“Suck It Up, Buttercup”: Understanding and Overcoming Gender Disparities in Policing

Women police officers report elevated symptoms of mental disorders when compared to men police officers. Researchers have indicated that the occupational experience of policing differs greatly among men and women. Indeed, police culture is characterized by hegemonic masculinity, which appears to negatively impact both men and women. The current study examined the contrast between the experiences of men and women police officers. Police officers (n = 17; 9 women) in Saskatchewan participated in semi-structured interviews. Thematic network analysis identified themes related to the experience of policing for both men and women police officers. There were six organizing themes identified in relation to the global theme of Gendered Experiences: (1) Discrimination; (2) Sexual Harassment; (3) Motherhood and Parental Leave; (4) Identity; (5) Stereotypically Feminine Attributes; and (6) Hegemonic Masculinity. Pervasive gender norms appear detrimental for both men and women police officers, as well as the communities they serve. The current results, coupled with the emerging disposition for progress expressed by police services, offer opportunities to develop tailored and focused interventions and policies to support police officers.

Is there a marriage or parenthood effect on police income?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the gendered effects of marriage and parenthood on income inequality among police officers.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses survey data collected by the Current Population Survey (CPS) from 1976 to 2018. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression is employed to analyze the effect of gender, marriage and parenthood on the yearly income of police officers, controlling for other demographic variables.FindingsThe analyses reveal that there is a large income difference among men and women police officers and the compensation processes appear strongly gendered based on family composition. Police women experience a large motherhood income penalty, while police men with traditional family structures have significant income advantages.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the CPS dataset allows us to track national level trends of within-occupational income inequality, these data are unable to provide detailed information on the specifics of each police job, such as rank of police officers or work experience. Despite these limitations, this study uncovers important patterns in how family structure shapes police income.Originality/valueThe present study fills the knowledge gap about marriage and motherhood penalty among police. This study represents one of the first attempts to explore the gendered compensation processes that are shaped by marriage and parenthood status among police officers at a national level.

Comparative characteristics of requirements for physical training of female police officers in Russia and foreign countries

This work is devoted to topical issues of physical training of female police officers in Russia. The work is devoted to the study of the main factors that contribute to the admission of female police officers to the service in the police Department of Russia and foreign countries. The features of training sessions for women police officers are revealed. The authors identified the main requirements for physical training of employees of internal Affairs agencies in Russia and foreign countries. A comprehensive analysis of the basic requirements for the level of physical training of police officers in Russia and foreign countries.

DIRECTIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT OF PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY OF WOMEN-POLICE NATIONAL POLICE OF UKRAINE

The urgency of the topic is that the processes of European integration in Ukraine involve increasing the competitiveness of police officers, which necessitates the definition of conditions for their professional self-realization. One of the most important indicators of professional self-realization is success in professional activities. It is difficult to define this concept, especially in relation to the professional activity of a female police officer. Her success is evaluated from different angles: society as a whole, the team with which there is interaction during the performance of professional duties, the leadership of the organization, the family. The success of professional achievements is assessed by the woman herself, first of all, it concerns the possibility of revealing her potential and its maximum realization in the professional sphere. The article is devoted to the definition of areas of psychological support for the professional activities of women police officers, aimed at promoting their successful self-realization. Various indicators of professional success are analyzed. The factors that cause the gradual accumulation of changes in the structure of professional activity and personal characteristics, which negatively affect productivity and interaction with other participants in the work process, are identified. The model of psychological support of professional activity of women police officers in the set of the following blocks is substantiated: diagnostic; psychological and pedagogical; socio-psychological; psychocorrectional. To realize their potential and succeed in any field of professional activity, women police officers must be able to gain social approval and professional status in accordance with their efforts, material security, gain a sense of self-importance and self-esteem, and maintain the commitment of their loved ones and family members. while remaining himself, without distorting his “I” and without destroying his personality. This necessitates psychological support of women’s professional activity in the National Police of Ukraine, which is aimed at solving individual and personal problems and supporting the personality of the specialist at all stages of professional self-determination.

Twenty-three women officers’ experiences of policing in England: The same old story or a different story?

Our research project was concerned primarily with using a feminist analysis to explore the lived reality of 23 women police officers in England and Wales. We undertook 23 qualitative interviews with our participants and our research straddles four decades of policing practice, which allowed us to explore changes that were seen to have taken place during this period. First, participants discussed their lived reality, which included banter, bullying and harassment for many. Second, and perhaps more surprisingly, at certain times of unrest, riots or threats, some of our participants were provided with opportunities, for example, during the IRA threat, the riot in Toxteth and the miners’ strike. We suggest that examples from our data capture an early disruption of the ‘ideal’ heroic male police officer that Silvestri examines [Silvestri M (2018) Disrupting the ‘heroic’ male within policing: a case of direct entry. Feminist Criminology 13(3): 309–328] whose removal from their normal role during periods of socio-political disorder allowed women officers to leave the gendered division of labour and undertake the heroic police constable role while the men were busy being ‘heroic’ at the source of threat and unrest. We sought to explore changes such as the uniform as a site of protest for some of our officers who challenged an uncomfortable and unfit uniform in the early days, and explained that there were still problems with the kit and design at times. Our findings illustrated that, on the whole, although massive changes had been made, it was a case of the same old story in terms of sexual harassment and banter for female officers and more was required to address these issues, which fits with reviews and studies in both England and Wales and in Australia. Finally, we noted using participants’ words how much many of these women had enjoyed their role within policing in spite of these challenges.

Law, police and ‘domestic cruelty’: Assembling written complaints from oral narratives

This article examines the relationship between law and the police in the Special Protection Unit for Women and Children (Unit), Delhi. It explicates how women police officers negotiate meanings of ‘domestic cruelty’ under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, read with Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), in a milieu where narratives of violence they encounter from women complainants often challenge interpretations of domestic violence. Taking two instances, one in which a complainant came to the Unit without a written complaint, and the second in which changes were made to the complaint after it was officially submitted, I delineate the shape that their formal complaints took, central to which was the role performed by the police officers assigned to them. The officers, I contend, strove to make the complaints legally stand up, with the awareness that although most complaints do not end in litigation, the act of writing the complaint constituted an important step for complainants to get what I call a working sense of their experiences of cruelty. I conclude that although police’s discretionary power is understood to give way to reckless arbitrariness and discrimination, its mutability and amorphousness can also contribute towards enabling redress for injury.