Would Fewer People Get Killed if More Police Officers Were Women?

[KamaAina]

http://womensenews.org/2016/04/would-fewer-people-get-killed-if-more-police-officers-were-women/

In both instances, the officers using excessive force were men. Sandwiched in between these incidents were two others, involving female officers. Last October, one of those officers diffused a street fight in Washington, D.C., by engaging in a dance off.

In February, a Dallas police officer stopped an active shooter who had opened fire in a busy Wal-Mart. The officer, a woman, did not fire a weapon, but chased the shooter, demanding verbally he stop shooting.

Female officers discharge their weapons at far lower rates and are more effective at negotiating better and less lethal outcomes, even though citizens are not more likely to use less force when officers are female.

In 2002, the National Center for Women in Policing completed a landmark study that revealed marked differences in policing based on gender. It found male officers, who make up 88 percent of the U.S. police force, are eight and a half times more likely than female officers to face sustained charges of excessive force and to discharge their weapons, which is clear from the four cases previously cited.

If this is true, Pittsburgh, which has far more women on its force than any other city (hence the TV series "Sirens&quot , should have a correspondingly low rate of police shootings.

[northernsouthern]

1. I hope it is true.

As a woman I think just based on size I would be more willing to even the game with a gun (statistically guys are taller and bigger). But the fact they did not is impressive. The lady that was "committed" suicide in Texas was arrested by a lady if I recall correctly. I remember going for a police exam once and seeing the most amazing lady there, and later in a discussion about the test with another officer she some how came up and they made a reference about her being hot in a way that made me feel a bit bad for even thinking she was attractive because I bet she got hit on all day...and that too would make me more aggressive.

[LiberalArkie]

2. I think it would be, most women have the ability to calm down irate children and to disarm them.

Something most men never managed to develop. I stopped dating because I had absolutely no child raising skills no patience with children. Most of the women I knew when I dated would have been fantastic police officers, they would be able to sweet talk them and once they were close enough, slap them in the back of the head with the baton. They did not put up with the crap.


NOTE: NO SEXISM INTENDED. Women would just make better cops.

[Odin2005]

3. Testosterone can be a bad thing in a situation where de-escalation is needed.

In these situations we guys will often slip unconsciously into "escalate to show dominance" behavior.

[LiberalArkie]

4. Could be the alpha male thing. The suspect is subconsciously indicating he is "alpha" and the

officer has been trained to always be the Alpha.

[braddy]

5. How about in the Marine Corp, how does that play out?