U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Assistance

Recruiting & Retaining Women: A SelfAssessment Guide for Law Enforcement

less likely to become involved in

the use of force, and respond

effectively to violence against

women.

Resources for Law

Enforcement Agencies

This bulletin provides a brief

overview of the information and

resources available in Recruiting

& Retaining Women: A SelfAssessment Guide for Law Enforcement. Each chapter of the guide

contains the following sections:

❑ Statement of the

Problem. Administrators

must understand the issues

involved in hiring and retaining women before they can

improve or implement new

policies and procedures. In

this section, the most common problems found in law

enforcement agencies are

discussed in detail to help

agencies gain a more thorough understanding of the

obstacles that exist to hiring and

retaining women.

❑ Legal Issues. This section alerts

administrators to issues involved in

the hiring and retaining of women

that may require legal input and

review. Because employment law

is frequently the subject of litigation

and collective bargaining agreements,

all changes to personnel policies and

procedures should be reviewed with

legal counsel before implementation.

Under a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice

Assistance, the National Center for

Women & Policing (NCWP) developed a self-assessment guide to assist

agencies seeking to recruit and retain

more women in sworn law enforcement positions.The resulting publication, Recruiting & Retaining Women: A

Self-Assessment Guide for Law Enforcement, is designed to help federal,state,

and local law enforcement agencies

examine their policies and procedures

to identify and remove obstacles to

hiring and retaining sworn and civilian

women employees at all levels within

the organization. It also provides a list

of resources for agencies to use when

they plan or implement changes to

their current policies and procedures.

The guide promotes increasing the

number of women at all ranks of law

enforcement as a strategy to strengthen community policing,reduce police

use of force, enhance police response

to domestic violence, and provide 

balance to the workforce. Research

conducted in the United States and

internationally demonstrates that

women police officers use a style of

policing that relies less on physical

strength, can effectively de-escalate

potentially violent confrontations, are

Michigan State Police Recruiting Poster
❑ Possible Solutions, Model

Policies, and Practices.This section provides solutions that may

help agencies remove obstacles to

hiring and retaining women.The

detailed suggestions give practical

guidance about each issue discussed

in the problem statement.

Whenever possible, the guide

includes descriptions of model policies being used by law enforcement

agencies.

❑ Expert Assistance, Reference

Materials, Contact Persons,

and Other Useful Information.

References, resources, and names of

persons or agencies with pertinent

expertise and innovative programs

are provided. In addition, a complete

bibliography of related articles is

included at the end of the guide.

Any future updates on innovative

programs and model policies, contact

information, and bibliographies will

be provided on NCWP’s Web site

at www.feminist.org/police/ncwp.asp.

❑ Checklist. A comprehensive

checklist at the end of each chapter

provides an overview of the steps

involved at each stage of the selfassessment process.At a glance,

users of the guide can determine

whether they have reviewed key

policies and practices that have

an impact on each major area of

agency operations being assessed.

Hiring and Retaining

Women: The Advantages

to Law Enforcement

Agencies

Nationwide, law enforcement agencies

are confronting enormous challenges

in recruiting qualified candidates, yet

traditional recruiting strategies frequently overlook an entire pool of

potential applicants—women.The number of women in law enforcement has

remained small and the rate of increase

slow. Recent surveys show that only

14.3 percent of sworn personnel are

women, with an annual increase of only

0.5 percent over the past several years.1

Law enforcement today is facing a crisis

of public confidence and trust. Highly

publicized incidents of police use of

excessive force have generated headlines in cities around the country.

Police brutality and corruption lawsuits are costing taxpayers millions of

dollars each year, and the frequency

and associated costs of such incidents

are increasing.2 Concurrently, police

leaders and executives are under pressure to implement community- or

service-oriented policing, transforming

the very nature of the relationship

between law enforcement and the

communities it serves. Nationwide,

communities are demanding that law

enforcement agencies take a more

modern approach to policing that

emphasizes communication and cooperation with citizens and communityinvolved problem solving.

