Recruitment, deployment, promotion, and attrition of female officers : the impact on staffing and perceptions of police practice

There is little research examining (collectively) recruitment, deployment, promotion, and attrition of female constables in policing, and how these issues affect organizational staffing, police practice. Presenting findings from semi-structured interviews with 46 male and female constables working in an Australian State and Territories police organization, this paper argues that exclusionary staffing practices start from the onset of recruitment because female applicants are singled-out by their sex. It argues that exclusionary staffing practices for female constables occur throughout initial recruit training, during placement within a police station or area of command, whilst being deployed or not deployed to police work, and during consideration or application of promotion related processes, which increases the probability that attrition rates of female constables will be high. Unless police organizations address these issues, it is likely that the number of female constables transitioning into senior roles will remain small; thereby reducing the likelihood that police organizations will implement or achieve equitable staffing principles. It will also diminish appropriate resources needed to run an organization and have a negative impact on staffing

"Being diverse and being included, don’t go together in policing" : diversity, inclusion, and Australian constables

Across the globe, there is little research that examines the impact of diversity on police practice, particularly whether it increases or decreases the competency of the police organization or whether police officers perceive diversity within the organization and the addition of diverse officers as positive or negative. Contributing new findings to the extant policing literature, this research analyzes data collected from interviews with forty‐six constables working in one of the largest Australian state police organizations. Contributing five key findings regarding diversity and inclusion in policing, this research suggests that lack of acceptance of diversity broadly, and bias towards diverse identified officers, results in the exclusion of officers, and a workforce that is fragmented. The lack of unification constables in this research have with diverse colleagues is concerning given that a cohesive police team increases the safety of all officers, improves the effectiveness of police response, strengthens the communication between police and citizens (as well as communication within the organization), increases the morale of officers, and will support the legitimacy of the organization. Whilst constables in this study were not asked questions about their own implicit or explicit levels of bias towards members of diverse groups, the unsolicited responses from many of the constables, as well as the recognition of Whiteness in terms of the racial identity of many officers within the organization, suggests that constables in this study are biased towards officers that are not part of the majority group

'Rorting the system' : police detectives, diversity, and workplace advantage

Internal workplace practices and policies in policing are based on a notion of fairness and equal opportunity. Yet police organizations are frequently criticized for discriminatory policing practices, unfair and biased workplace practices, and poor interpersonal treatment of officers. Whilst there is a wide body of research examining diversity in relation to external police practices, there is a lack of knowledge regarding diversity and internal workplace practices; particularly from the perspective of police detectives who often have more substantial policing experience and longer employment histories than other non-commissioned officers. Contributing new findings to the extant policing literature, this research analyzes data collected from interviews with twenty police detectives working in one of the largest Australian police organizations. It suggests that police detectives in this study have negative perceptions of diversity, and associate diversity with unfair advantages in the workplace. In Australian culture, the phrase ‘rorting the system’ is an informal expression used to describe individuals or groups of people who take unfair advantage of a public service or workplace policy to change their circumstances. The findings suggest that detectives in this study believe diversity enables some officers to take advantage of workplace policy and ‘rort’ the system

"They don’t identify with us" : perceptions of police by Australian transgender people

Previous research indicates that transgender people are one of the most victimized groups in Western society and are more likely than other people to be ill treated by police. However Australian research examining transgender people’s perceptions of the police and policing is lacking. It is also an area of research needing systematic inquiry. Using in-depth interviews conducted with members of the transgender community (N D 21) in one Australian state, the current research builds upon previous work examining how transgender people view police. Overall, the research determines that transgender people’s perceptions of police form around negative perceptions of intergroup difference. They also form around an expectation that police will treat transgender people badly because of their gender expression and police perceptions of normative gender identity

[In Press] 'Bread and butter' policing : first-year constables and domestic violence

