Chapter 11 Women in Law Enforcement History of Women in Policing o Started as jail reform movement demands for prison jail and police matrons In the 1820s volunteer Quaker women along with upper middle class women blamed Poor living conditions of female inmates on neglect and sexual exploitation by male keepers Argue we needed prison matron women oversee women Rachel Welch Auburn Prison in New York became pregnant while serving a punishment sentence in a solitary cell As a result of a flogging by a male prison official Welch died after childbirth o Beaten to death from male guard Pushed the Auburn prison to create a position for prison matron o Auburn created position of prison matron 1832 The pressure for reform that followed this Rachel Welch event resulted in Auburn creating the position of prison matron to oversee women s quarters o New York hired police matrons 1845 Followed the Auburn example by responding to pressure from the American female moral reform society to hire 6 matrons for its 2 jails o Women s help needed to work with prostitutes runaways and juvenile delinquents In the late 19th and early 20th centuries a of social forces contributed to the appearance of women police officers outside correctional settings The entry of women into law enforcement came as a social worker mode Lola Baldwin social service workers 1905 Hired as a safety worker as part of the Lewis and Clark exposition in Portland Oregon Hers was the 1st documented appointment of a women with police power her duties were to protect girls and women from harassment as well as to stop men from pursing girls and women from pursing men o Alice Stebbins Wells first policewoman in los Angeles California 1910 o Came in as a social worker protector 1st official policewomen Significant contribution to women in policing She was hired at the rank of detective after she convinced the city that a sworn women police officer could be effective as a male officer The publicity about her hiring cause other cities to hire women In 1915 she founded the International Association of Policewomen Embodied concept of the policewoman as social worker Although she was pictured in newspapers as masculine individual grasping a revolver and dressed in unfeminine clothing policewomen of her era did NOT consider themselves female versions of policemen o They perceived themselves to be superior to policemen in social class education and professionalism Sought to bring social services and order into the lives of women and children Limited role acceptance only marginal The demands for policewomen were almost always imposed on police executives from outside sources o Frances Heidensohn 1992 examination of the factors that shaped the development of women policing in U S and Britain 6 key factors This movement of policewomen has a moral basis o The entrance of women in policing was vigorously promoted by groups formed for moral protection and sometimes feminist causes who did so to attain social purity rescue and welfare goals Volunteers had an important role in the origins of women police officers o A group of women who sought to be police officers were willing to volunteer their services on patrol Considerable proselytizing for women took place in policing o Support for this movement as well as the pioneers themselves pursued Policewomen s strongest opposition came from both rank and file and senior their cause with missionary zeal police officers o Came from bottom and the top The women s movement in policing advocated specialist work because it sought the right of women to work with women and children Women sought gender control in that they wanted to protect their own sex and did not seek a mandate to policemen o 1922 500 women officers 1960 5 617 women officers o 2nd generation of policewoman well educated desired more equal roles on the force The 1950 brought a different type of women into policing 2nd generation often military veterans middle class careerists Have more education and higher in social class orientation than their male peers These women had more similarity with male police officers than did their predecessors They formed a bridge between the upper middle class college educated feminist progressive women who had served as policewomen before them and today s women officers most of who are comparable to the overwhelmingly working class high school educated men with who they serve o 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1972 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EEOC The demand for expanded roles in policing for women greatly increased These expanded the rules of state and civil service bodies and made it illegal to discriminate in employment Barriers to Women in Policing o Women face damaging stereotypes Especially the 1 that women are not strong enough or aggressive enough for police work o Women face discrimination in the hiring process Both in written and oral interview process can be used to keep women out of policing o Women are vulnerable to sexual harassment both in the academy and field training o Women police officers experience isolation As they learn that they are not accepted as equally valued members of the organization o Women sometimes face a double standard in performance evaluations They feel that they must outperform the men officers to be considered as good as they are The double standard can operate to the particular detriment of color who are often viewed as tokens even more than white women are More difficult for them and the pressure is even more o Male officers usually receive the most highly valued assignments Women are assigned to less desirable relations generally defined as women work within policing o Promotions have been more difficult for women to attain More difficult because of the cumulative bias against women police officers Only about 125 women serve as police chiefs o Women in policing lack family friendly policies and programs Such as child care pregnancy leave and elder care Male Female Performance All studies found o Research done in the 1970s to evaluate performance of women police officers Women can handle the crime fighting rescue combat peacekeeping and social service aspects of police work as well as men Men and women equally capable of patrol work o And were just as effective as men Men are in no more danger with women as partners than with men as partners o Differences in how they performed their jobs Women more restraint in firearm use and managing family disturbances more