The Benefit of the Female Officers to the Police Force - Research Paper Example

RESEARCH RESEARCH In the recent past, there have been calls and insinuations on the issue and notion of equal representation andrights among the males and females in the human society. The police department has also seen an increase in the number of women who enroll in the force to offer their services. This stems from the fact that the human society has in the past seen instances and cases of discrimination and outright prejudice against the women. Stereotypically, women were diminished and discriminated against in the society and were expected to be “seen and not to be heard.” The upsurge in the calls for women to be included in the police services has also introduced a new spectrum and dimension into their performance relative to their male counterparts (Appelbaum, Hickey & Packer, 2014). It is important to note and mention that aspects and notions such as affirmative action increased the presence of women in the police services in an aim of attaining equal gender parity. Researchers and scholars in the society have studied the effect on the performance of the women compared to their male counterparts. Some scholars and researchers have focused on specific crimes and the response style of the male and female police officers. For instance, in crime where rape is involved, what is the level of comfort of the victims to share information with the male or female police officers. In other cases, if it is a robbery case where violence and physical force is involved, what is the performance of the female or male police officers accordingly or comparatively. It is important to note and mention that there other areas of crime examination where the performance of the males and females have differed relative to their positions as police officers. A practical case and instance is during times of investigation or being detectives. Investigations are both in house and on the field where the police officers are expected to go out and find facts and figures about situations. Researchers and scholars have also examined the success rates of female officer and male police officers doing interrogation on suspects in investigations room. It is important to note and mention that the ability and success of retrieving information from a prospective suspect or victim of a crime relies on the natural abilities of a police officer other than being strictly professional (Seklecki, & Paynich, 2007). For instance, a prospective or suspected criminal may share information with one police officer and refuse to divulge the same information to a different police officer. Analysis a) Types of data used to examine the research topic In order to inquire and digest information on this topic and notion, primary and secondary sources of data are used to examine and expound on the concept of performance of police officers. Primary data refers to the observable and first-hand information relative to the issue and notion of police performance. Primary data include direct observation of the trends on how say rape victims handle their testimony when being interrogated by different police officers. If the rape victim is a female, in most cases, they are more open to female officers and prefer to give their testimony to female officers other than male officers (Gershon, Lin & Li, 2002). Similarly, if there are volunteers such as eye witnesses to a crime, the volunteers in most cases and instances volunteer their information to female officers as compared to male counterparts. This outlines the aspect that the female police officers are more approachable or friendlier as compared to their male counterparts. This is a primary source because it is collected first hand and the information collected is of higher degree of accuracy and believability. Another primary source of information and data is the confessions and admission by the people themselves. This implies the victims themselves gave their opinion and views on how they perceived the comfort around the male and female police officers. This calls for the aspect of the direct opinion of the victims. There was also the aspect of secondary data and information which basically implies the information and data found from other materials and not obtained first hand. In principle, it is information got from the existing pool of information or literature that has been reviewed by previous scholars (Heidensohn, 1992). Literature review is conventionally harbored and housed in journals and peer reviewed articles by experts. Therefore, expert opinion has played a critical role in guiding the research process and outcome of the study. Equally important is the information and opinion or input of police officers themselves through their websites and annual reports. The websites and information databases which are not classified offer information on the success rates of the male and female officers in the unique areas outlined above herein. For instance, it records the number of cases which have been successfully investigated and concluded by various officers. Thus, from such sources, it becomes possible for one to postulate and deduce the likely or prospective outcome and trend. The police data bases also record the reasons as to why the victims of crimes and circumstances divulge information to the officers or why withheld such information amongst many other things. b) Strengths and limitations of primary and secondary sources of data Primary sources such as interviews and direct opinion of the victims of incidences such as rape is believable and credible since that opinion has not been edited or euphemized in any way. The victims only speak their minds as to why they prefer to be interrogated or interviewed by female officers and not the males. Secondly its possible for a researcher to gauge the body language of the victim or research participant. The only drawback is that the victim may alter or exaggerate the situation to blend to researcher prospective inference. Secondary sources such as police websites and databases could be manipulated to skew towards favoring police service as a whole. The literature review on its part could be outdated since the dynamics and variables of the past may not be viable and real in this current age. Thus, previous sources of information on literature review may not be thorough. c) Are there consistent trends in research findings The literature reviews and primary sources point towards the direction that women score better and higher in interrogations and interviewing of rape or crime victims. This is due to the natural abilities that females’ officers possess over and above their males counterparts. Natural abilities refers to tenderness, warmth and the psychological warmth that females have over men. In case of a crime, the victims would relax and feel more comfortable with female officers interrogating or interviewing them (Brough & Frame, 2004). The police database also implies that most crime or rape victims have given their input and testimony to female officers more than males. However, in instances where violence and physical arrests were made, the females scored poorly due to their inability for instance to restrain strong men. d) Implications of the research findings on the society The direct implication is that the society ought to change their stereotypes of unfounded prejudice on the ability of women to perform as police officers. The research findings and information point to the direction that the women have performed well and better in areas that require interpersonal skills to obtain information from victims or prospective criminals. In retrospect, the whole human society ought to embrace the fact that women are equally able to perform and deliver in areas where men may not perform as much. Practically, the society may increase the minimum allocation of spaces and vacancies of women as affirmative action so as to increase the number of female officers. Conclusion a) Gaps in the research conducted There is a lee way or shortcoming on the research conducted because they do not explain the quantitative benefit of the female officers to the police force. It is to imply that they do not explain the cumulative benefit that the females would add to the police force in areas where manual or physical force may be required. It goes without saying that the police officers are in most cases required to use force to restrain criminals, crowds or suspects. However the studies do not point to the specific contribution that the females would bring to the force. b) The most critical outstanding issue is the fact that women or female officers easily inspire eye witnesses and victims to offer their testimonies. Female police officers are relatively easy to approach and the victims, eye witnesses or prospective victims to approach and give their account and testimonies. The nature of abusive crimes such as rape involves a lot of trauma to the victims, shame to the suspects and general psychological burden to the society as a whole (Griffin, 2001). Therefore, if there is any way through which the society, the victims and the prospective suspects could ease on, it ought to be embraced. This is the reason as to why the female officers present the better option for the abusive crimes victims to come forth and give their testimonies in areas which are conducive and comfortable for them. In principle, this research introduces a critical inference to the society as a whole since it articulates the unique role of women as police officers. References Appelbaum, K. L., Hickey, J. M., & Packer, I. (2014). The role of correctional officers in multidisciplinary mental health care in prisons. Brough, P., & Frame, R. (2004). Predicting police job satisfaction and turnover intentions: The role of social support and police organisational variables. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 33(1), 8-18. Heidensohn, F. (1992). Women in control?: The role of women in law enforcement (pp. 42-43). Oxford: Clarendon Press. Gershon, R. R., Lin, S., & Li, X. (2002). Work stress in aging police officers. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 44(2), 160-167. Griffin, M. L. (2001). Job satisfaction among detention officers: Assessing the relative contribution of organizational climate variables. Journal of Criminal Justice, 29(3), 219-232. Seklecki, R., & Paynich, R. (2007). A national survey of female police officers: An overview of findings. Police Practice and Research, 8(1), 17-30. Read More