Women in law enforcement

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Women in law enforcement agencies have typically been outnumbered by men. The first policewoman in Germany was recruited in 1903, the first in the USA appeared in 1910 and the first in England just a few years later. Since that time many law enforcement agencies have sought to reduce discrimination and increase the numbers of women working in this sector.

Overview - Germany

Henriette Arendt was a German Policewoman in 1903.^[1]

Overview - Sweden

In 1908, the first three women: Agda Hallin, Maria Andersson and Erica Ström, was employed in the Swedish Police Authority in Stockholm upon the request of the Swedish National Council of Women, who referred to the example of Germany.^[2] Their trial period was deemed successful and from 1910 onward, policewomen were employed in other Swedish cities. However, they did not have the same rights as their male colleagues: their title were Polissyster (Police Sister), and their tasks concerned women and children, such as taking care of children brought under custody, perform body searches on women, and other similar tasks which were considered unsuitable for male police officers.^[2]

In 1930, the Polissyster were given extended rights and were allowed to be present at houses searches in women's homes, conduct interrogations of females related to sexual crimes, and patrol reconnaissance work.^[2] In 1944, the first formal police course for women opened; in 1954, the title "police sister" were dropped and police officer allowed for both men and women, and from 1957, women received equal police education to that of their male colleagues.^[2]

Overview - United Kingdom

Police in Birmingham with a "matron" in about 1919

During the First World War a volunteer service was established by Margaret Damer Dawson and Nina Boyle. They had joined forces after seeing the trouble faced by refugees during the war. These volunteer women were allowed to officially patrol the streets of London and policemen were asked to assist them. These "Women Police Volunteers" were trained and they were intended to assist women during the turmoil of the war.^[3]

As the end of the First World War several groups of women's police Voluntary Patrols were in some major cities in Great Britain. These 'well-bred' women patrolling the streets to help women and children and especially those who became involved in crime.^[4] The Voluntary Women's Force at Bath, Somerset was created in 1912. Apart from London's Metropolitan Police commissioning of a report by a "female on females in custody" in 1907, there was not any consideration given to women working within the Police Force. The Prison Service had involved women many years previously.

In 1910 five women got together as a group and started to draw the attention of the Police Authorities to the fact that there were no woman Constables, even though many women were temporary prisoners in police custody. Matrons had been employed as civilian staff to look after women and children. They were usually the wives of serving police officers. Two women in particular sought to point out the lack of a woman Constable presence was wrong. They each had a relative in political high office. One of these women was Edith Tancred (1873–1957).^[5] She became a campaigner for the requirement of women police. The other was Dorothy Peto. Peto later decided to take the 'administrative path' within the Constabulary for promotion. Both Tancred and Peto were well placed in society to get their views heard. They were soon joined by three other women campaigners, and around 1911 started unofficial street patrols from an office in Bristol "to maintain public morality and decency". In 1914 Peto had joined the National Union of Women Workers^[6] and made patrols herself. Florence Mildred White left her teaching post at the Godolphin School in 1914 to live and work in the newly created Bath office of the group, where Peto had become the Assistant Patrols Organizer. White stayed until May 1918, working under the supervision of Peto, as a Patrol Officer in the city.

Sir Leonard Dunning, Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary wrote an article in the police magazine in 1918. About two of the six pages of his annual Report concerned the employment of women into professional police work, including the possibility of them having the powers of arrest.^[7][8] Many Chief Constables saw the role of women as Clerks and Chauffeurs' and thought women could possibly be employed as Special Constables.^[9] The Chief Constable of Wolverhampton wrote an article in Police Review and Parade Ground Gossip in which he listed a range of duties women could undertake within the Force.^[10]

The Home Office, London, set up the Baird Committee in 1920 on the employment conditions and attesting of women in the Service.^[11] Two Inspectors of Constabulary gave evidence as did several senior people in the Service including two Sergeants from provincial forces, Sergeant White and Sergeant Gale from Gloucestershire. (Both sergeants were already attested).^[6][11]

On 16 November 1921 the Metropolitan Commissioner of Police, Sir Nevil Macready, who was considered to be setting the standard throughout England, issued an order^[6] that with the possibility of women being appointed in the Police Service they would be in line with requirements for male officers; "a minimum height would be established, though at 5 feet 4 inches this was considerably lower than that for men." (White was officially documented as being five feet five and one half inches tall.^[12]) Macready added that women with dependent young children would be barred from service, women officers were not to be sworn in as constables, and they would not have the right to a pension. However, Salisbury, Liverpool and Glasgow had twenty women Constables already attested by 1919.

