It is essential to remember that gender equality is supported in modern society when discussing women’s right to work in law enforcement agencies. My point of view also coincides with the public one. I think there are many advantages to having women working in law enforcement. Cox et al. (2020) consider that for many women, working in law enforcement serves “to wield power in the African American community and to work to alter an organization often viewed as oppressive.” (p.316). For women, this will be a vast field of research on their strengths and talents, which they can show in their work. I consider that women should have the right to work in law enforcement not only because of the gender equality idea but also because women open up new perspectives in solving public issues, they are good at solving problems related to logic and do not lag behind men in their desire to be beneficial to society.
Firstly, female candidates are much less likely to receive complaints about using excessive force. At the same time, women candidates are a tremendous force that can change the world for the better through their efforts (Cox et al., 2020). Despite the low level of support that women working in the police sometimes give to each other, their work has an undeniable impact on the public and changes many people’s views about a uniform women. Since more and more women join the police ranks, the level of trust in it increases. Moreover, due to the police’s increased confidence, there was a decrease in the rate of intimate partner murders (Miller & Segal, 2018). More and more people turn to the police in advance because they believe in its effectiveness.
A sad statistic is the turnover of female staff in various departments, caused by discrimination and pressure from the desire to assert themselves on male employees. Moreover, sometimes women who do not belong to the police force suspect female police officers of their motives for joining the law enforcement agencies. For example, African American female police officers are likely to feel lonely and isolated in a group of white women or black men (Cox et al., 2020). It is important to note that women working in law enforcement agencies are genuinely unique, and the time will only reveal their potential. For the time being, only men are still welcome among the police since masculinity is still considered a necessary quality for working in the police (Cox et al., 2020). That is why women are so rarely recruited into the police force, even though many of them deserve to be accepted into law enforcement officers’ ranks.
In modern society, it is necessary to break down stereotypes properly, and the employment of women in law enforcement agencies is one of the right ways. Due to the stereotypes strengthening, people have believed that working in the police is only a man’s job since a man’s image of fighting crime has been formed because of greater physical strength and aggression. However, strength and aggression are not always necessary skills for police work, but it is always a mental strain, and in this skill, women are not inferior to men. Moreover, sometimes the methods used by women become more effective than those used by their male counterparts (Miller & Segal, 2018). At the same time, Cox et al. (2020) argue that “many male police officers continue to be highly critical of women” (p. 317). However, even though serious measures have been taken in the workplace to ensure safety and justice for employees’ actions, women are often victims of discrimination (Cox et al., 2020). Furthermore, filing a complaint about discrimination is an important issue, as many victims do not do so for reasons of fear of being convicted or fear of retribution.
To sum up, I believe that women should take part in such important work as law enforcement. The community needs to look to the future and strive to improve the life of society. Therefore, women should keep up with men and work for the benefit of the city.
References
Cox, S. M., Massey, D., Koski, C. M., & Fitch, B. D. (2020). Introduction to policing. Sage Publications, Inc.
Miller, A. R., & Segal, C. (2018). Do female officers improve law enforcement quality? Effects on crime reporting and domestic violence. The Review of Economic Studies, 86(5), 2220–2247. Web.