Gender Disparities In Law Enforcement

There are many stereotypes that women in the law enforcement field have to face. In order to recruit more women into policing, law enforcement agencies should attempt to overcome the idea that policing is a "male-oriented profession". This paper will cover parts of the history of women police officers, some views and stereotypes of the female officer, job related issues, life outside of the workforce and job satisfaction.

This paper provides an overview of the problems facing the police in their efforts to improve relations with minority communities in the United States, as well as a survey of previous research and existing literature on cultural diversity

In the multi-faceted dynamics of gender, the declaration of gender neutral is often in fact male oriented and dominated sexism. Gender roles are perhaps reinforced more strongly in law enforcement than any other of our societal systems. Consequently, the hegemonic masculinity (HM) of our patriarchal society has kept men and women in their place (Goodey, 1997), this male dominance that negatively impacts a female’s ability to advance in society appears to play a dual role of discrimination within the criminal justice system. Informal control of keeping women within their gender increases [the perception] of the likelihood of their being law abiding citizens, which may be why we see women being arrested for more incidents of prostitution and

African American’s make up nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated population, and they are incarcerated at nearly 6 times the rate of whites. (NAACP, 2009-2015) There are many reasons that play a factor in racial disparities in jails and prisons, and although some of these reasons are out of our control, some hold room for major reform. In order to understand why there is such disparity, we need to look at all of the possible contributing factors, and in order to make changes, we need to start from the bottom and work our way up.

A number of problems arise from race and ethnicity issues in policing practices. From the department’s perspective, issues with race and ethnicity, create negative consequences. For example, if a police department fails properly to resolve situational conflicts, this can cause loss of productivity, tension among officers of different race and backgrounds, enhanced suspicion of other officers, and increased isolation of staff member. The department will suffer tremendously if it fails

There have been many changes in the treatment of offenders by the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales, particularly the treatment of female offenders. The handling of women within the criminal justice system has been closely tied to their social characteristics, and to what might be described as their ‘social construction’. On the other hand, women who compromise more than half of the world’s population, account for only 15% of criminal activity and as a consequence, relatively little attention has been given to them. This essay will explore how this has changed from a historical point of view to modern times, with exploration from cross-culture comparisons and an overview of the treatments of females in prisons.

There are many key issues impacting minorities and women in the criminal justice system . Sexism still exists in the United States. Sexism against women is shown in the media and indicates that sexism still pervades in our society. Another key issue is the overrepresentation and disparities among minorities in the criminal justice system. After the act of September 11, racial profiling and other acts of racial hate crimes suggests that racism occurs. Another key issue that indicates that racial disparities occur in the criminal justice system is the overrepresentation of minorities in the Juvenile Justice system.

I feel like the racial disparities produced in the criminal justice system has always been the same, unfair and discriminate towards a certain group of people. We(americans) are still stuck on the old ways of inequality of race. People with brown skin aren't equal to those that are white, at least in the criminal punishment part of it. And I think prejudice has a lot to do with it. I feel like when people look at blacks, mexicans, and other colored races, they assume they're just another criminal and don't deserve the same rights as whites. Law enforcement, especially recently, have just assumed the worst in a person of color and treat them like animals. They immediately arrest or kill just because it's easier to do than giving them a voice

In the article by Jim Leitzel, he discusses the policing that has been done. In the beginning, he praises the police system for keeping crime rates low in the United States, but that praise is ultimately tarnished from their role of race. He gives examples of certain situations that have happened to put his point across; one example is in 1997, when the police tortured a Haitian immigrant for no specific reason. He also brings up the question if disparities exist and if it is implemented in policing today. There are disparities in policing since it does indicate criminal profiling (Leitzel). Leitzel questions the police, if they are private citizens of their country shouldn’t they act as a good citizen? Sadly, they do not, most cops judge

Local law enforcement can facilitate information gathering among ethnic or religious community groups with whom police have established a relationship. It will generally be citizens who observe the unusual groups of men living in apartments or motels, or unusual behavior at flight schools in their own community, and could be expected to report such observations to the local police. Problem solving models typically used in community policing are well suited for preventing and responding to possible terrorist activity. Using existing data sources, agencies can conduct target vulnerability assessments and develop risk-management and crisis plans. Community policing is not in itself a tactic or strategy, but instead a philosophical approach to how policing is conducted. At its core, community-oriented policing is based on law enforcement and the community joining together to identify and address issues of crime and social disorder.

It would be foolish to assert that gender plays no role in the criminal justice system, just as it would be equally foolish to say that race plays no role in this system either. Covington and Bloom cite the work of Kivel (1992) in reminding all that "Where sexism is prevalent, one of the gender dynamics frequently found is that something declared genderless or gender neutral is, in fact, male oriented. The same phenomenon occurs in terms of race in a racist society, where the term "race neutral" generally means white" (2003). The criminal justice system reflects the needs of men and the values of men in a highly patriarchal society; the issue becomes more complicated when some scholars argue that women should fight for equal rights in all areas of life, including the criminal justice system, arguing that while equal treatment might hurt women in the short run, in the long run, it's the best policy for women (Covington & Bloom, 2003). On the other hand, opposing groups argue that women are inherently different from men and that insisting on equality will always create a situation where women lose out (Covington & Bloom, 2003). This debate creates an uncertain situation about how women should be treated in the criminal justice system and whether gender should play a role accounting for differential treatment.

Gender inequality still plays a huge role in today’s society. Women comprise only a small percentage of the local law enforcement agencies across the nation. Women have been a part of law enforcement since the 20th century but have only been noticed within the last 40 years. Back in the 1970’s women rarely held positions in law enforcement and if they did it was mainly clerical/desk positions. Even though the amount of women in law enforcement today has increased, women still only make up roughly around 13 percent of the law enforcement work force (Public). Women can make such an impact in the Law Enforcement field if given a fair chance but they may face many problems when doing so. Some say that women don’t belong, while others suggest

Outside of the dealings with immigration law, police officers also have the responsibility to respond to the culture diversities of their respected communities. Sensational changes in the ethnic and racial cosmetics of the population have made new difficulties at all levels of police work. Eagerness to increase social data about the new groups that they serve will eventually advantage officers in their connections with individuals of various foundations. Officers ‘knowledge of social contrasts, combined with a capacity to show regard for those distinctions, can bring about expanded affinity and successful correspondence with individuals from different ethnic and racial foundations. Trust in numerous ethnic groups must be earned on account of the social "stuff" that group individuals convey to their

This literature review deal with culture diversity awareness and training for law enforcement officers in the United Stated. It is important that the law enforcement officers have the proper training when dealing with culture or community member. The article emphasizes the importance of effective training content and design methodology based on the favored cognitive learning styles of police as well as class structure, appropriate selection of instructors, and to ensure the most effective programs possible in this ever challenging facet of community policing.

Women enter law enforcement with a disadvantage simply because of their gender. A male’s attitude and perception of women is probably the main factor police agencies struggle to hire and retain police women. Although it is very hard to change a person’s way of thinking, there are other measures that can be taken to employ more female officers, which women account for about half of the population in most countries. (Milton, 1972) The employment of women at any job raises a bunch of concerns to how the women will be treated should they become pregnant. Like mentioned before, women are regarded with the role of taking care of the house and children while the man is to be the main source of income. With that being said, having onsite day care options for women might be a way to retain female officers. At this time in history, many jobs offer onsite daycare for their employees.