NCJ Number
181254
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 38 Issue: 1 Dated: Winter 1998 Pages: 40-60
Editor(s)
Richard Sparks
Date Published
1998
Length
218 pages
Annotation
Based on data from a survey conducted in one of England's northern constabularies, it was determined that wider structural, engendered inequality, and occupational culture processes need to be taken into account to explain differences between the employment of male and female police officers.
Abstract
The survey was conducted in July 1995 in a northern constabulary covering both urban and rural areas. Following a series of focus groups for male and female police officers and selective interviews with senior police officers, a questionnaire was administered to all 411 female police officers and a stratified random sample of 561 male police officers, with rank and job title used as sampling criteria. Of the total sample, 263 women (64 percent) and 320 men (57 percent) completed the questionnaire. Findings showed the work of female police officers was constrained by societal structures of engendered inequalities. Being a parent, for example, had very different consequences for women and men employed in the constabulary. Conflicts between home and work were generally sharper for female police officers. Engendered inequalities located within a wider societal structure of beliefs and attitudes permeated the organizational structure and culture of the constabulary. Many features of the occupational culture were discriminatory toward women, and the Criminal Investigation Division was a particular enclave of discriminatory and exclusionary practices. 28 references, 15 footnotes, 3 tables, and 12 figures