NCJ Number
89576
Journal
Schriftenreihe der Polizei-Fuehrungsakademie Issue: 3 Dated: (1982) Pages: 213-224
Date Published
1982
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Most States in the Federal Republic of Germany are preparing to admit women into the uniformed police forces. At present, however, only Hamburg, Berlin, Lower Saxony, and Hessen have programs for integrating female personnel into patrol duties.
Abstract
To advance the incorporation of female officers into all aspects of police work, a 1980 survey ascertained the status of women on the police forces of all West German States. A task force of the Interior Ministry undertook to study problems related to the issue and report its findings by 1981. Experience from abroad as well as in the German States now using female officers shows that women are well suited to police work; their lesser physical prowess is compensated for by other qualities conducive to defusing potentially explosive policing situations. The most difficult problem appears to be a greater turnover rate of women officers, which taxes personnel planning efforts, makes training more costly, and diminishes the force's overall experience level. In the immediate future, other German States should adopt models for training and deploying female officers, so that eventually uniform national policies can be worked out that uphold the basic tenets of equality as well as the efficacy of the police forces.