ABSTRACT

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.

摘要

在大多数警察组织中，男警官的人数超过女警官，因此，有关警务工作多样化的大多数现有警务文献都以男警官的观念为主导。因此，这项研究对在两个不同的澳大利亚州警察组织中工作的女警官进行了比较分析，以了解她们对不同人群进行治安的观念。使用相同的在线调查，并应用程序正义理论和社会认同理论的要素，女警官（N= 1794）对一系列关于他们对待遇公平的看法的回答，遵循操作指南，对警察敬业度的看法以及在对不同人群进行治安时对人们的信任程度。他们还被问到他们作为警官的身份以及对每个警察组织内包容性的看法。这项研究的结果表明，在每个组织内的女军官职级之间，以及在每个组织中受雇的军官在警惕不同人群方面的看法之间，存在较大差异。具体而言，这项研究表明，警务生涯开始时（例如警员或高级警员）或随着高级官员受聘担任高级职务（例如，督察或警司在官员对不同人群维持治安的观念上有所不同。这项研究的结果提出了一个问题，即不同级别的女警官是否可能不遵守与维持不同人警力相关的业务警务准则。