Female Police Research Articles

“The Place is Gone!”: Policing Black Women to Redevelop Downtown Boston

Abstract In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Boston politicians and urban managers sought to reverse the city’s postwar capital drain by luring white consumer dollars and private investment. Their recovery plan featured the Adult Entertainment District (AED), which was established to contain burgeoning sexual commerce while demonstrating the vibrancy and economic viability of the city’s downtown core. At the same time, the changing spatial dynamics of interracial sexual commerce, Black economic isolation, and discriminatory practices citywide drew increasing numbers of Black women onto downtown streets. The presence of Black women in formerly white downtown spaces ignited a powerful law-and-order narrative linking race, sex, and violence. Black women became oversignified with sexual deviance and violent criminality amid the urban crisis. The development of the AED experiment and the raced and gendered crime panic posed unique challenges and opportunities for the Boston Police Department (BPD). Like urban police departments nationwide in the early 1970s, the BPD was embroiled in a battle for its authority. But the deeper motivations of economic turnaround guiding the AED ultimately served to strengthen the BPD’s legitimacy. As the separate goals of political officials and law enforcement authorities converged—to redevelop downtown Boston, and to secure urban authority, respectively—the intensifying policing and spatial banishment of Black women in downtown Boston became central to urban recovery strategies. This history demonstrates that aggressive, racially charged morals policing was deployed to prepare the city for an influx of white capital.

Which position is proper? The representation of the policewoman in the Hong Kong film Breaking News

ABSTRACT Through the lens of an in-depth narrative analysis of the female representation in the highly recognised, award-winning Hong Kong film—Breaking News (大事件), this study interrogates the ways in which the female police officer is represented as a typical female professional in the male-dominated police force and how this representation projects the traditional Hong Kong gender norm. In light of the model of the postfeminist working girl, this paper interweaves the Western postfeminist theories with Hong Kong sociocultural discourse and opens up a new trajectory to engage postfeminism with the cinematic representation of Hong Kong women. The analysis suggests that the female police officer is placed in an “in-between” space where she is allowed to be empowered with outstanding skills and professional competence, but ultimately contained with devalued success because of her potential victimisation or portrayal of less competence than her male counterparts. Thus, the underlining representation of the female police officer’s professionalism is presented as a cultural strategy that shows a false impression of female empowerment in which the female power is still dominated by males.

ADA APA DENGAN JILBAB? (SEBUAH PRAKTIK HEGEMONI MONOKULTURALISME DALAM INSTITUSI KEPOLISIAN)

This article discusses the issue of the monocultural and hegemony that occur in police forces, especially police women in Indonesia. Monokulturalisme related to the concept of cultural unification (homogentitas). In monokulturalisme, a sign of the assimilation process is a mixture of two or more cultures to form a new culture. As an ideology, monokulturalisme in some countries serve as the basic of government policies and strategies concerning culture and system state.Keyword: Identity, Hegemony, Monokulturalisme

Comparison of Chinese male and female police cadets’ perceived occupational self-efficacy

ABSTRACT This study compared Chinese male and female police cadets’ perceived occupational self-efficacy in the following domains of police responsibility: making arrests, overall police duties, report filing, using police equipment, interaction with the public/colleagues, solving problems, living with police expectations, having the required physical and emotional strength to complete police work. Data were analysed based on surveys conducted with 1023 cadets (151 females and 872 males) in a police college located in a Southeastern province of China. It was found that male cadets were significantly more self-efficacious than their female counterparts in the areas of making arrests, filing reports, and using police equipment. Moreover, male cadets were also significantly more confident that they were physically and mentally capable of doing police work. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that among the different aspects of self-efficacy, the differences in making arrests and having physical strength were the greatest between male and female cadets. Training program for female cadets should be targeted toward improvement in policing skills and mental resilience to increase their confidence in their ability to successfully execute the police role. Future studies can continue exploring how perceived self-efficacy of police changes over time and whether deployment practices and perceived treatment affect male and female cadets’ self-efficacy.

