Since its inception in early 1995, the National Center for Women & Policing has been a leading force behind increasing the numbers of women in policing. The positive impact of women in policing, including the reduction of police brutality, the increased efficacy in police response to domestic violence, and the increased emphasis on conflict resolution over force, mandates that we strive for gender balance in policing.
But, as this study shows, the increase of women in law enforcement remains stuck at an alarmingly slow rate. At the present rate of growth, women will not achieve equality in law enforcement agencies. Furthermore, the data is clear that there has been progress only where women law enforcement officers and women's organizations have taken legal action to fight the discriminatory hiring and promotion practices and where court ordered consent decrees have forced agencies to increase the numbers of women or minorities hired and promoted.
KEY FINDINGS
- Among the largest law enforcement agencies in the country in 1997, women comprise only 13.63% of all sworn law enforcement positions; 5.5% are held by women of color.1
- In the last seven years, women have increased their representation in sworn law enforcement ranks by only 2.7 percentage points, from 10.6% in 1990 to 13.3% in 1997.
- The gains for women in policing are so slow that, at the current rate of growth, women will never reach equal representation or gender balance in law enforcement agencies.
- Women hold only 6.5% of Top Command law enforcement positions, 9.2% of Supervisory positions and 14.6% of Line Operation positions.2 Women of color hold 2.2% of Top Command law enforcement positions, 3.5% of Supervisory positions and 6.3% of Line Operation positions.
- Seven out of the 10 departments with the largest percentage of women in sworn officer positions are under or have recently been under consent decrees to hire women or minorities. This demonstrates that nearly all of the largest gains have been achieved only as a result of lawsuits initiated by women in law enforcement and women's organizations to force these agencies to hire more women or minorities.
- More than 20% of agencies report no women in Top Command law enforcement positions and nearly 80% of agencies have no women of color in the highest ranks.
- Eight agencies report 20% or more women holding Top Command law enforcement posts, while only one agency reports over 20% of women of color in Top Command posts.
- Women hold 64.2% of lower-paid civilian law enforcement jobs.
- State agencies trail local agencies by a wide margin. State agencies report 6.3% sworn women law enforcement officers, while municipal agencies report 15.5%, followed closely by county agencies with 13.3%.
1 Based on reporting by 106 of the largest 125 state, county and municipal law enforcement agencies. This report was originally issues in April, 1998, with a slightly lower number of reporting agencies. Revisions in the calculations are reflected in this report, although overall percentages are virtually unchanged and trends and conclusions are unaffected by the revised numbers.
2 For this study, the sworn law enforcement positions have been grouped as follows: Top Command includes Chiefs, Deputy Chiefs, Commanders and Captains; Supervisory includes Lieutenants and Sergeants; Line Operation includes Detectives and Police Officers.
BARRIERS TO WOMEN IN POLICING
Study after study concludes that the single largest barrier to increasing the numbers of women in policing is the attitudes and behavior of their male colleagues. Nationwide studies consistently find that discrimination and sexual harassment are pervasive in police departments and that supervisors and commanders not only tolerate such practices by others, but are frequently perpetrators themselves. Hostile environments and systemic discrimination keep women from joining police agencies in more significant numbers and from promoting up the ranks to policy-making positions, thus perpetuating a style of policing which is outdated, ineffective, and enormously costly to communities.
BIASED ENTRY TESTS.
RECRUITMENT POLICIES THAT FAVOR MEN.
OUTDATED MODEL OF POLICING.
UNDER-REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN HURTS LAW ENFORCEMENT. National and international research shows conclusively that increasing the numbers of women on police departments measurably reduces police violence and improves police effectiveness and service to communities. The studies also show that women officers respond more effectively than their male counterparts to violence against women, which accounts for up to 50% of all calls to police. Yet this record stands in stark contrast to women's dramatic under-representation in police departments where they make up 13.3% of sworn officers nationwide. Study after study shows that women officers are not as likely as their male counterparts to be involved in the use of excessive force. As a result, the under-representation of women in policing is contributing to and exacerbating law enforcement's excessive force problems. The actual and potential liability for cities and states is staggering, with lawsuits due to excessive force by male law enforcement personnel costing millions of dollars of taxpayer money every year.
