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Article
Publication date: 16 July 2020

Xiaoshuang Iris Luo and Cyrus Schleifer

The purpose of this paper is to examine the gendered effects of marriage and parenthood on income inequality among police officers.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the gendered effects of marriage and parenthood on income inequality among police officers.

Design/methodology/approach

This 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.

Findings

The 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/implications

While 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/value

The 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.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 43 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 May 2016

Birgit Vallmüür

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether there are gender differences in police integrity in Estonia.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether there are gender differences in police integrity in Estonia.

Design/methodology/approach

The exploratory study is based on a police integrity survey – gender-neutral in nature – carried out in the Estonian Public Order Police. The study uses nonparametric methods to test whether male and female police officers are identical in their views and characterizes the differences in the sample (n=109).

Findings

Results show that male and female respondents differ in how they relate to police integrity, but the differences are situation specific, not general across scenarios or measures.

Originality/value

This is the first study of gender differences in police integrity in Estonia and one of the first explorations of gender differences in police integrity overall using an approach that includes a wider range of motives. As the Estonian police force has the highest proportion of women among European police services, the study explores gender differences in a unique police organization with a rare gender balance. The study compares variability across groups with the nonparametric Levene test for equality of variances – an approach that is not common in similar studies.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 39 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 November 2011

Kenneth J. Novak, Robert A. Brown and James Frank

The current research seeks to examine whether officer gender influences the decision to arrest, and whether correlates of officer decision making vary across gender.

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Abstract

Purpose

The current research seeks to examine whether officer gender influences the decision to arrest, and whether correlates of officer decision making vary across gender.

Design/methodology/approach

Data on police‐public encounters were systematically collected by performing social observations of police officers. Multivariate models were estimated to examine the correlates of arrest for all encounters, encounters involving male officers, and encounters involving female officers. Results were compared and contrasted across officer gender.

Findings

Gender has little direct impact on the arrest decision; however, some variation exists depending on citizens' race, gender and demeanor. The most noteworthy differences were observed based upon whether officer actions are conducted in the presence of other members of the organization, and where these other members are in the organizational hierarchy. Female officers were significantly more likely to arrest when observed by supervisors, yet less likely to arrest in the presence of peers. The visibility to other organizational members conditions the decision to arrest differently for female officers.

Research limitations/implications

The current research is limited to examining only the decision to arrest. Other discretionary choices made during police‐public encounters are not explored.

Practical implications

Results have implications for the examination of how social control is exercised across gender, and has implications for how organizations evaluate officer performance.

Originality/value

This research expands the understanding of the influence of officer gender on arrest decision.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 34 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2001

Jeanne M. Flavin and Richard R. Bennett

Over the past two decades, the growing number of women entering the police profession has challenged the historic male dominance of the occupation. Research from the USA and the…

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Abstract

Over the past two decades, the growing number of women entering the police profession has challenged the historic male dominance of the occupation. Research from the USA and the UK has examined whether men and women police differ in their assessments of working conditions, occupational opportunities, and other aspects of police work. To date, however, no attempt has been made to conduct a quantitative study of gender across socio‐political contexts or to assess the applicability of models constructed in those two countries to Caribbean nations. This study employs survey data from a sample of police constables and their immediate supervisors in three Caribbean nations. The survey queried 1,237 constables and supervisors. A total of 11 per cent of the respondents were women. Constables were asked about various aspects of policing, working conditions, and the nature of their duties. The questions were based on 24 constructs evaluated in the US and UK literatures. Few differences between genders emerged from comparisons within nations, although such differences have been documented in the USA and UK. These findings suggest that gender models used in developed nations do not necessarily explain differences in developing nations. Differences were observed across the three nations, however. Implications for future research on gender and policing are discussed.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 24 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 2 August 2023

Michael Branch

Violence as a foundational element of police work is continuously reaffirmed and justified through police labour as ‘violence workers’ (Seigel, 2018). Hiring more female police

Abstract

Violence as a foundational element of police work is continuously reaffirmed and justified through police labour as ‘violence workers’ (Seigel, 2018). Hiring more female police officers has recently been seen as a way to reduce police violence. However, would employing more female officers change the relationship between policing and violence? Arguments in favour of more female police tend to rely on stereotypical understandings of gender, emphasising that women are naturally less aggressive and more likely to be caring and compassionate, often obscuring the violence enacted by female police officers in doing so. Female officers may be more likely to engage in violence out of necessity due to police culture and occupational norms around the use of force. Examining female police across countries such as the United States, Nigeria and Slovenia, this chapter establishes female police violence as a broader pattern, reflects on how female officers participate in police violence and addresses the extent to which masculinised police culture structures the expression of police violence. This chapter concludes with a discussion of why hiring more female police officers is not an adequate solution for reducing police violence, as police officers enact and are complicit in violence, regardless of gender.

Details

The Emerald International Handbook of Feminist Perspectives on Women’s Acts of Violence
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-255-6

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2005

Ronald J. Burke and Aslaug Mikkelsen

This study aims to examine gender issues in a sample of male and female police officers in Norway.

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine gender issues in a sample of male and female police officers in Norway.

Design/methodology/approach

Three gender issues were considered: perceptions of equal opportunity, possible reasons for differences in male and female career opportunities, and experiences of sexual harassment. Data were collected from 766 police officers in Norway using anonymous questionnaires, a 62 percent response rate.