When reviewing this information, one

may wonder,“What does all of this

have to do with hiring and retaining

more women?” Research conducted

both in the United States and internationally clearly demonstrates that

women police officers use a style of

policing that relies less on physical

force.They are better at defusing and

de-escalating potentially violent confrontations with citizens and are less

likely to become involved in incidents

of excessive force.Additionally, women

officers often possess better communication skills than their male counterparts and are better able to facilitate

the cooperation and trust required

to implement a community policing

model.Thus, hiring and retaining more

women in law enforcement is likely

to be an effective means of addressing

the problems of excessive force and

citizen complaints.

Increasing the representation of

women on the police force should

address another costly problem for

police administrators—the pervasive

problem of sex discrimination and

sexual harassment—by changing the

climate of modern law enforcement

agencies. Finally, female officers often

respond more effectively to incidents

of violence against women—the single

largest category of calls received by

local police agencies nationwide.3

Assessing a Law

Enforcement Agency

Many approaches can be used to 

conduct an assessment of a law

enforcement agency.To conduct a

comprehensive assessment, sufficient

resources must be allocated and as

many women as possible from all ranks

within the agency should be involved

in the assessment process.The guide

offers practical advice on establishing a

process to assess an agency on issues

that pertain to recruiting and retaining

women and recommends different

approaches to assessment and who

should be involved in the process.

Developing a Job

Description

Many job descriptions for law enforcement officers are outdated and do not

reflect the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for a community policing

model.To develop the best job description for law enforcement officers, law

enforcement agencies should emphasize

the value that the organization places

on community policing and detail the

skills and duties required to successfully implement community policing

practices. For example, the job description should highlight skills such as the

ability to de-escalate violent situations,

communicate with diverse groups of

people, mediate disputes, and collaborate with other government and social

service agencies to solve problems.

Recruiting Quality

Candidates

Nationwide, law enforcement agencies

are having difficulty recruiting women

in large part because recruiting programs have not focused specifically

on finding quality women candidates.

Following are a few of the suggestions

presented in the self-assessment guide

to help agencies improve their recruiting programs.The guide is far more

2
3

Recruiting & Retaining Women

position. Careful data should be kept

to determine which pieces of the

recruitment plan are successful.

Removing Obstacles in the

Selection Process

In addition to broadening outreach

activities to attract more women

applicants, agencies must examine

their selection processes to identify

and remove obstacles that have had

an adverse impact on the hiring of

women.With appropriate data collection, it is easy to discover where

women are being “washed out” in

the hiring process and identify which

aspects of the process should be

examined for gender bias. Improving

the testing process that each applicant

must complete will help agencies select

Six Advantages for Law Enforcement Agencies That Hire and Retain More Women

1.Women officers are proven to be

as competent as their male counterparts. Research studies show no

meaningful difference between male

and female officers in their activities

or productivity on patrol, their commitment to law enforcement organizations, their response to violent

confrontations, and their performance evaluations received both at

the academy and on the job.*

2. Women officers use a style of

policing that relies less on physical

force, and they are less likely to

become involved in incidents of

excessive force.**

3. Women officers bring skills

and abilities to the job that help

implement community-oriented

policing, which facilitates cooperation and trust between police officers and citizens.

4. More women officers will improve a law enforcement agency’s

response to domestic violence

against women—the largest single

category of calls to local police

departments.

5. Increasing the presence of female

officers reduces the prevalence of sex

discrimination, under utilization, and

sexual harassment within an agency

by reducing the numeric underrepresentation of female officers.

6.The presence of women in a law

enforcement agency can bring about

beneficial changes in policy for all

officers. For example, one scholar

noted that “the introduction of

women will create an incentive . . .

to examine many management practices that are less acceptable now

that they must be applied to men

and women alike.This may result in

the development of improved selection criteria, performance standards,

and supervision for all officers.”†

comprehensive; agencies that wish to

increase their numbers of women officers are encouraged to read the guide

in its entirety.

