Discrimination and injustice is still prevalent when considering gender equality around the world, however the amount of women, particularly in Queensland policing roles has increased, post Fitzgerald Inquiry (Oxfam 2005; Wimshirst 1995, 3; Prenzler and Drew 2013, 460). According to the Queensland Police Service (QPS, 2014), equal opportunity and employment is what reflects the service as well as their values for diversity. Until the mid 1980s, those who served for the QPS were predominantly males however the implementation of equity legislation formed from the Fitzgerald inquiry introduced more women than ever before into policing roles. The target was set so that at least 20% of intakes in policing roles were women (Wimshirst 1995, 2). This was a dramatic change from the original 5-12% intake (Fleming and Lafferty 2012, 6). According to Prenzler, Fleming and King (2010, 585) the consecutive inquiries into police corruption and misconduct marginally improve the status of women in policing. This is due to two inquiries concluding that an increase of women employment led to a decrease of corruption levels, (Fleming and Lafferty 2003, as cited in Prenzler, Fleming and King 2010, 585). Additionally, women were known to be important factors in the transformation of the Queensland police service’s culture, specifically eradicating a ‘police code’ that kept misconduct and corruption by guilty police officers hidden (Fleming and Laverty 2003, 41; Prenzler, Fleming and King 2010, 585). The Australian Federal Police (AFP, 2014) believes that all employers whether male or female bring a variety of experience and knowledge which is why they are focused on maintaining a diverse workforce.
There has been a trend that shows many similarities...
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This case is about a lawsuit filed by an RCMP Corporal Catherine Galliford who alleged that her senior officers had sexually harassed her and she received numerous sexual advances from many senior officers since the time she graduated. Cpl. Catherine Galliford has been a prominent spokesperson for RCMP in some of the significant cases like Air-India bombings and revealing the arrest of Robert William Pickton, a serial killer. This case talks about how women are subjected to harassments in all forms of mental, physical and sexual in work places irrespective of the sector they work in. This paper also talks about loop holes which the organization takes advantage of and shy’s away from addressing the problem fearing public outrage and
The Thompson Valley Police Service is seeking to double the number of police recruits over the next three years. In an attempt to attract more applicants, the newly appointed Police Commissioner, Commissioner Jason DeVillain is proposing two key changes to the current selection process. Firstly, Commissioner DeVillain is proposing to eliminate the requirement for partial or completed tertiary education. Secondly, it is being proposed that psychological testing should be removed from the selection process. As a research and policy officer for the Thompson Valley Police Service, the validity and likely impact of the above two proposed changes will be investigated thoroughly, followed by recommendations to Commissioner DeVillain to ensure the selection process is as effective as possible in selecting the most suitable candidates for the new police recruits. The role of a general duties police officer is broad in nature and requires the officer to be efficient in many areas, ranging from administrative duties to conflict resolution and problem solving. In addition to the recording and logging of all jobs attended while on duty, the officer may be required to prepare documents for court hearings, where written communication skills will also be
“For many early Victorians, policing was a new and low-status occupation. Few men became policeman for positive reasons" (Taylor 49).
Do the institution and also those officers serve it act discriminately to different race group? On the one hand, it has to be admitted that some actions taken by the police are leading to the greater involvement of young black people in the criminal justice system but they cannot be recognised as discriminative behaviours. For example, the police tend to give priority and more effort into certain crime categories and some deprived areas, depending on local and central first concern. As a consequence, some criminals of ethnic groups and ethnic minority residences living in certain areas are inevitably more likely to come into contact with the
Prenzler, T. 1995. Equal employment opportunity and policewomen in Australia. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 28/3, 258-77.
It is both a result and a cause of police isolation from the larger society and of police solidarity. Its influence begins early in the new officer’s career when he is told by more experienced officers that the “training given in police academies is irrelevant to ‘real’ police work”. What is relevant, recruits are told, is the experience of senior officers who know the ropes or know how to get around things. Recruits are often told by officers with considerable experience to forget what they learned in the academy and in college and to start learning real police work as soon as they get to their Field Training Officers. Among the first lessons learned are that police officers share secrets among themselves and that those secrets especially when they deal with activities that are questionable in terms of ethics, legality, and departmental policy, are not to be told to others. They also are told that administrators and Internal Affairs officers cannot often be trusted. This emphasis on the police occupational subculture results in many officers regarding themselves as members of a “blue
When the criminal justice system was established, the main objective was to create neutrality and fairness between the sexes. Even though people might believe that there is no such thing as ‘stereotyping’ in the criminal justice system, it is quite obvious that women are constantly being look down upon because of their sex. In general, women tend to be treated like fragile objects that could break at any moment; the truth is that women can be strong and courageous just like men. Society stereotypes women and the criminal justice system is no different.
