Women Police in a Changing Society

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WOMEN POLICE IN A CHANGING SOCIETY

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Women Police in a Changing Society Back Door to Equality

MANGAI NATARAJAN John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York, USA

© Mangai Natarajan 2008 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. Mangai Natarajan has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identiﬁed as the author of this work. Published by Ashgate Publishing Limited Gower House Croft Road Aldershot Hampshire GU11 3HR England

Ashgate Publishing Company Suite 420 101 Cherry Street Burlington, VT 05401-4405 USA

www.ashgate.com British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Natarajan, Mangai Women police in a changing society : back door to equality 1. Policewomen - India - Tamil Nadu 2. Sex role in the work environment - India - Tamil Nadu I. Title 363.2'082'095482 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Natarajan, Mangai. Women police in a changing society : back door to equality / by Mangai Natarajan. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7546-4932-8 1. Policewomen--India. 2. Policewomen--India--Tamil Nadu. 3. Equality--India. 4. Equality--India--Tamil Nadu. I. Title. HV8023.N37 2008 363.2082'095482--dc22 2007041408 ISBN 978 0 7546 4932 8

Contents List of Figures, Map and Diagram List of Tables Preface

vii ix xi

PART I WOMEN POLICE WORLDWIDE 1

Women Police and Societal Change

2

Three Decades of Research on Women Police: What Has Been Learned?

3

21

PART II WOMEN POLICE IN A TRADITIONAL SOCIETY 3

Women Police in India

45

4

Women Police in Tamil Nadu

59

PART III STUDIES OF WOMEN POLICE IN TAMIL NADU 5

Tamil Nadu Women Police in the 1980s

73

6

Tamil Nadu All Women Police Units—An Assessment

85

7

Women Police in the Battalions

123

PART IV WOMEN POLICING IN A CHANGING SOCIETY 8

9

Reconciling the Needs of the Police, Women Ofﬁcers, and Tamil Nadu

137

Prescriptions for Twenty-ﬁrst Century Women Policing: Theory, Research, and Policy

149

Bibliography Index

175 223

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List of Figures, Map and Diagram

Figures 1.1 Representation of sworn women police ofﬁcers in the United States (1971–2005) 1.2 Brown’s model of integration of women into policing 4.1 Nature of cases dealt with by the AWPUs 5.1 Preferred role and style of police department by women ofﬁcers (n=183) in Tamil Nadu, 1988 6.1 Nature of problem (n=60) 6.2 Processing of domestic dispute and domestic violence cases at AWPUs in Tamil Nadu, India (the IAS model) 9.1 Integration process of women policing in Tamil Nadu

8 15 66 78 105 113 150

Map 4.1 Map of India showing position of Tamil Nadu

59

Diagram 4.1 Tamil Nadu police—organizational chart

60

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List of Tables 1.1 1.2 2.1 2.2 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 4.1 4.2 4.3 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7

Characteristics of policing models Summary of studies reported in the book Primary focus of 487 published studies on women police (1970–2005) Female police personnel in selected countries (2000 and 1997) (percentage of total strength) Population by urban/rural residence in 2001, India Sex ratio trends in India (1901–2001) Constitutional guarantees for Indian women Percentage of women police in Indian states (as of 12/31/04) Percentage women police in Indian states by rank Number of women police stations in Indian States Jobs assigned to women ofﬁcers in India in the 1970s Actual police strength of Tamil Nadu including district armed police in 2004 Strength and agility requirements for men and women police constables Distribution of all women police stations in Tamil Nadu Capability of women police ofﬁcers (n=183) compared with male ofﬁcers, Tamil Nadu, 1988 (responses in percent) Women ofﬁcers’ (n=183) interest in speciﬁc police activities, Tamil Nadu, 1988 Deployment experience of 183 women police ofﬁcers in Tamil Nadu (1988) Summary of the results of the discriminant analysis (n=286) Personal characteristics of women ofﬁcers in 1988 (n=183) and in 1994 (n=61) Prior deployment experience of women police Preferred role of women ofﬁcers Preferred style of police department Career commitment All petitions and dowry cases at three AWPUs in Chennai, 1999–2001 Dowry-related petitions reported at the AWPUs in Chennai, 1999–2001 (n=474)