A police service in transformation: implications for women police officers

ABSTRACT This paper presents an overview of current trends besetting the police service in England and Wales, including the reduction of resources through austerity pressures, changing patterns of crime such as rises in cyber-related offences, greater victim focus, the introduction of graduate entry and changes in political accountability through the newly elected Police and Crime Commissioners. Secondary analysis of data enabled an assessment of the degree to which these impacts the employment and deployment of women in policing. As the gender ratio changes and reforms facilitate styles of policing with greater emphasis on the ethic of care it might be expected this will reflect more feminine values. The conclusion drawn is that the impacts of feminisation are somewhat overstated and remain rather fragile.

Associations between Fitness Measures and Change of Direction Speeds with and without Occupational Loads in Female Police Officers.

Female police officers may be required to pursue offenders on foot while wearing occupational loads. The aim of this study was to determine relationships between fitness measures and change of direction speed (CODS) in female police officers and the influence of their occupational loads. Retrospective data were provided for 27 female police officers (age = 32.19 ± 5.09 y, height = 162.78 ± 5.01 cm, and mass = 71.31 ± 13.42 kg) and included fitness measures of: lower-body power (standing long jump (SLJ)), upper-body and trunk muscle endurance (push-up (PU) and sit-up (SU)), aerobic power (estimated VO2max), and CODS (Illinois agility test). The CODS test was performed without and with occupational load (10 kg). Paired sample t-tests (between-load conditions) and Pearson’s correlations (relationships between measures) were performed with linear regression analysis used to account for the contribution of measures to unloaded and loaded CODS performance. CODS was significantly slower when loaded (unloaded = ~23.17 s, loaded = ~24.14 s, p < 0.001) with a strong, significant relationship between load conditions (r = 0.956, p < 0.001). Moderate to strong, significant relationships were found between all fitness measures ranging from estimated VO2max (r = −0.448) to SU (r = −0.673) in the unloaded condition, with the strength of these relationships increasing in the loaded condition accounting for 61% to 67% of the variance, respectively. While unloaded agility test performance was strongly associated with loaded performance, female police officer CODS was significantly reduced when carrying occupational loads. A variety of fitness measures that influence officer CODS performances become increasingly important when occupational loads are carried.

Servir y Proteger. Visión ideal de la mujer policía.

On the 40th anniversary of the incorporation of women into the State security police in Spain, we ap-proach the analysis of the representation of female officers of the National Police portrayed by the pro-duction of RTVE Servir y proteger (Tirso Calero, 2017-2019, Spain). This study combines the hermeneutic and doctrinal technique of legal science with film analysis. Guided by the objective of elucidating the degree of agreement between the image conveyed by the series, the ought to be proposed by the legal framework and the participation of women in the current National Police, we conclude that the audiovisual product in our study offers an aspirational image that does not yet coincide with reality.

美 · 日 경찰 체력검사 제도의 고찰 및 시사점

Starting from 2019, the system will be first implemented for male and female applicants for the National Police University and the National Police Agency, and it is expected that a combined selection of new police officers will also take place. Therefore, the study wanted to see the status of the U.S. police system, which applies the criteria for gender-unified physical fitness tests in most states, and the Japanese police`s physical fitness test system, which limits the number of female and female police officers, and dual standards for physical fitness tests. Unlike Korea and Japan, which restricts the number of women who hire police officers, in the United States, no policy has been implemented since the 1960s and 1970s to limit the number of female employees. Since it is very difficult to prove whether a Bona Fide Occurational Qualification (BFOQ) in the performance of police duties, the government has abolished the gender limit policy. If the number of female police officers is not limited by the abolition of gender separation, it is important to see whether the standard of employment, especially the standard of physical fitness test, will be equal. The claim that the standard of one-sided physical fitness test will adversely affect women`s acceptance rate has been used as a basis for the recruitment of gender separation. The United Kingdom and Australia, including more than 70 percent of the U.S. National Police Agency, apply the fitness test standards independently of gender. If the government abolishes the policy on limiting the number of female employees, it will apply the one-size-fits-all standard because controversy over reverse discrimination in the physical fitness test standards is growing. JAPPA, a Japanese police official`s physical fitness test system, does not have a standard for each age group of police officers and applies the same standard for all male and female police officers.

