NCJ Number
185031
Date Published
1998
Length
16 pages
Annotation
In order to monitor the growth of women in law enforcement, the National Center for Women and Policing has completed this second annual study (1998) on the status of women in the largest law enforcement agencies in the United States.
Abstract
Findings show that among the largest law enforcement agencies in the country in 1998, women comprised only 13.8 percent of all sworn law enforcement positions; women of color hold 6 percent. In the last 8 years, women have increased their representation in sworn law enforcement ranks by only 3.2 percentage points, from 10.6 percent in 1990 to 13.8 percent in 1998. The gains for women in policing are so slow that at the current rate of growth, women will never reach equal representation or gender balance in law enforcement agencies. Women currently hold only 7.5 percent of top command law enforcement positions, 9.6 percent of supervisory positions, and 14.7 percent of line operation positions. Women of color hold 1.9 percent of top command law enforcement positions, 3.1 percent of supervisory positions, and 6.7 percent of line operations positions. Eight out of 10 municipal police agencies with the largest percentage of sworn women officers are currently under, or have been under, consent decrees to hire women or minorities. Similarly, among municipal police agencies with the highest percentage increase in sworn women officers since 1990, 8 out of 10 are under, or have been under consent decrees to hire women or minorities. This report identifies barriers to women in policing and discusses the implications of the survey findings. Tables show an agency-by-agency break down of the data. 8 tables