11 19 22 34 45 46 47 52 53 55 56 61 62 65 75 76 77 83 87 88 89 90 90 100 101

x

6.8 6.9 6.10 6.11 6.12 7.1 7.2 9.1 9.2

Women Police in a Changing Society

Actions taken in regard to dowry-related petitions reported at the AWPUs in Chennai, 1999–2001 (n=474) Outcomes of dowry related petitions reported at the AWPUs in Chennai, 1999–2001 (n=474) Demographic data for petitioners interviewed (n=60) Petitioners’ perspective on the service provided by the AWPUs and the outcome (n=60) Danger score sheet Demographic characteristics of the 1997 recruits Preferred role of female police ofﬁcers in Tamil Nadu Five groups of women police in Tamil Nadu Comparison of integrated and gendered policing models in terms of policing style and the status and self-image of women ofﬁcers

101 102 104 106 121 124 126 159 163

Preface This book gives an account of research on women police in Tamil Nadu, India, which I have been undertaking for some 20 years. During this time, I have completed a number of related studies that have separately found their way into print. In this book, I bring them together to provide a description of the role and functions of women police in Tamil Nadu and how these have changed during the relatively short period of time that India has begun to emerge as a leader among developing economies. This has resulted in enormous social change as a traditional society has adapted to the requirements of a democratic, capitalist state. These changes have greatly affected women, not least the women working as police ofﬁcers. The research has led me to a particular view of the appropriate role of women police in a traditional culture, different from that of women ofﬁcers in western countries. When ﬁrst entering the police, women ofﬁcers in western countries were deployed to service-oriented, not enforcement work. Apart from performing a secretarial and support function, they were generally conﬁned to cases involving women and juveniles. Gradually they became more integrated into the mainstream of policing and they now perform a wide range of line duties. It is tempting to argue that women ofﬁcers in developing countries will (and should) follow this trajectory, but I argue in this book that western models of integration should not be imposed on traditional cultures. Rather, integration policy for any particular country must take account of the special roles and needs of women in that culture, and the special contribution they can make to policing. By doing so, the role of women ofﬁcers will be enriched, and effectiveness and efﬁciency of the police will be enhanced. Equality between men and women ofﬁcers should always be the goal, but equality within the system must be achieved using culture-sensitive approaches. This means that there are many routes to achieving equality, including “back door” approaches such as represented by the establishment in 1992 of all women police units (AWPUs) in Tamil Nadu. I ﬁnd that the experience of working in these units has greatly enhanced the conﬁdence and professionalism of the women ofﬁcers and I argue that the lessons learned from Tamil Nadu’s unique experience of utilizing women police ofﬁcers holds important lessons for women police in other parts of India and in other developing countries. Dare I say it, but I think that this experience might also have lessons for western countries that are ﬁnding it increasingly difﬁcult to recruit and retain women ofﬁcers. In any case, policing is being rethought all over the world. The quasi-military model, particularly unsuited to women ofﬁcers, no longer seems adequate to

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meeting society’s needs for service and for crime prevention, while technology and communications are replacing the need for physical strength and endurance. The community-policing model is attracting considerable interest as a viable alternative. This requires diplomacy and interpersonal skills, which women ofﬁcers often possess to a considerable degree. There is little doubt that proper utilization of personnel that is, based on skills rather than gender, will enhance police careers and result in police better serving the needs of society. Brief Outline of the Research In the mid-1980s, as a recent criminology graduate from the University of Madras, I had found work as a counselor in charge of help centers for women, sponsored by the Joint Action Council for Women, Tamil Nadu. In the course of this work I regularly came across women police ofﬁcers and became intrigued by their role. Women had only been working in the police for a few years and they had gained little public acceptance. Men tended to ridicule them while they were doing trafﬁc duties, and women joined in by teasing them about their uniforms and behavior. However, I had seen another side of their work, helping women victims, and I began to think about the problems they faced in the police force, which until recently had been an exclusively male domain. After obtaining a postgraduate diploma in Indo-Japanese Studies, I registered for a PhD. in Criminology at the University of Madras and, having resolved to undertake a comparative study of women police in India and Japan, began to collect literature pertaining to women police in India and other nations. It soon became apparent that it would be much easier for me to pursue this research agenda in the United States where empirical social science was further advanced than in India. By a circuitous route, I ended up at the School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University, where I enrolled for my PhD. My course work papers all related to women police and eventually I decided to do a comparative study of the role of women police in India and the United States. At this point, my dissertation chair, the late Professor Gerhard Mueller, arranged a visiting fellowship for me at UNAFEI to include Japan as one of the comparative elements. I was in Fuchu for two months in 1988 and had many opportunities to observe women police and the environment in which they worked. With my limited Japanese, I was even able to talk to some of the women ofﬁcers. At that time, women ofﬁcers constituted 3 percent of the police force in Japan and, though many of them had undergone heavy physical training, the majority of the women police served as clerical support rather than line ofﬁcers. I have often reﬂected on this short visit, which gave me another perspective on women police and helped me to understand the problems of conducting crosscultural comparative research.

