Amie M. Schuck and Cara E. Rabe-Hemp
This study explored women police leaders’ (n = 503) attitudes and experiences relative to men police leaders (n = 3,359) and women police officers (n = 1,153) with no supervisory…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explored women police leaders’ (n = 503) attitudes and experiences relative to men police leaders (n = 3,359) and women police officers (n = 1,153) with no supervisory responsibilities.
Design/methodology/approach
Self-reported survey data were collected from 5,015 officers in 85 United States law enforcement agencies.
Findings
Compared with men police leaders, women police leaders were more likely to identify inequalities in the workplace, empower community members’ voices in defining legitimate forms of policing, elevate the importance of police misconduct and reject a tough physical approach. Women police leaders were also more likely than male police leaders to think that effective leadership influences the behavior of subordinates and more likely to feel that the rules leave room for interpretation. Black women police leaders reported different attitudes and experiences than White women police leaders, including recognizing greater inequalities, prioritizing increased law enforcement activities and experiencing less occupational burnout. Except for the seriousness of misconduct, there were no differences between women police leaders and women police officers without supervisory responsibilities.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the ongoing conversation about women in policing and how increasing the number of women in leadership roles affects law enforcement agencies and the public’s experiences with policing. As policing continues to face calls for reform and employment challenges, increasing the number of women in leadership plays a vital role in producing law enforcement agencies that are equitable and efficacious.
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Amie M. Schuck and Cara E. Rabe-Hemp
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between voluntary and involuntary turnover and officers’ salaries.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between voluntary and involuntary turnover and officers’ salaries.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data from the 2013 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, Poisson regression was used to test hypotheses about the effect of pay and other economic incentives on turnover, while controlling for previously identified influential organizational and community factors, such as crime, community disorganization, geographic region, policing philosophy, collective bargaining, the utilization of body-worn cameras, and workforce diversity.
Findings
Higher salaries were significantly associated with lower voluntary and involuntary turnover rates. In addition, other economic incentives and participation in a defined benefits retirement plan were related to voluntary separations but not dismissals. Consistent with prior research, southern agencies and sheriff’s departments reported higher turnover rates than local police agencies and departments operating in other areas of the USA. The effects of workforce diversity were mixed, while collective bargaining was associated with lower rates of voluntary turnover, and the utilization of body-worn cameras was associated with higher rates.
Originality/value
In addition to contributing to the theoretical literature on antecedents of turnover, this research has practical implications by helping law enforcement officials estimate how changes in the compensation structure affect their ability to retain qualified personnel. Due to the complexities of modern law enforcement, maintaining a strong and stable workforce is becoming a greater challenge, and more research is needed to understand which incentives are crucial in recruiting and retaining the most effective policing personnel.
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Ashley K. Farmer, Cara E. Rabe-Hemp and Jeruel Taylor
The militarization of police has garnered great attention in recent decades. Bolstered by the wars on drugs and terrorism, police agencies have been receiving military weapons and…
Abstract
The militarization of police has garnered great attention in recent decades. Bolstered by the wars on drugs and terrorism, police agencies have been receiving military weapons and equipment since the 1033 Program was authorized by the Department of Défense. A recent American Civil Liberties Union investigation on police raids found that militarization has occurred with almost no oversight. They studied more than 800 paramilitary raids and found that almost 80% were for ordinary law enforcement purposes like serving search warrants in people’s homes; only 7% were for genuine emergencies, such as barricade or hostage situations. Most compelling, the raids disproportionately targeted people of color. This chapter traces the history of police militarization in America, and how it has targeted and adversely affected minority communities.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of policewomen to determine the extent to which female officers face resistance and obstacles to police work, to examine…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of policewomen to determine the extent to which female officers face resistance and obstacles to police work, to examine the coping mechanisms female officers utilized to overcome impediments encountered, and to establish common themes in female officers' success stories of acceptance and integration.
Design/methodology/approach
Owing to the difficulty in accessing female officers, the current research utilizes in‐depth qualitative interviews through snowball sampling. This methodology provided a rich sample of tenured female officers' experiences to explore resistance and integration.