In 1997, the rate of increase remains glacial. Data from 1990 to 1997 demonstrates a paltry 2.7 point increase (See Graph 1), which is approximately the same rate of change that was recorded from 1972 to 1978, a comparable year spread. With very few exceptions, women remain underrepresented among patrol officers and are virtually absent from the decision-making ranks and positions of authority in police departments across the country.
Graph 1
Source: NCWP Report, 1997. Source for 1990 and 1993 data: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Although women hold only 13.3% of the sworn law enforcement positions in the agencies surveyed, yet they continue to hold the majority of lower-paid civilian jobs (See Graph 2).
Graph 2
Source: NCWP Report, 1997. Sample Size 58
Not surprisingly, women's gains are concentrated in the lowest tier of sworn law enforcement positions. Women hold 14.6% of Line Operation law enforcement positions. Their numbers rapidly decrease in the higher ranks. For example, women hold 9.2% of Supervisory posts and only 6.5% of Top Command positions (See Graph 3).
Graph 3
Source: NCWP Report, 1997. Sample size 94
In the vast majority of agencies, women of color in sworn law enforcement positions are scarce. While women overall hold 13.3% of sworn law enforcement positions, women of color hold less than 6% of these jobs. Moreover, women of color are virtually absent from the highest ranks, holding a token 2.2% of the most coveted Top Command law enforcement jobs (See Graph 4). Only five agencies, including Washington Metropolitan Police, Detroit Police, Miami Police, Richmond City Police and Atlanta Police reported at least 10% women of color in their sworn law enforcement ranks (See Table 1)
Graph 4
NCWP Report, 1997. Sample size: Civilian, 24; Sworn, 56; Line Operation, 51; Supervisory, 51; Top Command, 51
Table 1
Law Enforcement Agency Ranking from Largest to Smallest Percentage of Sworn Women Officers Agency Total Sworn Officers Total Sworn Women Officers % Sworn Women Officers % Women Top Command % Women Supervisory % Women Line Operations 1 Pittsburgh Police 1,140 285 25.0% 37.5% 25.6% 24.7% 2 Washington Metropolitan Police 3,628 898 24.8% 11.5% 23.1% 25.4% 3 Detroit Police 4,018 869 21.6% 19.7% 22.0% 21.6% 4 Philadelphia Police 6,748 1,456 21.6% 4.6% 9.8% 24.3% 5 Miami-Dade Police 2,920 611 20.9% N/A N/A N/A 6 Toledo Police 731 146 20.0% 10.5% 12.1% 22.1% 7 Chicago Police 13,271 2,545 19.2% 3.0% 13.1% 20.0% 8 Buffalo Police 928 171 18.4% N/A N/A N/A 9 Montgomery County Police 954 173 18.1% 6.3% 10.1% 19.7% 10 Birmingham Police 913 161 17.6% 20.0% 19.5% 17.4% 11 Miami Police 979 172 17.6% 0.0% 14.8% 18.4% 12 Orlando Police 612 107 17.5% 0.0% 18.0% 17.9% 13 Pinellas County Sheriff 1,425 248 17.4% 4.8% 14.3% 18.3% 14 Cincinnati Police 978 170 17.4% 10.0% 8.1% 19.6% 15 Los Angeles Police 9,392 1,626 17.3% 3.3% 10.2% 18.5% 16 Sacramento County Sheriff 1,216 207 17.0% 5.0% 9.1% 16.7% 17 Memphis Police 1,553 260 16.7% 14.3% 10.2% 17.8% 18 