Symbolically Annihilating Female Police Officer Capabilities: Cultivating Gendered Police Use of Force Expectations?

This first step cultivation analysis examines the quantity, temporal dynamics, and stance of municipal police officer use of force depictions based on the gender of the officer. The 112 theatrically released films that comprise the core cop film genre were systematically identified. Subsequently, a population of 468 police use of force scenes was identified to serve as the units of analysis for this study. Findings revealed male officer use of force scenes appeared across all 40 years of films. Female officer use of force scenes, however, were highly restricted to specific films, years, and often dwarfed by male scenes within films. Lone female officer use of force scenes saw their highest representation in the 1980s but declined in the 1990s and 2000s, becoming increasingly dependent on a male officer’s presence. Implications of such patterns are discussed as well as potential second step cultivation studies.

Gender as a moderator of the relationship between job demand and quality of work-life of police personnel in Lagos, Nigeria

Previous studies have linked quality of work-life with functional job behaviours which may enhance the quality of services rendered by police personnel. However, there is a need to investigate how gender may moderate the connection between job demand and quality of work-life, especially among female police personnel who are often faced with challenges of balancing family and work responsibilities. Against this background, this study tested the level at which gender moderates the relationship between job demand and police personnel’s quality of work-life. Participants were 944 police personnel (429 females; 515 males) whose ages ranged from 24 to 60 years (M = 38.66 years, SD = 8.43). The study hypotheses were tested with 3-step hierarchical multiple regression. The results showed that job demand led to a significant decrease in quality of work-life of police personnel. Gender significantly moderated the relationship between job demand and quality of work-life, in such a way that female police personnel had better quality of work-life than their male counterparts. The findings of this study indicated that gender is an important factor in police personnel’s quality of work-life. In order to improve the quality of work-life of police personnel in Nigeria, police personnel should be exposed to adequate job rewards, which may balance out the adverse effects of job demand. Also, Ministry of Police Affairs in Nigeria should provide support to police personnel especially the males in order to improve their quality of work-life.

Effect of Employee Demographic Characteristics and Family/Work Conflict on Organizational Commitment Among the Police Officers in Nakuru County, Kenya.

This paper examines the demographic characteristics and related variables on family/work conflict among the Police Officers in Nakuru County, Kenya. The participants were from eight (8) Police Division and a simple random sample of 170 was derived from a total number of 278 Officers. The level of conflict that employees perceive between their working and personal lives on organizational commitment was based on their personal characteristics which included: gender, marital status, age, level of education, tenure and number of hours worked among the police officers. The report suggested that the biographical personal characteristics suggested that those who participated there were more male officers compared to the female gender. The results showed that more female police officers experienced more stress than men which spill into their work due to the multiple roles they play as wives, mothers, care givers, family career as well as employees. The results are discussed in terms of marital status, level of education, tenure of service and numbers of hours worked per day on how they influence organizational commitment among the police officers in Nakuru County, Kenya

