Women in Law Enforcement

In the United States, women in policing evolved from matrons to policewomen to police officers. Today, the position of police chief has been achieved by women. The changing role of women in this traditionally male-dominated field is the subject of this book. It weaves together the history of the police and the history of women and highlights a century of change in law enforcement. The book also describes how the changing role of women in society affected their role in law enforcement.

How far have women progressed in the "unfeminine" career of policing? How far do they want to go? How far will their male colleagues and the public let them? Women in Control? breaks new ground by discussing the role of women in relation to controlling crime and disorder. Women have struggled to gain influence in policing, progressing only slowly until the 1970s, when equal opportunities legislation brought integration and some measure of success. Based on a series of interviews with British and U.S. officers, this work examines their experiences in dealing with crime, vice, and everyday incidents--including hostility and harassment by their male colleagues. It highlights the role of women in law enforcement in Great Britain and the United States and the importance of gender in social control.

Constituting fewer than 15% of the nation's police officers, women have found it especially difficult to rise through the ranks and achieve higher posts. Here, those few women who have made it to the top--about 1% of the chiefs and sheriffs in American policing--share their stories and describe the challenges they faced as they rose to their positions. Each of the chiefs competed for their offices with other candidates, almost always male. The sheriffs--virtually all elected officials--faced other challenges and came under even closer scrutiny. While few in number, these "top cops" illustrate the emergence of women as more than token leaders of American sheriff and police departments. They are unique groundbreakers who have managed to breach the brass ceiling.

This third edition provides thoroughly updated information on the status of women in all aspects of the U.S. criminal justice system, from incarcerated women to professionals in the legal, law enforcement, and correctional fields. While concentrating on the present, Clarice Feinman traces changes in theories, goals, practices, and policies concerning women of different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds--be they offenders, professionals, or reformers--since 1800, with a focus on why changes occurred. This unique text is an important tool for filling gaps in information, continuity, and understanding of issues affecting women in the up-hill battle to transform this male-dominated system.

From the night watchmen of the 17th century to the highly publicized Rodney King hearings, the history and development of police policy and the role of police in American society are traced through this collection of 95 primary documents. Students, teachers, and interested readers can use this valuable resource to examine the development and role of the police in the United States through the words of the people who were involved in the struggle to enforce laws, uphold the Constitution, maintain safe and stable communities, and create efficient and effective police forces. An explanatory introduction precedes each document to aid the user in understanding the economic, political, social, and legislative forces that helped shape the role of the police in our society.

The Women Police Service was unique as a feminist organization dedicated to the supervision and control of women themselves. Formed in 1914 by middle-class veterans of the militant suffrage campaign in Britain, at odds throughout its history with both the authorities and mainstream feminist organizations and frequently operating in defiance of the law, the WPS combined authoritarianism and feminist activism to create its own distinctive concept of policing between the world wars.