As police agencies in the United States suffer declining applications and struggle to recruit women, the National Institute of Justice has identified workforce development as a priority research area. To recruit more effectively, we must understand what attracts people to policing and what deters them. We surveyed officers in two Midwestern police departments (n = 832) about entry motivations and concerns and examined gender differences. Serve/protect motivations were most important for men and women, though women rated the category significantly higher. Women and non-White officers rated legacy motives higher than did males and White officers. Women reported more concerns overall and scored higher on job demands and acceptance concerns; officers of color also reported more acceptance concerns than White officers. The largest gender differences were associated with gender-related obstacles and stereotypes (e.g., discrimination; being taken seriously; physical demands), indicating recruitment reform necessarily includes improving systemic issues.

随着美国警察机构的申请数量下降，招募女性的努力不断，美国国家司法学院将劳动力发展列为优先研究领域。为了更有效地招募人才，我们必须了解是什么吸引了人们去维持治安，以及什么阻止了他们。我们调查了中西部两个警察局（n= 832），了解进入动机和关注点，并检查了性别差异。服务/保护动机对于男人和女人来说最重要，尽管女人对这一类别的评价明显更高。女性和非白人军官对遗留动机的评价高于男性和白人军官。妇女报告的总体忧虑更多，在工作要求和接受感方面得分更高；有色军官也比白人军官报告了更多的接受担忧。性别差异最大的是与性别相关的障碍和定型观念（例如，歧视；受到认真对待；身体上的要求），这表明招聘改革必然包括改善系统性问题。