Sexual Integration in American Law Enforcement (From Police Ethics - Hard Choices in Law Enforcement, P 205-218, 1985, by William C Heffernan and Timothy Stroup, eds. - See NCJ-100351)

• NCJ Number: 100362
• Author(s): B R Price
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 10 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; John Jay Press
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: For microfiche, see NCJ-100351.

Annotation

Low percentages of women are in the rank-and-file and management positions of U.S. police departments due to stereotyped images of police and departmental opportunity structures.

Abstract

Democratic principles are weakened when police agencies do not employ sufficient numbers of women to give voice to diverse views and modify police discriminatory treatment of women offenders and victims. The most recent national survey indicates that policewomen have increased from 1.5 percent of officers in 1972 to 3.38 percent in 1979. According to a recent Police Foundation report, women compose only 1.69 percent of all municipal officers above the rank of police officer. Almost all of these women are in first-level supervisory positions. Factors contributing to the disproportionately low representation of women in policing include the interrelationship of police organizational structure and the traditional view of policing as a male occupation as well as the organizational opportunity structure. Other factors are the shrinking size of most U.S. police agencies and the general ideology of male superiority and the expectation of male dominance. Women's status in policing will remain marginal until command support for more women officers increases or the command structure itself is altered. Neither is likely. 23 notes.