San Diego County Sheriff 1,802 300 16.6% 15.4% 15.9% 16.8% 18 Franklin County Sheriff 547 91 16.6% 14.3% 5.6% 19.8% 19 Cleveland Police 1,784 296 16.6% 9.5% 14.9% 17.1% 20 Tampa Police 1,032 169 16.4% 19.0% 18.9% 16.2% 21 Riverside County Sheriff 1,661 272 16.4% N/A N/A N/A 22 Orange County Sheriff-Coroner 1,127 182 16.1% 10.7% 13.6% 21.5% 23 Portland Police 938 150 16.0% 5.9% 16.0% 16.2% 24 Indianapolis Police 970 153 15.8% 7.7% 12.3% 17.2% 25 Dallas Police 2,815 444 15.8% 20.7% 14.1% 26.9% 26 Louisville Police 654 102 15.6% 11.8% 7.1% 17.3% 27 Fort Worth Police 1,201 187 15.6% 11.8% 8.5% 16.8% 28 Milwaukee Police 2,150 323 15.0% 8.6% 8.2% 16.1% 29 New York City Police 37,745 5,655 15.0% 3.6% 8.8% 16.3% 30 San Francisco Police 1,997 299 15.0% 12.5% 12.4% 15.6% 31 Tulsa Police 795 117 14.7% 9.1% 4.1% 17.8% 32 Tucson Police 813 119 14.6% 14.3% 13.0% 14.9% 33 Minneapolis Police 925 135 14.6% 16.7% 17.0% 13.5% 34 Atlanta Police 1,447 210 14.5% 23.3% 8.0% 14.4% 35 Harris County Sheriff 2,482 359 14.5% 9.7% 9.0% 15.1% 36 Baltimore Police 3,081 433 14.1% 5.6% 7.8% 15.3% 37 St. Paul Police 548 77 14.1% 0.0% 8.2% 17.1% 38 San Diego Police 1,965 276 14.0% 21.7% 11.7% 14.4% 38 Prince George's County Police 1,264 174 13.8% 8.3% 8.6% 14.9% 39 Los Angeles County Sheriff 7,481 1,025 13.7% 12.7% 10.4% 14.5% 40 Seattle Police 1,232 168 13.6% 20.0% 11.2% 14.2% 41 Baton Rouge Police 592 80 13.5% 7.7% 16.7% 12.6% 42 Kansas City Police 1,172 158 13.5% 18.3% 11.8% 13.5% 42 Columbus Police 1,736 229 13.2% 4.3% 7.8% 14.2% 38 East Baton Rouge Parish 545 71 13.0% N/A N/A N/A 44 St. Louis Police 1,600 202 12.6% N/A N/A N/A 45 Alameda County Sheriff 784 98 12.5% 7.7% 3.2% 12.7% 46 San Bernardino County Sheriff 1,184 143 12.1% 2.8% 3.7% 14.0% 47 Houston Police 5,307 632 11.9% 4.3% 7.6% 13.1% 48 Baltimore County Police 1,561 184 11.8% 5.3% 6.4% 13.4% 49 Albuquerque Police 874 102 11.7% 7.7% 11.7% 11.5% 50 Michigan State Police 2,139 248 11.6% 0.0% 7.5% 13.8% 51 Phoenix Police 2,353 270 11.5% 10.7% 8.6% 12.0% 52 Las Vegas Metropolitan Police 1,728 194 11.2% 8.3% 8.9% 11.7% 53 New Orleans Police 1,237 137 11.1% 2.9% 11.2% 11.4% 54 Yonkers Police 534 59 11.0% 0.0% 3.2% 13.3% 55 Virginia Beach Police 708 77 10.9% 7.1% 5.7% 11.7% 56 Richmond City Police 654 71 10.9% 5.9% 26.4% 20.7% 57 Long Beach Police 841 90 10.7% 0.0% 6.7% 12.5% 58 Denver Police 1,409 150 10.6% 10.7% 11.5% 10.4% 59 Fairfax County Police 1,049 103 9.8% 10.7% 8.0% 10.2% 60 Anne Arundel County Police 597 58 9.7% 0.0% 9.1% 13.1% 61 Cook County Police 853 81 9.5% 11.1% 2.9% 10.1% 62 Oakland Police 599 56 9.3% 16.7% 6.9% 10.0% 63 Nashville Police 1,229 113 9.2% 18.5% 9.3% 9.5% 64 California Highway Patrol 6,478 583 9.0% 4.7% 6.6% 9.2% 65 Jacksonville Sheriff 1,424 128 9.0% 20.0% 3.4% 9.9% 66 Nassau County Police 2,935 260 8.9% 4.2% 3.9% 9.8% 67 Oklahoma City Police 953 84 8.8% 2.2% 9.5% 7.6% 68 El Paso Police 1,013 89 8.8% 0.0% 6.9% 9.3% 69 Jefferson Parish Sheriff 706 62 8.8% 5.6% 10.5% 8.5% 70 Rochester Police 675 58 8.6% 0.0% 7.3% 