Historically, criminology was significantly ‘gender-blind’ with men constituting the majority of criminal offenders, criminal justice practitioners and criminologists to understand ‘male crimes’ (Carraine, Cox, South, Fussey, Turton, Theil & Hobbs, 2012). Consequently, women’s criminality was a greatly neglected area and women were typically seen as non-criminal. Although when women did commit crimes they were medicalised and pathologised, and sent to mental institutions not prisons (Carraine et al., 2012). Although women today are treated differently to how they were in the past, women still do get treated differently in the criminal justice system. Drawing upon social control theory, this essay argues that nature and extent of discrimination
Which is one of the unique aspects to being a female law enforcement officer. By large, female police officers are a minority. Only about 10% of officers in the Bowling Green Police Department are female, and that percentage is even lower for departments in smaller counties. Prior to going to the interview I expected the female officers we spoke to, to tell us they heard a lot of people tell them they could do the job. I also expected that some male officers would be uncomfortable or would act different around female officers. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Officer Fields say that the male officers treat her just like one of the guys. Even though they have both heard their fair share of “policing is a man’s job”, the males in their field do not seem to have that attitude. Instead, the men they work alongside with act more like protectors, or big bothers. Hopefully, in upcoming years the ratio of male to female officers evens out, because both sexes bring different strengths to the
The Political Era of policing occurred in the early 1800’s and lasted until the 1930’s, and was under the direct influence of the local government and politicians. There were benefits of political influence; police departments began to develop intimate relationships within their communities offering a wide array of services to citizens. For example, the police worked soup kitchens and provided temporary housing for immigrants searching for work (Peak, 2015). In addition to providing an array of services to the community, officers were integrated into neighborhoods, which helped to prevent and contain riots. Typically, officers were assigned to neighborhoods where they lived or had the same ethnic background. Police departments
Our society has become one that is very diverse. Law enforcement agencies (local, state, and federal) for our changing society need to include an increase representation of women and minorities, definite improvement in leadership skills, and to strengthen community policing. These are all issues of great importance, which are no longer going to be pushed aside.
When looking at the report “treading the thin blue line: Embedding culture change at New Zealand police” it shows that there are members within the police force that are resisting the changes that the police minister Judith Collins and the police commissioner Peter Marshall are trying to implement. This report has shown that there are two main groups resisting the change, frontline staff and women officers of the New Zealand police force.
The ability of police to exercise discretion was originally designed to allow officers to maintain the peace by allowing certain types of crime to remain unpunished in certain circumstances. This essay will aim to explore the issue of police discretion that suggests that the application of discretion works against the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In drawing this conclusion, this essay will examine the relationship between policing ideals and the use of discretionary powers and the relationship between policing attitudes and the use of discretionary powers. A discussion regarding the use of police discretion towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can scarcely be mentioned without making reference to arguably the greatest failing by a police officer since indigenous Australians were formally recognised as citizens. Further to this, the case of Mulrunji Doomadgee (Cameron) will be examined from the point of view of officer discretionary powers. The penultimate point to be made will involve the Anglo Australian response to this case as well as the ongoing relationship between indigenous Australians and the institutions that govern them. As mentioned, the first point will involve policing ideals and their relationship to discretionary powers.
The conflict between security and service functions-- and the dangerous, overcrowded conditions in these facilities intensified hostile reaction (Jurik, N.C. 1985). On an informal level there is much of a boundary between the male inmates and the women that worked in the facilities. The more overcrowded and dangerous these facilities get, the harder it may be for the women in the workplace as security. Nancy felt with such resistance in the workplace of being a female correctional officer in mens prison, women were not going to perform adequately to all of the pressure. In addition, the combination to these old hostilities with the informal rules governing advancement further limited the opportunities available to female officers (Kanter, 1977; 264). Because this specific job field is so hostile and intimidating, researchers found that women were not getting promoted because of it. Which made it harder on women to do as well as they wanted knowing they were not going to get rewarded or promoted to a higher form of
Police recruitment is very important to all law enforcement agencies; it seeks to recruit, select, train and maintain the best possible officers (Grant et al, 2012). This paper will give you the reader a general understanding of police recruitment and also discuss some of the problems happening in police recruitment; past and present, along with remedies to these problems.