NCJ Number
106472
Date Published
1984
Length
76 pages
Annotation
A 1979 survey comparing male-female police performance in the Vancouver Royal Canadian Mounted Police indicated that women can competently carry out general patrol duties and that their performance is, in most respects, very similar to that of male officers.
Abstract
The report first reviews trends in hiring female police officers and details the methodology used in the Vancouver study. Sources of information included questionnaires completed by 200 male officers, interviews with dispatchers and supervisors, structured observations from ride-alongs, interviews with matched groups of 40 female and 40 male officers, personnel records, and dispatch records. The study found that supervisors' evaluations of male and female officers were virtually identical. Male officers were more likely than females to have traffic accidents. Dispatch records revealed little difference in the seriousness of calls to which males and females were dispatched, and both sexes were about equally likely to receive backup. Many male officers had negative attitudes toward female officers and felt that women were not physically equipped to handle the demands of policing. Both sexes reported a high level of job satisfaction, although for somewhat different reasons. Field observations showed little difference in performance between the sexes, although citizens responded more favorably toward female officers. Tables and 21 references.