Overview - United States

Capt Edyth Totten and women police in 1918 in New York

Mounted police woman in Boston in 1980

The first policewomen in the United States included Marie Owens, who joined the Chicago Police department in 1891; Lola Baldwin, who was sworn in by the city of Portland in 1908; Fanny Bixby, also sworn into office in 1908 by the city of Long Beach, California; and Alice Stebbins Wells who was initiated into the Los Angeles Police Department in 1910.^[13] Since then, women have made progress in the world of law enforcement. The percentage of women has gone up from 7.6% in 1987, to 12% in 2007 across the United States.^[14] Despite these strides, women are underrepresented in law enforcement within the United States. Women only represent 12% of all law enforcement agencies, of which there are over 14,000.^[15] Also, throughout all of these agencies there are only 219 women who are ranked a chief. According to Johnson(2013) data from the FBI in 2011 showed that women only represented 12% out of 700,000 police officers in the U.S however, it is only partially higher from 11.2% in 2001.^[15] Very few women are ranked as sergeant or above.^[15] So not only are women under-reported in law enforcement they are faced with a glass ceiling and are unable to move up in ranks within their departments. A lot of women do not even try to reach these higher positions because of fear of getting unfair treatment from the male coworkers. Since very few women receive guidance in overcoming these obstacles, the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives (NAWLEE) has been involved since 1995 to guide women into having executive positions and help guide new female officers to reach up to achieving these leadership roles. It is a difficult journey for woman in law enforcement.^[16] It has long been known that agencies used to discriminate against the women by not hiring them simply because of their gender. Only in the last twenty years have departments been made to not hire a candidate based on gender.^[17] For around seventy years departments were allowed to discriminate against women wanting to go into law enforcement because they were women and are physically weaker. When women were allowed to get jobs within law enforcement, they were often given administrative or traffic jobs rather than actually going out on the street. Today that has changed; there are more women who are getting jobs within the tactical departments, such as S.W.A.T.

Local law enforcement agencies are not the only agencies to have a lower representation of women on their staff. Federal agencies are also underrepresented when it comes to women. Here are the statistics for women in federal agencies as of 2008:

• Office of Inspector General 25%
• Federal Bureau of Investigation 19%
• Administrative vs. Courts 46%
• United States Postal Inspection Service 22%
• United States Forest Service 15.9%^[18]

Women are even less represented in local departments. Here are the statistics for these departments as of 2008:

• Medium-sized departments 9%
• Small sized departments 10%
• Large Local Departments 15%
• Small local police departments 6%
• Small local sheriffs departments 4%^[18]

Between 2005 and 2011 the female physical ability test pass rates were 80% lower than their male counterparts.^[19]

Police Departments do not only have fewer police officers in them, they also hire fewer policewomen compared to policemen. Women are often screened out of the hiring process early on because departments are looking for candidates with high upper body strength and previous military experience.^[20] The physical ability test is not fit to match the physical standards of women. Men have higher muscle mass than women, so they are able to perform better on physical activities than women. Between 2005-2007 the female pass rate of the physical ability test was 80% lower than their male counterparts.^[19]

Discrimination

Delegates of the 3rd Annual Women in Policing Conference in Tbilisi, Georgia. March 4, 2014.

Despite women being in law enforcement for over one hundred years, they are still faced with discrimination and harassment. Policewomen often face discrimination from their fellow officers and many women encounter the "brass ceiling", meaning they are not able to move up in rank and can only go so far, as far as the imposing ceiling will allow.^[21] Women are taught to overlook and minimize the discrimination they face.^[22]

Discrimination and problems towards women in law enforcement are not just happening in the station house. Many policewomen that are married to other officers face a higher risk of domestic violence. Currently 27,000-36,000 female police officers may be a victim of domestic violence. Domestic Violence goes up to nearly 40%, from a normal societal level of 30%, in households of officers.^[22]

While women are not as likely to be physically assaulted while on the job, they do face more sexual harassment, most of which comes from fellow officers. In 2009 77% of policewomen from thirty-five different counties have reported sexual harassment for their colleagues.^[23] Women are asked to “go behind the station house” or are told other inappropriate things while on the job. Not only that, but there is often physical sexual harassment that takes place in the station house. So it is not only verbal, but also physical sexual harassment that policewomen face on a daily basis.^[24]

Policewomen also experience greater mobility, frequently being moved from one assignment to another. As of 1973, 45% of policewomen and 71% of policemen remained in their regular uniforms, 31% of policewomen and 12% of policemen were given inside assignments, and 12% of policewomen and 4% of policemen had other street assignments.^[24] Policewomen are less likely to be promoted within the department (going from officer to sergeant, sergeant to lieutenant, etc.) and are also more likely to be given different assignments and are less likely to keep the same beat (patrol position).