Findings

Female officers indicated significantly lower levels of equal opportunity perceptions, more reasons for career opportunity differences (particularly discrimination), and more sexual harassment than did male officers. Female officers reporting lower levels of equal opportunity perceptions were less job‐satisfied, more cynical, rated their quality of leadership lower and indicated more health complaints. Female officers experiencing more sexual harassment also indicated less job satisfaction. Finally, female officers offering more reasons for career differences (particularly discrimination) reported less job satisfaction, and lower professional efficacy.

Research limitations/implications

Future research needs to examine gender issues in policing in greater depth using qualitative methodology. Data collected used self‐reports ,raising the possibility of response set tendencies. Results may not generalize to other countries or other professions.

Practical implications

Suggestions for addressing gender issues in organizations are offered.

Originality/value

Provides current information on consequences of gender issues in policing in a cross‐cultural context.

Details

Women in Management Review, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0964-9425

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2002

Beverly Metcalfe and Gavin Dick

Seeks to make a contribution to reviewing the position of policewomen by analysing the nature of attitudinal commitment and its possible gendered meanings and gendering effects…

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Abstract

Seeks to make a contribution to reviewing the position of policewomen by analysing the nature of attitudinal commitment and its possible gendered meanings and gendering effects. Using survey data, compares the different levels of commitment between men and women and considers if commitment is shaped by the same or different variables. Reviews the theoretical background to organisation commitment and gender and its relationship to police organisations. Then discusses the case data which reveals that there are few differences in the levels of men and women’s commitment, and that their commitment levels are shaped by the same managerial factors. Considers the implications for managing commitment and their relationship to equal opportunity developments within police forces. Concludes that the female police officer is committed to the force, but it is uncertain whether this is reciprocal.

Details

Women in Management Review, vol. 17 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0964-9425

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 December 2020

Kate M. Den Houter and Deepshikha Chatterjee

The purpose of this paper is to assess if in viewing tense, potentially stigmatizing, police-civilian interactions, people bring their own gendered and racial biases, as they form…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess if in viewing tense, potentially stigmatizing, police-civilian interactions, people bring their own gendered and racial biases, as they form perceptions of officers' use of identity management (IM) strategies, as they relate to officers' competence, warmth and appropriateness of actions.

Design/methodology/approach

In two experimental studies, the authors investigate how the IM strategies used by female and racial minority officers impact officers' ratings of competence, warmth and appropriateness of actions. Utilizing a 2x2x4 design, the authors manipulate officer gender (race), civilian gender (race) and IM strategy used by the officer in a news article describing a police-civilian interaction.

Findings

Not all IM strategies established positive perceptions of officers. Gender and race effects were observed in how officers were seen when they were involved in a tense interaction with a civilian. Female officers were perceived as more appropriate in their actions than male officers. However, Black, female officers were rated as both less warm and appropriate in their actions than White, female officers.

Originality/value

Although policing is seen as a tainted profession, officers' use of IM strategies is understudied. By taking a novel lens of stigmatization and IM strategies as they relate to policing, the authors contribute to how officers may manage their identities as they cope with the stigmatized views of their occupation. Findings have implications for the diversification of law enforcement personnel, as well as building trust and legitimacy between officers and the communities they serve.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 44 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 June 2023

Andréanne Angehrn, Colette Jourdan-Ionescu and Dominick Gamache

Police officers face a unique and challenging occupational experience and report elevated mental disorder symptoms relative to the general population. While gender differences…

Abstract

Purpose

Police officers face a unique and challenging occupational experience and report elevated mental disorder symptoms relative to the general population. While gender differences appear to be present in police mental health, this study aims to find which factors foster and promote resilience in these workers and how gender may relate to police resilience.

Design/methodology/approach

The present study was designed to explore how protective factors, sexual harassment and personality dysfunction impacted resilience among police officers (n = 380; 44% women). Furthermore, gender differences were also examined on these factors as well as on resilience rate.

Findings

Men and women police officers did not differ significantly in terms of resilience, protective factors and overall experiences of sexual harassment behaviors; yet, policewomen subjectively reported having experienced more sexual harassment in the past 12 months than policemen. Men reported greater personality difficulties than women, according to the alternative Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) model for personality disorders. Personality dysfunction was the most robust predictor of poor resilience (ß = −0.465; p < 0.001).

Originality/value

Personality fragilities appear to have an important negative impact on the resilience of police officers, over and above protective factors and gendered experiences. Interventions targeting emotion regulation, self-appraisal and self-reflection could help promote resilience and foster well-being in this population.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 46 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2002

Jan Jordan

Assumptions are often made that women police officers will respond more sympathetically to rape complainants than their male colleagues. In the research study presented here, 48…

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Abstract

Assumptions are often made that women police officers will respond more sympathetically to rape complainants than their male colleagues. In the research study presented here, 48 women complainants of rape and sexual assault expressed their views of the extent to which they considered the gender of the interviewing officer to be important and commented on the ways in which the men and women involved with their case interacted with them. The results showed that, overall, gender per se was not the determining factor of complainant satisfaction. Professionalism, warmth and sensitivity were the qualities most desired and these were not exclusively associated with gender. This suggests that not only is it possible for some male officers to be sensitive victim interviewers, but also that being female does not automatically denote possession of the key attributes required for victim interviewing. Some rape complainants, however, expressed a strong preference for women officers. This places the onus on the police not simply to provide a woman officer – the “any woman will do” scenario – but to ensure the availability of trained and experienced women and men officers.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 25 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

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