better overall responses to the pervasive and ongoing problem of DV internationally. Originality/value This is a unique and original piece of research as it is a partial cross-national replication of an existing survey. This work does have the potential for great impact in understanding and developing innovative law enforcement responses to DV. In developing such responses officer attitudes need to be considered and integrated into the response, as their opinions will guide the support of future interventions.

Exploring Gendered Environments in Policing: Workplace Incivilities and Fit Perceptions in Men and Women Officers

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-450
Author(s):  
Rachael M. Rief ◽  
Samantha S. Clinkinbeard
Keyword(s):  
Police Culture ◽  
Women Officers ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Police Organizations ◽  
Women's Experience ◽  
Female Officers ◽  
Field View

Research indicates that women are still underrepresented in policing and that police culture is not fully accepting of its sisters in blue. As police organizations strive toward building an inclusive workforce, we must understand how women, already in the field, view their place and experiences within their jobs, organizations, and workgroups. Thus, in the current research, we use a comparative sample ( n = 832) of male and female officers to examine perceptions of fit in the job, organization, and workgroup, and how these perceptions relate to reports of workplace incivilities. Findings indicate that women "fit in "with the job and the broader agency, but they are less likely than men to feel they belong within their workgroup. This relationship was partially mediated by workplace incivilities, indicating that women’s experience of subtle forms of discrimination partially explains their lower levels of fit in their workgroup.

Organizational justice and officer “buy in” in American policing

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis P. Rosenbaum ◽  
William P. McCarty
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Organizational Justice ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Police Organizations ◽  
Police Agencies ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Municipal Police

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the dimensions of organizational justice in police organizations and evaluate how they contribute to organizational commitment, job satisfaction and compliance with agency rules. Design/methodology/approach A survey of 15,236 sworn officers from a national sample of 88 agencies was used, as well as other agency- and community-level variables. Multi-level models assessed how four dimensions of organizational justice affected these outcomes. Findings More favorable perceptions of organizational justice were strongly related to increased commitment to the organization, job satisfaction and compliance with agency rules. Perceptions of organization-wide justice, leadership justice and diversity justice were especially important in predicting those outcome measures. Research limitations/implications While the sample of agencies was broad and diverse, it should not be considered representative of smaller municipal police departments and sheriff’s offices in the USA. Practical implications The findings suggest that “buy in” to reforms and police compliance with rules is much more likely when supervisors and leaders are fair, respectful, give officers input, provide growth opportunities and show concern for officers’ welfare. As such, agencies would benefit from leadership and leadership training that values the core principals of organizational justice. Originality/value The study provides clarity about how organizational justice is perceived by police officers, including women and officers of color, and provides an unprecedented test of organizational justice theory in diverse police agencies.

scholarly journals Stress among Italian male and female patrol police officers: a quali-quantitative survey

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 875-890 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Acquadro Maran ◽  
Antonella Varetto ◽  
Massimo Zedda ◽  
Monica Franscini
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Study ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Large City ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Blame ◽  
Municipal Police ◽  
Self Administered Questionnaire

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to carry out a quali-quantitative study to analyze unease and perceived stress in a population of 485 male and female police officers in a large city in northern Italy, and investigate the consequences of these and the coping strategies adopted. The working context the paper chose to investigate was the Municipal Police, which is characterized by strong links with the local community. As suggested in the literature, the paper focalized the attention both on organizational and operational stressors. Design/methodology/approach – Quali-quantitative study: a self-administered questionnaire. Findings – Results show that both men and women are self-critical and their evaluation of the professional and contextual circumstances in which they operate is filtered by pessimism and self-blame, with higher levels of somatization in women: female patrol police officers are at the highest risk of psychological distress. Originality/value – This is, to the best of the knowledge, the first quali-quantities study in Italy to consider the gender variable within a single police force.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document