Reinventing the Matron: The Continued Importance of Gendered Images and Division of Labor in Modern Policing

• NCJ Number: 240343
• Journal: Women and Criminal Justice Volume: 22 Issue: 3 Dated: July - September 2012 Pages: 239-263
• Author(s): Don L. Kurtz; Travis Linnemann; L. Susan Williams
• Date Published: July 2012
• Length: 25 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This research examines the workplace images and responsibilities of female police officers.

Abstract

The current research examines the workplace images and responsibilities of female police officers in three departments. Ethnographic interviews with 28 officers in 3 midwestern communities indicate that women in law enforcement are still viewed through a gendered lens, which shapes relations with fellow officers and the community. Images of female officers correspond to their early role in law enforcement as matrons charged with the care of female offenders and juvenile delinquents. Results indicate that female officers are expected to care for children, delinquents, and female victims regardless of personal preference or individual skills, and institutional practices tend to maintain women officers in the devalued position historically held by police matrons. Subtle interactions between officers and the belief in so-called natural feminine instincts are utilized to maintain patrol work as a masculine enterprise. Abstract published by arrangement with Sage Journals.