Develop an effective recruiting

program. To successfully increase

the number of women in policing, law

enforcement agencies should develop

a specific plan of action that targets

women in the recruiting process and

emphasizes the agency’s desire to significantly increase the number of women

in its ranks.The self-assessment guide

contains many recommendations to

help achieve this goal, including forming

a recruitment committee and designing

recruitment posters that feature women.

Use the media to increase

recruitment of women officers.

Agencies should undertake activities

that maximize media attention and

exposure for the department’s efforts

to recruit more women as law enforcement officers.The guide offers many

suggestions on how to get the desired

media exposure, including maintaining

a Web site, advertising in publications

with high female readership, and hosting

career fairs or open houses that allow

women to learn more about the job.

Monitor recruitment efforts.

Once a recruitment program is implemented, staff should continually monitor

and evaluate it to determine what works

and what changes may need to be made.

To effectively monitor and evaluate

recruitment efforts, the employment

application for law enforcement officers should contain questions about

how the applicant learned about the

*

See for example, Snortum, John R., and

John C. Beyers,“Patrol Activities of Male

and Female Officers as a Function of Work

Experience,” 1983, Police Studies 6: 63–142;

Fry, Louis W., and Sue Greenfeld,“An

Examination of Attitudinal Differences

Between Policewomen and Policemen,”

1980, Journal of Applied Psychology 65(1):

123–126; Grennan, Sean A.,“Findings on

the Role of Officer Gender in Violent

Encounters With Citizens,” 1987, Journal

of Police Science and Administration 15(1):

78–85; Jones, Catherine A.,“Predicting the

Effectiveness of Police Officers,” in Women

Police Officers: Current Career Profile,

Springfield, IL: Charles C.Thomas.

**See for example, Horvath, F.,“The Police

Use of Deadly Force:A Description of

Selected Characteristics of Intrastate

Incidents,” 1987, Journal of Police Science

Administration 15: 226–238; National

Center for Women & Policing, 2000,

Gender Differences in the Cost of Police

Brutality and Misconduct:A Content Analysis

of LAPD Civil Liability Cases: 1990–1999,

retrieved April 25, 2001, from the World

Wide Web: www.feminist.org/police/

ExcessiveForce. html; Independent

Commission on the Los Angeles Police

Department, 1991, Report of the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police

Department: Summary, Los Angeles, CA:

Independent Commission on the Los

Angeles Police Department: 17.

†

Bloch, Peter B., and Deborah Anderson,

1974, Policewomen on Patrol: Final Report,

Washington, DC:The Urban Institute: 1–67.
the best candidates for positions as

community police officers and will

protect agencies from discrimination

lawsuits.

Areas of the selection process that

should be examined include—

Physical testing. Entry-level physical

ability tests are often outdated, are

not job-related, and test for physical

requirements not needed to perform

the job of a modern law enforcement

officer.Test developers should carefully

and thoroughly evaluate the physical

duties to be performed by law enforcement officers.

Written examinations. As a group,

women usually do quite well on written examinations. However, these tests

may have an adverse impact on women

and men of color and, if they do, the

agency must demonstrate that the

questions are job-related and are being

asked to predict job success. Legal and

testing experts should be consulted

when agencies design or revise written examinations.

Oral interviews.The structured oral

interview is an area in which gender

bias may manifest itself and have a

negative impact on women.The oral

interview panel should be gender and

racially diverse and include members

of the local community. Sworn and

civilian law enforcement employees

also may be used as panelists.All raters

should be supportive of women in

policing and thoroughly trained in the

rules of the interview process.The

questions developed for the oral interview should test for the skills and abilities needed for community policing,

including the ability to work with all

types of people, de-escalate violence,

mediate disputes, and solve problems.

The same questions should be asked of

each candidate, regardless of whether

the candidate is male or female.

Background investigations. A good

background investigation is crucial to

hiring the right person. Background

investigators should have a thorough

understanding of the types of persons

the chief executive of the law enforcement agency wants to hire.The selfassessment guide provides information

on how the background investigation

process can be improved to ensure that

candidates are thoroughly and fairly

screened. Some of the procedures

covered in the guide are—

❑ Screening and training background

investigators.

