Women in the Police Force

by Katherine Spillar

Women officers are less inclined to use deadly force, even though they are involved in just as many violent confrontations.

The following article is excerpted from the testimony of Katherine Spillar (National Coordinator, The Fund for the Feminist Majority) before the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, May 13, 1991. Though it refers to American police forces, the information and recommendations are relevant for Canada.

Studies in the 1980s and early 1990s have shown women to be more effective than men in many facets of policing. Women police officers rely less on violence and more on verbal skills in handling altercations, they are less likely to be involved in "serious unbecoming conduct" (1), and they are more effective in handling female victims of violence.

In his 1983 study of the performance of women in the Los Angeles Police Department, Kenneth Hickman noted that women had superior communication skills, field tactics, initiative and self-confidence, and were more adept at public relations. The 1990 Claremont Graduate School study on the selection, recruitment, training, appointment and performance of women and minorities found that "females on probation were the subject of significantly fewer citizen complaints than either male or minority officers" (2).

In perhaps the most significant empirical research on the differences in the use of force between women and men police officers, Sean Grennan studied the 3,515 complaints filed against the New York City Police Department in 1989. Women officers received fewer complaints, were less inclined to use deadly force and were involved in fewer shooting; incidents, even though they were involved in just as many violent confrontations as their: male counterparts. Grennan concluded:

The reality of the information related to the [lower] proportion of shooting incidents involving female officers and the [lower] number of civilian complaints against female officers is that these figures have remained, consistently, at the same levels for the past seven years. This, of course, seems to indicate that female officers have not accepted the overly aggressive style of policing that has become the trademark of most male officers. (3)

Les femmes dans la police

par Katherine Spillar

Des études ont montré que les femmes font à bien des égards de meilleures policières que les hommes. Elles s'appuie moins sur la violence et davantage sur leurs talents oratoires, elles sont moins susceptibles d'avoir un comportement tout à fait inconvenant, elles sont plus tendres et plus coopératives avec les femmes victimes de violence. En fait, une étude effectuée par Katherine Van Wormer suggère que la propension à la violence d'un policier et la résistance qu'il oppose aux policières font qu'il est contre-productif. Une autre étude cite plusieurs cas où le policier qui était arrivé le premier sur la scène d'un viol profita de la vulnérabilité de la victime pour la violer à son tour.

Si on augmente le nombre des policières, les comportements misogynes et les tendances à blâmer les femmes diminueront, les femmes victimes de violence seront moins réticentes à signaler une agression à la police, et la force nécessaire pour résoudre les conflits sera moindre en raison des qualités de médiatrices des femmes.


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