Findings
The findings suggest despite early occupational experiences of sexual harassment, discrimination, and disrespect, after long tenures, female officers do achieve acceptance in police work. Female officers are holding high civil service ranks in police agencies and achieving new “firsts” every day, including breaking into stereotypically masculine assignments.
Practical implications
As police departments nationwide are having difficulties maintaining recruitment standards and full rosters, the current study can provide insight into the obstacles women face when joining police agencies and methods to alleviate these impediments, revealing an under‐recruited population for police agencies nationwide.
Originality/value
This study extends past literature by: examining female officers' experiences in a variety of agencies previously ignored in the literature; analyzing the tenure of the officers' careers to determine the onset and desistance of female officers' experiences with resistance and acceptance; and suggesting women do survive and, in some instances, thrive in an “all boys club.”
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Amentahru Wahlrab, Sarah M. Sass and Robert Edward Sterken
“The Need to Disrupt Social Control” discusses three examples: sexual assault, civil rights, and state security, and how all three involve social control forces that promote or…
Abstract
“The Need to Disrupt Social Control” discusses three examples: sexual assault, civil rights, and state security, and how all three involve social control forces that promote or permit the oppression of individuals, groups, and societies. Amentahru Wahlrab, Sarah M. Sass, and Robert Edward Sterken Jr. briefly provide examples of how social control can be disrupted including #MeToo (sexual assault), the American Civil Rights Movement (civil rights), and the Arab Spring (authoritarian regimes) to illustrate how social control has been disrupted in these areas. The chapter illustrates how patriarchal norms allow for sexual assault by those with power within contexts, such as Hollywood, academia, business, and politics. Sexual assault survivors and bystanders often do not report instances of assault due to informal social norms permitting such actions and fear of personal and professional harm.
On a different level, the jail in the American south was one of the most feared institutions for African Americans. It was not uncommon for an African American to never return from what would be a night in the “drunk tank” for a white person. Black Americans stayed “in their place” due to the threat of the jail cell. Finally, the chapter details how tyrants use the full weight of state security forces, including the police and the military, to maintain their control. Fear of security forces is routinely encouraged by arrests, torture, and even disappearance (of people) at the hands of the security forces. “The Need to Disrupt Social Control” concludes that in these cases, social control maintains an oppressive order of some kind, thus social control is understood as a potential negative.
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L. Edward Wells, David N. Falcone and Cara Rabe‐Hemp
Recent policing reforms have strongly emphasized the role of community context in determining the form and content of effective policing, along with the traditional influence of…
Abstract
Recent policing reforms have strongly emphasized the role of community context in determining the form and content of effective policing, along with the traditional influence of organizational structures. Recognizing the increasing suburbanization of US communities, this study examines the empirical support for the underlying contextual and structural premises of these reforms in a sample of midwestern suburban communities. Merging data from a telephone survey of 194 municipal police departments in the five counties of the Chicago metropolitan statistical area with data on communities from other government sources, multiple regression was used to assess the relative importance of community context and organizational structure factors in accounting for differences in departmental policing styles. The findings both support and contradict some basic assumptions of current community‐oriented policing reforms, as well as some of the findings of prior studies. They underline the importance of empirically testing our theoretical assumptions in all types of community settings.
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This chapter explores social control from a theoretical perspective based on rhetoric. The chapter highlights three theorists whose insights enable us to see how social control…
Abstract
This chapter explores social control from a theoretical perspective based on rhetoric. The chapter highlights three theorists whose insights enable us to see how social control functions. First, the chapter examines the work of Michel Foucault, in particular his notions of power, as they relate to the way social control operates. Second, key concepts from Antonio Gramsci reveal the ways in which social control discursively sustains its hold on society. Finally, the work of Louis Althusser is discussed, especially his notion of interpellation, as it yields a way to view how ideology and social control are interrelated rhetorically. By focusing on the rhetoric of social control, we can gain an understanding of how social control operates and is used by particular agents in society.