❑ Screening applicants for gender bias.

❑ Screening applicants for the skills

needed for domestic violence calls

and the propensity to use violence.

Designing Quality Recruit

Academies and Field

Training Programs

Biased training academies and field

training programs can wash out a large

number of women recruits.The bootcamp model of training should be

replaced with training that is based

on adult learning techniques. Studies

have shown that adults respond best

to training that is varied in presentation such as video, lecture, and roleplaying. Experts in adult learning should

be consulted and should assist in developing effective training programs.The

guide discusses how to do the following:

❑ Establish a training committee.

❑ Develop a training curriculum.

❑ Select academy instructors.

❑ Develop a physical fitness and skills

training program.

❑ Train recruits in the use of

firearms.

❑ Maintain a harassment-free work

environment.

❑ Select field training officers (FTOs).

❑ Review the field training program

and its officers.

❑ Monitor the progress of recruits.

Mentoring To Increase

Retention

Because women continue to be

underrepresented in law enforcement,

they face additional challenges. Most

significantly, sexual harassment and

gender discrimination continue to be

key reasons women cite for leaving

law enforcement.4Women report that

they often feel isolated when they join

the department and have no one to

whom they can turn for advice or support. Mentoring programs can assist in

the retention and promotion of female

employees.The goal of creating such

programs is to cultivate one-to-one

partnerships between new and veteran

4

Michigan State Police Recruiting Poster
5

Recruiting & Retaining Women

officers that will encourage employees

to reach their fullest potential as law

enforcement professionals.

Valuing Civilian

Employees

In most law enforcement agencies,

a large percentage of the civilian

employees are women. Law enforcement agencies need to be aware

of employment issues facing these

employees. For example, promotional

opportunities have frequently been

limited for civilian personnel and

should be expanded at every opportunity, including consideration of qualified candidates for sworn positions.

Other possible solutions and incentives include ensuring equal pay and

benefits, using inclusive language when

speaking to both sworn and civilian

members, and including civilian members in training programs designed

for sworn members.

Implementing FamilyFriendly Policies

Many law enforcement administrators

are worried about retaining qualified

women officers.When one study examined why women left the Canadian

police force at almost twice the rate

of men, women cited family-related

issues (i.e., pregnancy and childcare) as

the main reasons they left policing.5

The first step a department can take

is to develop a comprehensive policy

regarding pregnancy and childcare

issues.A department’s policy should

cover the following areas:

❑ Eligibility for and duration of 

pregnancy and childcare leave.

❑ Light duty.

❑ Range qualification.

❑ Uniforms.

❑ Disability insurance and paid leave

benefits.

Monitoring Performance

Evaluations

Performance evaluation systems are

often problematic for law enforcement agencies. Many agencies that

have adopted community-oriented

policing have not yet updated their

performance evaluation systems.

Therefore, officers may be evaluated

on behaviors that differ from the

desired behaviors. Because performance evaluations are frequently used

as the basis for making decisions on

transfers, specialty assignments, and

promotions, a fair and unbiased evaluation system is essential to a law

enforcement agency. Possible means

of creating such a system include

determining what performance skills

should be evaluated, determining how

those skills should be measured, setting performance goals, and reviewing

evaluations for bias.

Assignments and

Promotions

Many law enforcement officers pursue

assignments to specialty units. Not

only do these assignments provide

new challenges and duties, they also

help broaden the officer’s experience

and enhance promotional opportunities. For those reasons, assignments

can be an area in which discrimination

occurs.Two main areas of concern

exist regarding promoting women in

law enforcement. First, the promotional process and criteria may be biased

against women. Second, women may

choose not to apply for promotions.

To encourage women to seek promotions, agencies should actively recruit

and promote women through promotional processes that are fair and unbiased and ensure that the agency has

family-friendly programs in place.

A review of the entire promotional

process should be undertaken to

identify where women are eliminated

or rated lower than men.