Preface

xiii

1988 Study For my dissertation research I administered a questionnaire on roles and career expectations to almost 200 women police ofﬁcers from the United States and the same number from India. The questionnaire was adapted from one developed by Sandra Jones (1986) to examine the deployment, training, and promotion experiences of men and women ofﬁcers, as well as attitudes about preferred roles of policewomen, in the United Kingdom. I modiﬁed this questionnaire to suit the Indian setting and found many differences between the women ofﬁcers in the two countries I was comparing. In the United States, regardless of the difﬁculties they faced in improving their status, they were very conﬁdent about what they could do and were aggressive in seeking an expanded role in policing. The social climate in the police force allowed them to raise their concerns, even if they were not always successful in getting what they wanted. This was not the case in India, where women police performed clerical rather than policing functions and unassertively accepted the role assigned to them. They quietly put up with insults and harassment and were largely helpless because they had no social support. 1994 Study All around the world, improvements in technology in the early 1990s considerably impacted society at large. This was especially true for India. Urban life ﬂourished and more women started entering the labor force. Many other differences in women’s lives could be directly observed. Suddenly it became common to see women riding mopeds, which just a few years before had been expensive and used only by men. Men and women walked hand-in-hand in the streets, something never seen in the 1980s. These changes were especially noticeable to someone like me, returning to the country after a few years’ absence. Observing these changes prompted my interest in the impact of societal change on women police. In 1992, in response to the recommendations of a government report, the Tamil Nadu police set up an All Women Police Unit (AWPU) in Madras on an experimental basis. This was seen as a stopgap measure to handle the increasing number of women victims who were reluctant to go to general police stations to make complaints. I had the opportunity to visit this unit within three months of its opening. After speaking with many of the women ofﬁcers, I was doubtful about the unit’s survival. The women seemed to be unhappy about being segregated in the unit and they were worried that they would never be given sufﬁcient resources or respect. Having lived in America for a few years and knowing the history of women police in the western world, I thought the establishment of AWPUs was a retrograde step when these women ofﬁcers were struggling to raise their proﬁle in the police. I wondered why the government had taken this U-turn when the West seemed to be progressing to equality and integration of men and women ofﬁcers.

xiv

Women Police in a Changing Society

My worries were unfounded because a few months after my visit the unit was pronounced a success and several more were soon opened. Three years later, by 1996, 28 AWPUs had been established throughout the state. I found this so surprising that I decided to undertake a systematic study of the units. Accordingly, I visited ﬁve of the units and interviewed a sample of the women working there, using the same questionnaire as in my 1988 study. I saw a remarkable transformation of the women. Instead of grumbling about their work, they were mostly cheerful and appeared to be functioning effectively. I compared their responses to the questionnaire with those obtained in 1988 and found much more positive attitudes towards police work among the women in the AWPUs. Many of these women preferred a “modiﬁed” policing role than was the case in 1988, when more ofﬁcers preferred a “traditional” role. Prior to the establishment of the units, women police constables never handled cases on their own and merely assisted male ofﬁcers, often by secretarial work. The units gave them the opportunity and the responsibility to perform a much wider variety of ordinary policing roles. Altogether, these women ofﬁcers seemed much more conﬁdent and it appeared that the AWPUs had given them the opportunity to learn how to be policewomen. 2000 Study A new national labor law compelled the Tamil Nadu police in 1997 to ensure that 33 percent of all new recruits were women. This was a remarkable move in terms of increasing the strength as well as the status of women. Male ofﬁcers threatened strike action unless the women recruited under this legislation were assigned to the same work and conditions as the men. This resulted in court rulings requiring that the women recruited under the new laws should be assigned to regular police battalions, where they were required to undergo training for a six-year period, alongside men, preparatory to assuming the full range of police duties. In 2000, the ﬁrst batch of new recruits under this legislation was admitted to the force. I waited until August 2000, by which time these recruits would have settled into their new role, before seeking to interview them. I visited six battalions where the new recruits were assigned and interviewed 55 ofﬁcers and administered the same questionnaire as before to about 100. To provide a comparative element, I visited 19 of the existing 58 AWPUs where I conducted 75 interviews and administered the questionnaire to 140 ofﬁcers. I found that most of the new recruits were unhappy with their situation. Most had applied to the force on the assumption that they would be placed in the allwomen police units. They were disappointed with life in the battalions and had little idea how long they would remain in there. They disliked the regimented physical exercises and the routine crowd control and political escort duties—the latter being an important part of police work in India. They wanted more challenging and interesting problem-solving duties.

