NCJ Number
188326
Date Published
2001
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses what the author learned about women in policing in New York City as she interviewed a sample of female officers for the purpose of developing a drama on women in policing entitled, "Girlz in Blue."
Abstract
The author interviewed the subject officers during the summers of 1997 and 1998. The group included police officers, sergeants, detectives, and lieutenants and represented both precinct workers and those assigned to other agencies such as the Internal Affairs Bureau and other special investigative units. The women officers interviewed stated that they do the job of policing as well as the male officers and want no special consideration. They often compared their on-the-job responses favorably to those of the men and speculated that a male officer in the same situation would have resorted to physical force or the use of firearms when the women did not. They claimed not to regard a suspect's refusal to comply immediately as a threat to their own authority and said they were willing to take the time to do what they were taught in the academy, i.e., to sort it out, be patient, and achieve verbal compliance. They boasted about times their cool prevailed over a male partner's macho and confided about pressures to conform or keep quiet when things got "out of hand." This paper examines whether women officers are developing a particularly "feminist" model of interaction with the public; whether they are more likely to be injured or less likely to make arrests because of their reluctance to use force; whether the women officers are having a positive influence on the city's police culture, and if not, why not; and whether such factors as isolation, intimidation, and the need to please male superiors impede women's opportunities to assert themselves within the department. 3 notes