Domestic violence is an extensive social issue in Australia. It is a complex crime encompassing different behaviours and situations, which challenge police in terms of recognition and response, as well as determining appropriate outcomes of justice. During their first year of police work (whilst being evaluated under competency measures), first-year constables in Australia are frequently deployed to respond to public calls for help. As such, they are regularly sent to investigate domestic violence. Yet knowledge regarding the effectiveness of first-year constables in their response to domestic violence and policing of these crimes is lacking in much of the policing literature. This article focuses on policing of domestic violence from the perspective of first-year constables working in one of the largest Australian state police organisations (de-identified as part of the ethics agreement). It examines the findings from 46 interviews and offers insight into a hitherto under-researched area regarding policing of domestic violence by officers at the start of their policing career

Comparative perceptions : how female officers in two Australian police organizations view policing of diverse people

Male officers outnumber female officers in most police organizations, therefore most of the extant policing literature regarding policing of diverse people is dominated by the perceptions of male officers. As such this research conducted a comparative analysis between female officers employed in two different Australian state police organizations regarding their perceptions of policing diverse people. Using an identical online survey, and applying elements of Procedural Justice Theory and Social Identity Theory, female officers (N = 1794) responded to a series of items regarding their perceptions of fairness of treatment, following operational guidelines, perceptions of police engagement, and level of trust in people, when policing diverse people. They were also asked about their sense of identity as a police officer, and perceptions of inclusion within each respective police organization. Results from this study suggest significant differences can be found between the ranks of female officers within each organization, and comparatively between officers employed in each organization regarding their perceptions of policing diverse people. Specifically, this research suggests that rank and policing experience at the onset of a policing career (for example, Constables or Senior Constables) or over time as officers are employed in more senior roles (for example, Inspectors or Superintendents) differ in relation to officer’s perceptions of policing diverse people. This results from this study raise questions about the likelihood of female officers in different ranks not following operational policing guidelines in relation to policing diverse people

"Insufficient guidance and a lack of preparation" : police academy training and the reality of police work

Police academy training is the foundation of police performance. In Australia, police academy programs are usually delivered internally by police officers and are underpinned by traditional policing practices and acceptable methods of response deemed suitable. There is little research, however, which determines whether Australian police academies adequately prepare recruits to conduct police work or prime recruits for the reality of policing. Analysing data collected from 46 constables working in one of the largest Australian police organisations, this research offers original insight into a previously under-research area regarding the effectiveness of police academy training in preparing recruits for general-duties police work

[In Press] Recognition and response : policing 'forced marriage' in England

Forced marriage occurs when an individual is pressured psychologically or physically into marriage. Methods to detect forced marriage are challenging for most police organisations, who are prevented from intervening due to honour-systems and cultural values; as well as ensuing physical and psychological barriers, which prevent victim reporting. Applying key components of Sellin’s (1933) Culture Conflict theory, 21 semi-structured interviews were conducted with police officers and forced marriage specialists to determine whether police are able to recognise and respond to forced marriage situations, and whether lack of awareness, understanding and training on forced marriage influences officers’ perceptions of policing of forced marriage. The findings from this study suggest that police officers are not cognisant of forced marriage and are not trained adequately in it so that awareness of forced marriage and the cultural conflict it creates forms part of their habitual investigative processes

Crime prevention : setting standards

Crime prevention — as an organised function of government, business or not-for-profit groups — should be based on evidence. Unfortunately, this does not always occur, especially in the ‘public policy’ domain of government. Instead, the crime prevention policy agenda is often driven by political ideology and anecdotal evidence with insufficient planning and evaluation (Sherman, Farrington, Welsh, & MacKenzie, 2002). Therefore, in many cases, the effectiveness of various crime prevention measures is unknown or unintended consequences are generated, including displacement of crime or deterrence of legitimate activities (Grabosky, 1996). With this in mind, this chapter emphasises the importance of ‘standards’, focusing on planning, consultation, social and procedural justice, sustainability, and systematic evaluation. The chapter begins with an outline of four types of prevention methods, described by Homel (2015) as ‘developmental’, ‘community’, ‘criminal justice’ and ‘situational’