Gender Discrimination and Regulatory Behaviour: An Exploratory Study in Policing

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between police departments and equity agencies in Australia. Previous research has shown marked differences in the performance of police in fulfilling the requirements of equity legislation. Responsibility for ensuring compliance with antidiscrimination and affirmative action legislation rests with equity agencies — which ‘police the police’. The paper reports the results from a survey of these agencies to obtain their accounts of factors facilitating or hindering police compliance. These factors are framed in terms of agency powers, resources, regulatory strategies and police responses. The study found that regulatory agencies were highly detached from police departments and that differences in compliance were largely the result of factors independent of regulatory action. A ‘culture of under-enforcement’ remained as the most likely explanation for regulatory failure. The paper concludes by emphasising the need for more active monitoring and a more confrontational approach to under-achieving departments.