Gender inequality plays a major role in women in the law enforcement field. Not only the law enforcement field but in other fields. Women in law enforcement are often inexplicitly represented by their male counterparts and many face harassment (Crooke). Many women do not try to strive for higher positions because they may fear abuse by male coworkers. Very little women receive the guidance they need to overcome these obstacles that they face. Many women may feel they need to prove themselves to be excepted because if they don’t then they feel they are expected to make a mistake. But men are just easily accepted because they are seen to be inferior. One stereotype that is put on women is they are more capable to communicate with citizens because they come off as more influential and they can talk their way out of things. If women do not have the dedication to climb the ranks of law enforcement, they will rarely succeed at making the climb (Crooke). The discrimination that women in law enforcement face today may have been different from it was but it is still an occurring problem. Everyone is in charge of their own careers if someone wants to be something or someone and keep moving forward then everyone should be allowed to be the best they can be. They need to be assertive and find their voice to be who they want to be.

Race

Multiple studies have shown that black women in particular suffer from a matrix of domination and discrimination as they negotiate the politics of institutional racism, affirmative action, and tokenism.^[25] As the section above notes, there is no single “female experience” of the policing profession. Collins (1990) and Martin (1994) argue that race gives black female police officers a distinct feminist consciousness of their experiences. These experiences are colored by stereotypes attributed to black women as “hot mamas” “welfare queens” and “mammies.”These caricatures are contrasted by perceptions of white women as “pure” “submissive,” and “domestic.”^[26] While both sets of stereotypes are problematic, those attributed to black women lead to more suspicion and hostility in the workplace. Black women report receiving less protection and respect from their male colleagues. For many, black female officers lack the “pedestal” of femininity enjoyed by white women in the profession.^[27] In a study done by the College of Police and Security Studies, some 29% of white female officers acknowledged that black women in law enforcement have a harder time than white woman.^[28] Discrimination among female police officers also seems to be prevalent even though black police officers, both male and female only make up 12% of all local departments.^[29] There is also the issue of women being excluded from special units with at least 29% of the white women and 42% of the black women mentioning this phenomenon.^[28]

Susan E. Martin (1994) conducted a study in Chicago interviewing both male and female command staff and officers on their perceptions of discrimination in the workplace. The results of this study showed that in general, women experienced more discrimination than men. Experiences differed within races as well, with black women reporting higher rates of discrimination than black men.^[27]

Sexuality

Female police supporting LGBT pride parade in California.

The sexual orientation of a police officer can also influence the experiences of that officer. Women with non-heterosexual orientations deal with an additional set of stereotypes, exclusion, and harassment. Galvin-White and O'Neil (2015) recently examined how lesbian police officers negotiate their identities and relationships in the workplace. As they note, lesbian police officers must negotiate an identity that is "invisible" in that it is not necessarily detected by sight. Therefore, it is largely up to the individual to decide whether or not they come out to her colleagues. Many decide not to come out due to the stigmas surrounding LGBT identities, which may manifest themselves through discriminatory hiring processes and promotions. Galvin-White and O'Neil demonstrate that the decision to come out varies by individual and across the profession. The most salient factor influencing an individual's decision to come out is the extent of homophobia in the work environment.^[30]

Just as women are discriminated against in the police force for not fulfilling the traditional male traits of a police officer, so are members of the LGBT community for challenging traditional gender norms. While there have been recent efforts to recruit gay and lesbian police officers to boost diversity in the profession, the stigmas and challenges facing these officers remain. Research shows that lesbian officers who have come out are often excluded by both their male and female colleagues for not conforming to traditional femininity. Many of the studies Galvin-White and O'Neil cite report that lesbian police officers are often not able to trust their colleagues for backup or protection.^[30]

See also

• Women in the military

References