Preface

xv

By contrast, ofﬁcers in the AWPUs were working enthusiastically. There was a growing professionalism among the women ofﬁcers and an increased level of conﬁdence and assertiveness, which made them really look like “policewomen” rather than “women police.” Unfortunately, there were also some disturbing trends. Some ofﬁcers in the AWPUs seemed to be rivaling male ofﬁcers in levels of corruption. I came across newspaper stories complaining about corrupt practices in the AWPUs. Several of the inspectors in charge had been suspended from their jobs because of corruption, and investigations had also revealed mistreatment of the victims/complainants of domestic violence they were appointed to serve. Disturbed as I was by these stories, I could not help wondering whether corruption might be an indirect measure of equality. Corruption is endemic among male ofﬁcers, so it would not be surprising if it became widespread among women ofﬁcers also when employed in the same roles as men. The new labor laws were intended to promote equality but they have also had some unfortunate consequences. Newspaper stories reported that few women had responded to recent recruitment advertisements, probably because news had leaked out concerning the unhappiness of women ofﬁcers recruited in 2000. This raises serious concerns about the future of women police and suggests to me that, sometimes in some countries, equal opportunity laws can unintentionally hurt the progress of women. Fortunately, the Tamil Nadu police enjoy strong political support from the ex-Chief Minister, Ms Jayalalitha Jayaram, who is also a strong supporter of women’s rights. During her tenure as Chief Minister, she introduced a “Crimes Against Women” division in the ofﬁce of the Director General of Police and appointed Ms Thilagavathy, a top-ranking woman ofﬁcer, as the chief of the division. This appointment provides the opportunity for solving some of the problems now facing women police in Tamil Nadu. 2003a Study With a grant from the City University of New York Dispute Resolution Consortium, I undertook a small study of the dispute resolution work undertaken by women ofﬁcers in three AWPUs in Chennai (formerly known as Madras). I analyzed a large randomly selected sample of dowry-related cases handled by these units during 1999–2001 and interviewed 60 victims randomly selected from among these cases. I also talked to police ofﬁcers, petitioners and counter-petitioners in the three stations and observed the way in which victims were treated. I thought the women ofﬁcers lacked professional skills in dealing with victims; they were too authoritarian, and the solution of disputes often seemed too arbitrary and, in my opinion, the ofﬁcers needed training in counseling and dispute resolution. Even so, the interviews with victims showed that women from traditional backgrounds were comfortable bringing their problems to women ofﬁcers for resolution. In addition, the victims reported

xvi

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that interventions by the women police frequently resulted in reduced physical violence. 2003b Study In June 2001, the Tamil Nadu police won a prestigious competitive grant, the UK “Queen’s Award” for innovations in policing, with a project entitled “Web-based e-training programmes in dispute resolution, interviewing and record keeping for ofﬁcers in all women police units.” This training was needed because of the rapid growth in AWPUs and wide recognition that women ofﬁcers had insufﬁcient training both in interviewing/counseling and in record keeping/data management, which limited their efﬁciency in dealing with domestic disputes. Because of increasing workloads and shortage of staff, women police ofﬁcers cannot attend regular college courses that are geared to dispute resolution and data management. This pilot project provided training through the Internet so that 30 women police ofﬁcers from three geographically distributed AWPUs could access the reading materials from their own premises and at their own pace. The project was completed in November 2003 and I was appointed to help develop the curriculum and evaluate the impact of the training. Before-and-after assessments were made of the 30 women’s working knowledge of (1) disputeresolution techniques, (2) interviewing petitioners in family disputes, and (3) data entry and management. Signiﬁcant improvements were found in all three areas. I saw many improvements including that the trainees were more welcoming to petitioners and counter-petitioners; they did not give assurances to petitioners that they would resolve the case in their favor; and they had learned to ration their time for each case and were better able to cut long sessions spent in mediation. Many thought that they could see a change in themselves after training. Almost all ofﬁcers said they had learned to become more patient and to control their anger. More ofﬁcers were able to accept that they did not always treat victims and counter-petitioners properly. They had learned to take a 15-minute break when they come back from outdoor duties, before they interview a petitioner. Unfortunately, some ofﬁcers were still rude and unsophisticated in their dealings with both groups. During the post-training site visits, I observed a total of 27 petition inquiries. These petitioners were interviewed and asked whether the women police had been helpful in listening to their complaints. Both they and counter-petitioners said that they were treated in a cordial manner, which made them feel more comfortable in explaining their problem. Both groups also praised the counseling approach of the ofﬁcers and the professional way of handling their disputes. Petitioners that visited the police station a second time reported that, because the police were handling the situation sensitively, their spouses were not angry with them for taking a private matter to police. In short, I think web-based training could be used widely in training women ofﬁcers to deal with domestic violence and disputes.

