Women in law enforcement

"Police Woman" redirects here. For the TV series, see Police Woman (TV series).

Women in law enforcement agencies have always 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 the appearance of discrimination for cultural and political reasons, by hiring more women officers to work in this sector.

In the age of Islamic terrorism, right-wing cultural observers have increasingly questioned the role of women in the most dangerous law enforcement jobs. Specifically, they allege that policewomen don't have the necessary upper body strength to subdue violent criminals, citing the example of the 2018 Liège attack, where a Muslim convert overpowered two policewomen and shot them dead with their own handguns. Similar, albeit less violent, confrontations have occurred in Sweden, where immigrant men from mostly Muslim lands have openly defied Swedish policewomen. The policy then is to deescalate the conflict by leaving the scene, while requesting reinforcements.

Overview - Germany

Henriette Arendt was a German Policewoman in 1903.

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. 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.

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. 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.

In the 2010s , Swedish policewomen have had increasing problems dealing with immigrant gangs, who reject their authority for cultural reasons. This has caused severe political anxiety in the country (though the debate is suppressed in the media), as it conflicts two powerful interest groups. In general, Muslims of any gender are granted higher status than white women in the field of progressive identity politics.

Overview - United Kingdom

File:Women Police 1917 (7527854866).jpg

The transformation to "Voluntary Women Patrols" in 1917

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.

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. 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). 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 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. Many Chief Constables saw the role of women as Clerks and Chauffeurs' and thought women could possibly be employed as Special Constables. 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.

The Home Office, London, set up the Baird Committee in 1920 on the employment conditions and attesting of women in the Service. 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).

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 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.) 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

Main article: Women in law enforcement in the United States

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. 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. 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. 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. Very few women are ranked as sergeant or above. 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. It has long been know 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. 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%

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%

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

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. 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.

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 state they are still faced with discrimination and harassment. Policewomen often claim discrimination from their fellow officers and many women encounter the "brass ceiling", stating they are not able to move up in rank and can only go so far, as far as the imposing ceiling will allow. Women allege they are taught to overlook and minimize the discrimination they face, both on and off the job.

While women are not as likely to be physically assaulted while on the job, they do face more unwanted sexual advances, most of which comes from fellow officers. In 2009 77% of policewomen from thirty-five different counties have reported sexual harassment for their colleagues. 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.

Policewomen experience greater mobility than policemen, 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. 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).

Race

Multiple left-wing social studies have claimed 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. 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 said to be 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.” 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.

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 alleged 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.

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 are likelier to become policewomen than straight women are. They complain of an additional set of stereotypes, exclusion, and harassment. Galvin-White and O'Neil (2015) wrote about how lesbian police officers interpret their identities and relationships in the workplace. They claim that 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 is still said to manifest itself through discriminatory hiring processes and promotions, though that problem has been declining. 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.

Just as women are said to be discriminated against in the police force for not fulfilling the traditional male traits of a police officer, so are LGBT persons for challenging traditional gender norms. While there have been many efforts in the most progressive and culturally left-wing jurisdictions to recruit gay and lesbian police officers to boost diversity in the profession, the stigmas and challenges facing these officers remain even there, though such discrimination has increasingly been made illegal. 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 claim that lesbian police officers are often not able to trust their colleagues for backup or protection.

See also

• Women in the military