Associations Among Hair Cortisol Concentrations, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Status, and Amygdala Reactivity to Negative Affective Stimuli in Female Police Officers.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with altered hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis function. Measurement of hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) allows retrospective assessment of HPA axis regulation over prolonged periods of time. Currently, research investigating HCC in PTSD remains sparse. Previous cross‐sectional studies have included only civilian populations, although it is known that trauma type moderates associations between PTSD status and HPA axis function. We investigated differences in HCC between trauma‐exposed female police officers with current PTSD (n = 13) and without current and lifetime PTSD (n = 15). To investigate whether HCC was associated with neural correlates of PTSD, we additionally performed exploratory correlational analyses between HCC and amygdala reactivity to negative affective stimuli. We observed significantly lower HCC in participants with PTSD than in participants without PTSD, d = 0.89. Additionally, within participants with PTSD, we observed positive correlations between HCC and right amygdala reactivity to negative affective (vs. happy/neutral) faces, r = .806 (n = 11) and left amygdala reactivity to negative affective (vs. neutral) pictures, r = .663 (n = 10). Additionally, left amygdala reactivity to negative faces was positively correlated with HCC in trauma‐exposed controls, r = .582 (n = 13). This indicates that lower HCC is associated with diminished amygdala differentiation between negative affective and neutral stimuli. Thus, we observed lower HCC in trauma‐exposed noncivilian women with PTSD compared to those without PTSD, which likely reflects prolonged HPA axis dysregulation. Additionally, HCC was associated with hallmark neurobiological correlates of PTSD, providing additional insights into pathophysiological processes in PTSD.

An exploratory research on police officers role to reduce adolescents suicide in Guyana

ABSTRACTThis study explores the experiences of police officers who engage with suicidal adolescent callers in Guyana. The aim of this study is to explore the police officers experience in dealing with the adolescents who made a non-fatal attempt to commit suicide. Qualitative data were collected from thirteen female police officers aged 23–51 years who are purposively selected, and who are working with the suicide call center run by the Welfare office of the police department, Guyana. The findings indicate that there is a need for more systematic counseling and support services to reduce the suicide attempt cases. Research reveals that domestic issues, rumors of relationships, verbal abuse by parents, low self-esteem are some of the causes to attempt suicide. Self-care strategies and suggestions were discussed to prevent suicide attempts. The reported psycho-social stress facing suicidal adolescent callers in this study are thus convergent with findings.

Attitudes toward gender integration in policing: A study of police cadets in China

Research results in Western democracies indicate that female police officers favor performing the full range of police duties (Brown, 1997). However, the full gender integration agenda in policing has been challenged, to some extent, by research indicating that female police officers prefer partial integration or segregation in non-Western societies (Natarajan, 2008a,b; Strobl, 2008). Utilizing the recent survey data collected from three police colleges in three different provinces in China, the current study examines police cadets’ attitudes toward gender integration and its predictors beyond gender. Inconsistent with previous studies, this study reveals no significant difference in attitudes toward gender integration between male and female cadets, and cluster analysis results indicate that only a small portion of police cadets support giving women specialized assignments. Both male and female cadets who perceive women as having low competence levels in policing were more likely to support gender segregation. These findings highlight the importance of gender-sensitive education, curricula, and training at the police colleges and academies.

A Gloomy Carnival of Freedom

This article investigates the experiences of Polish Displaced Persons (DPs) through the lens of sexuality, analyzing their perceptions of liberation and life in DP camps in Allied-occupied Germany and Austria (1945–1951). It draws on a wide array of sources, including archival material, memoirs, and letters. Employing Mikhail Bakhtin’s concepts of carnival and the carnivalesque, it argues that the dynamics of DPs’ sexual and romantic encounters, analyzed as emotional experiences, can be characterized as having a carnivalesque structure of oppression, eruption, and normalization. It demonstrates how the eruption of sexuality (including sexual violence) was connected to the wider problems Poles faced, including feelings of emasculation, war trauma, and the challenges of rebuilding a community in exile. Polish elites, acting mostly within a Catholic conservative register, boosted normalization by combatting perceived “immorality” and promoting family values. To this end, they cooperated with international organizations and the Allied military in an attempt to contain venereal disease, prostitution, and abortion. Many of these efforts focused on policing women’s bodies and regulating their sexuality, as a part of rebuilding the nation after the hecatomb of war.

