Role of Women in Law Enforcement Agencies Essay

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Role of Women in Law Enforcement Agencies

Seminar type mini paper

Gender discrimination has long been a topic of controversial debate. While much has been done about it in the U.S.A. And Britain, where many laws and regulations have been passed in order to encourage the participation of women in all fields irrespective of their being a female, there still are differences.

These differences exist most specifically in areas that have traditionally been considered the domain of men. Law enforcement is one such field, where physical strength is considered a prerogative, which is the biological forte of men. One piece of work, which looks at the role of women in law enforcement agencies, is the book called: "Women in Control? The Role of Women in Law Enforcement," by Frances Heidensohn. (Heidensohn, 1995)

Analysis

This book starts of on an interesting note by drawing the readers' attention to the portrayal of women in the media, establishing links to various movies that have depicted women carrying weapons as well as being stronger than men. But it indicates that women, despite the grant of equal rights are still facing glass ceilings in these institutions and have not been able to grow to their full potential as a result of these transparent boundaries that restrict their talent to show to its full potential.

The book draws linkages to various sociological schools of thoughts and indicates that the various policing theories that have come about in recent times. The author states that while some researchers have indicated the importance of professional skills, others have emphasized the importance of understanding civil disturbance. The role of women in law enforcement in the U.S.A. And the UK was conceived differently as in the UK there was more legislation regarding equality, more so as the First World War demanded that women take charge internally. However in the U.S.A., there has been a history of lawsuits brought against the state by women who considered the practices of the state as discriminatory.

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Despite the author indicating that there have been a number of amendments and changes have been made in the law regarding women being part of law enforcement agencies, other authors such as Jon Felperin, have indicated that till date, the representation of women in the police force is low and that low representation of women, who rely instinctively on more communicative styles, is detracting from the police force. This goes to say that women can do a lot more value addition to the police force, if they are allowed to do so, opposed to traditional avenues of thought. He says that (Felperin, 2004):

"The under-representation of women at all levels in the modern police agency negatively impacts the culture and operational efficiency of law enforcement agencies throughout the country. Given the many difficult challenges facing modern agencies, the need to hire more women has never been more urgent. (Felperin, 2004)

Another article further emphasis the role and the importance of women in the police force. It goes to indicate that (Lonsway, Moore, Harrington, Smeal, & Spillar, 2003) there are six basic observed advantages that the law enforcing agencies as well as the public at large can have by including women in the police force. All these advantages have been backed by statistical study figures indicating that women are likely to use more communicative styles and less physical force, along with the fact that they are just as competent as their male counterparts. The authors of this study by the National Center for Women & Policing have indicated also that women are more relationship oriented than men, and hence are more likely to be community-oriented. Going with this communal perspective, it has been observed that women are more likely to empathize and understand rather than trying to prove they correct. This links back to the fact that as they are able to understand more, they are less likely to get into situations where the suspect or other….....

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