9.2% 71 Illinois State Police 1,982 169 8.5% 8.5% 7.5% 9.2% 72 Ohio State Highway Patrol 1,359 115 8.5% 0.0% 3.8% 10.7% 73 San Jose Police 1,312 110 8.4% 6.3% 3.3% 9.8% 74 Honolulu Police 1,716 142 8.3% 3.8% 5.4% 10.4% 75 Massachusetts State Police 2,696 223 8.3% 2.9% 5.3% 12.5% 76 Newark Police 1,077 89 8.3% 0.0% 4.6% 9.3% 77 Maryland State Police 1,558 126 8.1% 3.2% 8.2% 8.2% 78 New York State Police 3,990 321 8.0% 4.2% 5.9% 8.5% 79 Arizona Department of Public Safety 963 66 6.9% 0.0% 14.2% 7.1% 80 Connecticut State Police 945 63 6.7% 6.7% 5.2% 7.0% 81 San Antonio Police 1,886 114 6.0% 8.0% 6.5% 5.9% 82 Port Authority of NY-NJ 1,289 77 6.0% 5.0% 6.2% 5.9% 83 Oregon State Police 757 45 5.9% 0.0% 1.3% 7.5% 84 Iowa State Patrol 643 36 5.6% 3.1% 2.7% 6.2% 85 Jersey City Police 873 46 5.3% 0.0% 1.3% 6.3% 86 Indiana State Police 1,229 60 4.9% 2.8% 5.4% 4.7% 87 Tennessee Department of Safety 603 29 4.8% 0.0% 1.1% 6.6% 88 Washington State Patrol 939 43 4.6% 5.6% 3.5% 4.8% 89 Texas Department of Public Safety 2,765 126 4.6% N/A N/A N/A 90 Colorado State Patrol 625 25 4.0% 2.7% 4.1% 4.1% 91 Georgia State Police 857 33 3.9% 0.0% 3.3% 4.2% 92 Pennsylvania State Police 4,083 155 3.8% 6.6% 4.3% 3.6% 93 Virginia State Police 1,620 61 3.8% 0.0% 2.7% 4.0% 94 Missouri State Highway Patrol 1,115 36 3.2% 0.0% 1.3% 5.4% 95 Louisiana State Police 933 28 3.0% 0.0% 2.4% 3.4% 96 New Jersey State Police 2,564 74 2.9% N/A N/A N/A 96 Kentucky State Police 1,000 27 2.7% 2.6% 1.8% 2.9% 97 South Carolina Highway Patrol 924 24 2.6% 0.0% 0.0% 3.1% 98 Alabama Department of Public Safety 694 15 2.2% 2.5% 2.9% 2.0% 99 Oklahoma Highway Patrol 699 10 1.4% 0.0% 0.0% 1.8% 100 North Carolina State Highway Patrol 1,380 11 0.8% 0.0% 0.7% 0.6% Source: NCWP Report, 1997.
WIDESPREAD DISCRIMINATION ON THE JOB.
ESCALATING COST OF POLICE BRUTALITY.
INEFFECTIVE RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
DAMAGED POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS.
COSTLY SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND SEXUAL DISCRIMINATI0N LAWSUITS.
THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN POLICING, 1997: SURVEY FINDINGS
Over the last 26 years, women have increased their representation in sworn law enforcement positions to 13.3% in 1997, from a low of 2% in 1972.3 This 11.3 point percentage gain has been spread over the intervening years, or at an annual rate of gain of less than one-half of 1 percentage point per year. In 1978, women in the largest municipal agencies commanded 4.2% of the sworn law enforcement positions, up 2.2 points from 1972. Nearly ten years later, in 1988, that number had barely doubled to 8.8%4, and it was not until 1993 that agencies on average had reached a major benchmark, crossing into the double digits.
3International City Management Association, "Personnel Practices in Municipal Police Departments" Urban Data Service 5., 1972.
4Susan E. Martin, Women on the Move? A Report on the Status of Women in Policing, Police Foundation Reports, 1989.
