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Gender differences in police officers' attitudes: Assessing current empirical evidence

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  • Poteyeva, Margarita
  • Sun, Ivan Y.

Abstract

Research on attitudinal differences between female and male police officers has burgeoned since the 1980s, producing a rich albeit at times contradictory legacy. Focusing on quantitative studies published after 1990, this current study reviewed empirical results regarding attitudinal differences between female and male police officers. A comprehensive search of the literature yielded thirty-three articles where gender was used either as an independent or control variable in multivariate regression analysis. A general finding was that officer gender has only a weak effect on officers' attitudes toward community policing, the community and neighborhood residents, job satisfaction, and domestic violence. There was some limited evidence showing that male and female officers differ in their attitudes toward the police role and stress. The limitations of this research are pointed out, and the directions for future research are identified.

Suggested Citation

  • Poteyeva, Margarita & Sun, Ivan Y., 2009. "Gender differences in police officers' attitudes: Assessing current empirical evidence," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 512-522, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcjust:v:37:y::i:5:p:512-522
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pogarsky, Greg & Piquero, Alex R., 2004. "Studying the reach of deterrence: Can deterrence theory help explain police misconduct?," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 371-386.
    2. Sun, Ivan Y., 2007. "Policing domestic violence: Does officer gender matter?," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 581-595, December.
    3. Hoath, David R. & Schneider, Frank W. & Starr, Meyer W., 1998. "Police job satisfaction as a function of career orientation and position tenure: Implications for selection and community policing," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 337-347, July.
    4. Hickman, Matthew J. & Piquero, Nicole L. & Piquero, Alex R., 2004. "The validity of Niederhoffer's cynicism scale," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 1-13.
    5. Sandra Jones, 1986. "Women in Policing," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Policewomen and Equality, chapter 1, pages 1-10, Palgrave Macmillan.
    6. Daniels, R. Steven & Baumhover, Lorin A. & Formby, William A. & Clark-Daniels, Carolyn L., 1999. "Police discretion and elder mistreatment: A nested model of observation, reporting, and satisfaction," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 209-225, May.
    7. Patterson, George T., 2003. "Examining the effects of coping and social support on work and life stress among police officers," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 215-226.
    8. He, Ni & Zhao, Jihong & Ren, Ling, 2005. "Do race and gender matter in police stress? A preliminary assessment of the interactive effects," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 535-547.
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    1. Amalia R. Miller & Carmit Segal, 2014. "Do female officers improve law enforcement quality? Effects on crime reporting and domestic violence escalation," UBSCENTER - Working Papers 009, UBS International Center of Economics in Society - Department of Economics - University of Zurich.
    2. Yang, Dianyi & Huang, Leike, 2024. "A Reproduction of "Do Female Officers Police Differently? Evidence from Traffic Stops" (American Journal of Political Science, 2021)," I4R Discussion Paper Series 127, The Institute for Replication (I4R).
    3. Ingram, Jason R. & Terrill, William, 2014. "Relational demography and officer occupational attitudes: The influence of workgroup context," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 309-320.
    4. Bishopp, Stephen A. & Boots, Denise Paquette, 2014. "General strain theory, exposure to violence, and suicide ideation among police officers: A gendered approach," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 42(6), pages 538-548.
    5. Sun, Ivan Y. & Chu, Doris C., 2010. "Who is better for handling domestic violence? A comparison between Taiwanese female and male Officers," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 453-459, July.

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