NCJ Number
164083
Journal
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 12 Issue: 3 Dated: (August 1996) Pages: 215-234
Date Published
1996
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This study analyzes 324 law enforcement officers' responses as to whether policewomen, policemen, or a combination are best suited to respond to woman battering overall, battering victims, and batterers; in addition, the analysis accounts for the relationship between officers' demographic characteristics and their responses.
Abstract
The 10-page survey was distributed to the 324 police officers in a large midwestern metropolitan area in December 1987. The study included both the city police and county sheriff's departments from the same metropolitan area. The sample was 6.4 percent female, 13 percent African-American, 73 percent patrol officers, and 84.5 percent city police officers, with a mean age of 37 years and an average of 12 years of service. The findings suggest that policemen are less enthusiastic about policewomen's contributions to policing woman battering than policewomen are about policemen's contributions. Further, the only demographic characteristics related to the officers' responses are their gender and departmental affiliation. Findings suggest that simply recruiting women into law enforcement is not sufficient. A special effort is necessary to recruit men who respect women as equals and to address gender stereotyping in police training. One of the most ironic findings of the study is that policewomen are apparently less valued in the department that has significantly more women, i.e., the city department. 6 tables and 58 references