신임 경찰 남녀 통합 선발을 위한 체력검사 제도의 개선 방안

The purpose of this study is to provide a basis for improving the physical fitness test standards for the selection of the new male and female police officers. Therefore, we reviewed literature data such as the new police officer selection physical fitness test statute, and presented the problems of the current physical fitness test system. In addition, we analyzed the physical fitness test system of foreign police who are performing the male and female integration selection, and proposed the improvement plan for us. The problems with the new police officer’s physical fitness test are as follows. First, it is necessary to readjust the standard value of female police officers’ physical fitness test. Second, it is necessary to establish a physical fitness test system suitable for the work. Police officers overpower and arrest the offenders, and additional implementation of physical fitness test events including coordination to prepare for unexpected situations such as the use of weapons on the work is necessary. Third, it is necessary to raise the standard value of police officer’s physical fitness test. Fourth, it is necessary to develop a fair physical fitness test system regardless of gender. In order to eliminate concerns about the recruitment of police officers regardless of gender, for gender equality recruitment in order to develop a reasonable physical fitness test system that is sympathetic to both internally and externally, the physical fitness test system should be established so that it does not have an advantage or disadvantage depending on gender by referring to the foreign police fitness test system of recruitment, which integrates gender.

Assessing the Effect of Long Term Physical Training and Classification of Training Status Using HRV and HRR of Female Police Recruits

Assessing the Effect of Long Term Physical Training and Classification of Training Status Using HRV and HRR of Female Police Recruits

Suicide among Italian police officers from 1995 to 2017.

Suicide rate in police officers is higher than in the general population worldwide. This paper assesses and analyzes the trends in suicide rates of Italian police officers from 1995 to 2017, comparing these with the trends of Italian general population. We reviewed all cases of active Italian police officers who died by suicide from 1995 through 2017 (N=271). We calculated age- and gender- specific suicide rates among police officers and the Italian general population. We carried out descriptive chi-squared analyses for categorical variables, and one-way ANOVA for continuous variables, performing a joinpoint regression to analize suicide trends. The mean police suicide rate was 11.78 per 100,000 individuals per year (95% CI=11.18-12.06). Joinpoint regression analyses of the period 1995-2017 showed that suicide rates of Italian police officers significantly decreased from 1995 to 2007 (annual percent change [APC]: -5.75%), followed by a period of a non-significant increase (APC: 3.9%). The period as a whole showed a non-significant decrease (APC: -1.7%). During 1995-2014, suicide rates were significantly higher among police officers vs. the age-adjusted general population (p<0.001), in male police vs. Italian male residents younger than 65 (p<0.001), and in female police vs. the female age-adjusted general population (p<0.05). Suicide rates among Italian police officers were significantly higher than those of the national resident population younger than 65 years. Annual suicide rate trends among Police showed a significant reduction in the period 1995-2007 followed by a stable trend until 2017. The entire period 1995-2017 showed a non-significant decreasing trend.

The Unheard Female Voice

The Unheard Female Voice

Caracterização dos casos notificados de violência interpessoal e autoprovocada

O artigo teve como objetivo caracterizar casos de notificações de violência. Este é um estudo quantitativo, com delineamento descritivo, de corte transversal, realizado com dados do Sistema de Informações de Agravos de Notificação, considerando dados do ano de 2015 da cidade de São José do Rio Preto, SP. Foram elaboradas tabelas considerando-se padrão de análise de significância de p&lt;0,05, com nível de confiança de 95%. Houveram registros de 1.698 casos, das quais 71,2% no sexo feminino. A violência física acometeu 54,4% e a negligenciada 34,3%. A idade de 0- 9 anos representaram 81,9% da negligenciada, com maior ocorrência em 69% na residência. A mãe, seguida do pai foram os principais agressores nas idades de 0-9 anos (68,8%) e (31,4%) e, de 10-19 anos (28,4%) e (15%). Alto grau de incidência da própria pessoa - autoprovocada (67,9%), (20-39-40) anos ou mais. Encaminhados para o Conselho Tutelar nas faixas etárias de 0-9 anos (84,2%), e 10-19 anos (61,8%), e entre 20-39 anos ao atendimento à mulher e Delegacia da Mulher em 44% e 52% respectivamente. A pesquisa mostrou a necessária articulação e organização entre as redes de apoio e mais pesquisas destacando as questões das violências por ciclos de vida para elaboração de ações de prevenção e controle.