Preventing Sexual and

Gender Harassment,

Discrimination, and

Retaliation

Sexual harassment is prevalent in most

law enforcement agencies. Studies have

found that 60 to 70 percent of women

officers experienced sexual/gender

harassment. Interestingly, only 4 to 6

percent of these women ever reported

the harassment.6 This lack of reporting

can be directly attributed to the code

of silence in law enforcement agencies

and the severe retaliation that occurs

when women report misconduct.

Agencies need to have strong policies

and directives that prohibit such conduct, directives for immediate investigation of allegations of unlawful acts,

and appropriate disciplinary measures

in place in case such allegations are substantiated.The guide outlines in detail

what measures should be taken and

how personnel should be trained to

prevent such activities in the workplace.

Ensuring Impartial

Internal Investigation 

and Discipline Systems

An effective and fair internal investigation system is crucial to maintaining

the credibility and responsiveness of

law enforcement. Most law enforcement agencies have a system for

receiving and investigating complaints

of officer misconduct. Unfortunately,

the very systems that are established

to investigate officer misconduct have

the potential to be misused as tools to

harass or retaliate against employees.

Women officers have reported that

when they filed complaints of discrimination or harassment, they became

subsequent targets of internal investigations based on complaints that were

often anonymous or false.To prevent

such incidents from taking place, law

enforcement agencies should have

written guidelines that clearly spell

out the process for reporting and

investigating allegations of misconduct.
Safeguards must be built into the investigation process to prevent retaliation

against persons who report misconduct.

Developing Effective

Awards and Recognition

Programs

Many law enforcement agencies use

award programs to motivate their

employees.Traditionally, recognition is

given only for heroism or for solving a

major crime case. Some agencies give

awards to employees who have been

part of successful, innovative programs.

Very few agencies give awards or recognize employees whose work reflects

the principles of community policing.

Even fewer agencies recognize those

that maintain a workplace free of

harassment and discrimination, mentor

women and minorities, or increase the

diversity of the workforce. Law enforcement agencies can use the issue of

awards and recognition as an opportunity to gain employee and community

input.A diverse committee should be

established to develop criteria for 

formal awards.The following are examples of ways to recognize employees

who support community policing and

diversity in the workplace:

❑ Assign the employees to highly

desirable positions.

❑ Select personnel for special training

programs or conferences.

❑ Promote people who have demonstrated an understanding of and

support for the concepts of community policing.

Assistance Available to

Law Enforcement

Agencies

To assist law enforcement agencies

that wish to increase the number of

women employees in their workforce,

the National Center for Women &

Policing offers the following services:

❑ A regional training seminar on

recruiting and retaining women.

This 2-day seminar helps law

enforcement agencies develop

effective recruiting programs to

increase the number of female

employees.

❑ Online updates to the selfassessment guide. New programs

in law enforcement agencies across

the country are described on the

Web site and readers can gain

access to the latest research about

women in policing and other critical issues (www.feminist.org/police/

ncwp.asp).

❑ Onsite consulting by a team of professional law enforcement experts

to help agencies identify and remove

obstacles to recruiting and retaining

women.

For additional information on

these services, contact the National

Center for Women & Policing at

323–651–2532 or via e-mail at 

womencops@feminist.org.

Notes

1. National Center for Women &

Policing, 2000, Equality Denied:The

Status of Women in Policing: 1999,

Los Angeles, CA: National Center

for Women & Policing.

2. Kappeler,Victor E., Stephen F.

Kappeler, and Rolando V. Del Carmen,

1993,“A Content Analysis of Police

Civil Liability Cases: Decisions of the

Federal District Courts 1978–1990,”

Journal of Criminal Justice 21: 325–337.

3. Homant, Robert J., and Daniel B.

Kennedy, 1985,“Police Perceptions of

Spousal Abuse—A Comparison of

Male and Female Officers,” Journal

of Criminal Justice 13: 29–47.

4.Williams, Julie, 2000,“Mentoring

for Law Enforcement” FBI Bulletin,

Washington, DC: Federal Bureau of

Investigation: 19–25; Poole, Eric D.,

and Mark R. Pogrebin, 1988,“Factors

Affecting the Decision to Remain in

Policing: A Study of Women Officers,”

Journal of Police Science and Administration 16(3): 49–55.

