Lecture 5 - Women In Policing

Question 1

History of Women’s Policing

Answer 1

“Historically women have been excluded from policing because they were thought to be physically as well as temperamentally unsuited for the rigors of police work”
(Worden, 1993, pg. 203)

Question 2

1912

Answer 2

VPD hired first 2 female constables

Question 3

Beginning of Women In Policing

Answer 3

When women began to enter policing, their roles were often limited to stereotypically “feminine jobs”:

• Clerical Support
• Family Counselling
• Juvenile Delinquency
• Marriage Disputes

which they often conducted from the “safety” of the police station; away from the “dangers” of the streets.

Question 4

Difference in Conduct & Form

Answer 4

• Women were not often equipped with weaponry like their male counterparts
• Women often wore different styles of uniforms (visible signifiers of difference between genders)

Question 5

Timeline (Dont memorize years, just know timeline)

Answer 5

1956 - Female Officers in the VPD granted equal pay to male officers
1973 - Female Officers in the VPD allowed to work same patrol duties as males officers + allowed to carry firearms on-duty
1975 - First female detective in the VPD
1978 - First female dog handler in the VPD
1988 - First female motorcycle officer in the VPD
2018 - Female officers comprise 26% of sworn officers in the VPD

Question 6

Present Day Statistics

Answer 6

Canada:
78% - Men
22% - Women

United States:
88% - Men
12% - Women

Question 7

Are Female Officers Diiferent from Male Officers? (TEST Q - GIve Both SIdes YES and No about why Female Officers are different from male officers and give examples)

Answer 7

NO:
* both sexes influenced more by organizational and task characteristics than socially-ascribed gender roles
* On the job socialization forces convergence in officer’s ideology and practices
* Self-Selection: May artificially create a group of officers, regardless of gender, who share many similarities

YES:
* Gender Socialization leads women and men to adopt different perspectives on similar issues
Ex. Gilligan’s Theory of Morality
- Morality of Justice
- Morality of Care
* Perspectives on Police Role
Men - Danger, Violence, Aggression, “Fighting Crime”.
(Masculinity and Dominance of Men)
Women - Their perspective differs for two reasons:
- Gender socialization
- Workplace Exclusion
* Women may be less supportive of “us versus them” mentality with public because of exclusion in masculine police subculture
* Women may be less satisfied with their jobs, colleagues, departments because:
- Outsider status to police subculture
- Isolation, Harassment, Disapproval
- Less impressed by other officers’ competences

Question 8

From Reading: DESCRIBE 2 Moralities and identify differences and figure out who adopts each morality and Compare and Contrast the two moralities for exam.

Answer 8

• Morality of Justice
• Morality of Care

Question 9

Worden (1993): Methodology:

Answer 9

Compared female and Male Officers attitudes and perceptions using:
* Survey Data from 1977 Police Services Study (PSS)
* 740 Patrol Officers in 24 Different Departments

Results:
* Female and Male Officers generally exhibited similar attitudes
* BUT.. found women were less integrated into their jobs as police officers

Experience was an important factor for female officers
* On the job socialization was leading to attitudes and behaviours of female officers (women’s view converged toward those of men through socialization into police work)

Question 10

Simpson & Croft (2021): Behaviour of officers vs. Perceptions of Officers

Answer 10

Explored how the public perceives female and male police officers when wearing uniform versus civilian clothing.

Results:
Civilian - Male Officers perceived as more aggressive than female officers

Uniform - No significant differences in perceptions of aggression

Females were perceived as more aggressive once in uniform (public perception affected women more than men)