5. Seagram, Belinda Crawford, and

Connie Stark-Adames, 1992,“Women

in Canadian Urban Policing:Why Are

They Leaving?,” The Police Chief

October: 120–127.

6. Polisar, Joseph, and Donna Milgram,

1998,“Recruiting, Integrating, and

Retraining Women Police Officers:

Strategies That Work,” The Police Chief

October: 42–53.

For Further Information

For further information about

Retaining & Recruiting Women: A SelfAssessment Guide for Law Enforcement,

contact:

National Center for Women &

Policing

8105 West Third Street

Los Angeles, CA 90048

323–651–2532

World Wide Web:

www.feminist.org/police/ncwp.asp

E-mail: womencops@feminist.org

Bureau of Justice Assistance

810 Seventh Street NW.

Washington, DC 20531

202–514–6278

World Wide Web:

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA

Copies of the guide are available from

the BJA Clearinghouse.

Bureau of Justice Assistance

Clearinghouse

P.O. Box 6000

Rockville, MD 20849–6000

1–800–688–4252

World Wide Web: www.ncjrs.org

Clearinghouse staff are available

Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 7

p.m. eastern time.Ask to be placed on

the BJA mailing list.

U.S. Department of Justice

Response Center

1–800–421–6770 or 202–307–1480

Response Center staff are available

Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to

5 p.m. eastern time.

6
7

Recruiting & Retaining Women

NCJ 188157

June 2001

This document was prepared by the National Center for Women & Policing,

under grant number 1999–LD–VX–0003, awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions,

findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this document are

those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or

policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is

a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau

of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile

Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Office for Victims of Crime.

Acknowledgments

Chief Penny Harrington, Director

of the National Center for Women

& Policing, is the principal author of

the guide and received input and

assistance from an advisory board

made up of the following people:

Research Director John Firman,

International Association of Chiefs

of Police.

Undersheriff Carol Daly,

Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office,

California, representing the National

Sheriffs’ Association.

Executive Director Sylvester

Daughtry, Commission on

Accreditation for Law Enforcement

Agencies, Inc.

Executive Director Robert

Stewart, National Organization of

Black Law Enforcement Executives.

U.S. Marshal Rosa Melendez,

U.S. Marshals Service, representing

the Hispanic American Police

Commanding Officers Association.

Commander Gary Gee, Bay Area

Rapid Transit Police, representing

the Asian American Commanding

Officers’ Association.

Ombudsman Laura GoodmanBrown, Minnesota State Office of

Crime Victims’ Ombudsman, representing the International Association

of Women Police.

Chief Katherine Baldwin, U.S.

Department of Justice, Civil Rights,

Employment Litigation Section.

Steve Stanard, CEO, Stanard

and Associates.

National Coordinator

Katherine Spillar, Feminist

Majority Foundation.

Chief Charles Moose,

Montgomery County Police

Department, Maryland.

Sheriff Margo Frasier, Travis

County Sheriff’s Office,Texas.

Chief Annette Sandberg,

Washington State Patrol.

The self-assessment guide was field

tested by the Fairfax County Police,

Virginia (headed by Chief Richard

Rappoport), and the Boise Police,

Idaho (headed by Captain Mike

Prynch).

The following people also contributed to the guide:

Kimberly Lonsway, Research

Director, National Center for

Women & Policing.

Senior Researcher Alex Besser,

National Center for Women &

Policing.

Assistant Chief Roberta

Webber, Portland Police

Department, Oregon (retired).

Captain Ronald Webber,

Portland Police Department,

Oregon (retired).

Records Manager Debra

Haugen, Portland Police

Department, Oregon.

The following Bureau of Justice

Assistance staff members participated in the development of the guide:

Senior Advisor Luke Galant.

Program Manager Jeannie

Santos.

Leila Wieser,Writer/Editor,

Aspen Systems Corporation, provided editorial and production support

for this bulletin.