Preface

xvii

2007 Study After wide reporting of the dissatisfactions of women recruits in the unisex battalions, the Chief Minister introduced an all women battalion force in 2003. She also introduced a women police commando unit, the ﬁrst in India. In 2007, I was given the opportunity to interview 30 newly-recruited women who had been placed in the all women battalion in Avadi, Chennai. A woman Superintendent of Police (SP) had been given charge of the battalion and many of the trainers were selected from the 1997 recruits, who were given the option of remaining in the battalion to train the new recruits. This helped those women ofﬁcers who lived locally with a family to remain in the same area. The new recruits were enthusiastic about their future role in the police. They complained little about the regime, apart from having to stand in the heat on the parade ground, drilling and undergoing other physical exercises. They were proud to have learned how to handle riﬂes. Even so, they were eager to serve in the AWPUs where they could deal directly deal with the public and help women victims of violence. This sets the stage for future evaluative research: to see how successfully this current generation of young women, given the same law enforcement training as men, adapt to the work of dealing with women and children in the context of the AWPUs. Acknowledgements I thank the Tamil Nadu government and police force for providing all the necessary assistance to carry out the research reported in this book. The data collection process for my dissertation started in 1988 and I am greatly indebted to the late Dr Deivasenapathy, Reader, Psychology Department, University of Madras, who collected the data for me in Tamil Nadu. I am also grateful to Professors G.O.W. Mueller, R.V. Clarke, D. Weisburd and P. Shane of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, for their guidance in completing my PhD. Professor Clarke has been supportive of this endeavor throughout and without his guidance and editorial help this book could not have been completed. My thanks are also due to Mr. Walter Davaram, IPS, Assistant Director General of Police, Law and Order, for granting permission for the 1994 study. Mrs. Archana Ramasundaram, IPS Superintendent of Police Vigilance and Anti-corruption, organized my program of visits to the all-women police units, and Mr. K.V.S. Murty, IPS, Commissioner of Police, Madurai, Mr. Vibhakar Sharma, IPS. Deputy Inspector General of Police, Coimbatore, and Mr. G. Ganesan, IPS Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore, very kindly helped me with local arrangements. For help with my 2000 study, I would like to thank: Ms Shantha Sheela Nair, IAS. Secretary to the Tamil Nadu government, Home Department; Mr F.C. Sharma, IPS Director General of Police; Mr P. Kumarasamy, Assistant Director General of Police (Law and Order); Mr K. Natarajan, IPS, Assistant Director General of Police

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(Administration); and local police commissioners and Deputy Superintendents for making arrangements for site visits. Many thanks also to three criminology graduates— Dr Prasanna PoornaChandra, Ms. Gia Coombs and Ms. Hema Ramachandran—who assisted me with interviews and distributing the questionnaires. For help with my 2003 study, I would like to thank Mr K. Natarajan IPS, Director General of Police (Law and Order) and Mr K. Vijayakumar, Police Commissioner, Chennai City. Thanks also to the assistant police commissioner and the Inspectors in charge of the police stations for their assistance. I would like to thank the women petitioners for consenting to interviews and Dr P. Prasanna, Ms Maya, Ms Hema, Ms Poornima, Ms Shalina, Ms Anu, Mrs Vasantha, Mrs Indrani, Mrs Latha Srinivasan, Dr Rashi Shukla and Dr Adreas Rengiﬁno for their valuable assistance in data collection and data entry. For help with my 2007 study, I would like to thank Ms Letika Saran, IPS Police Commissioner, Chennai, and Ms P.K. Selvakumari, IPS, Superintendent of Police in charge of All-Women Battalions, Avadi for their support. I have several people to thank for their encouragement and support during this ongoing endeavor: Ms Phyllis Schultz, librarian at the Criminal Justice Collection at Rutgers, who helped me for more than ﬁfteen years in updating my bibliography on women policing. Ms Beata Gloza for her help with checking the references and formatting the references. Dr R.K. Raghavan (recently retired as director, Central Bureau of Investigations-CBI) who taught me police administration while I was a masters student in Criminology at the University of Madras, has been supportive of my work throughout. He arranged for me to meet many high-ranking women police ofﬁcers, with whom I had lengthy discussions and developed long-term friendships; in my opinion these higher-ranking ofﬁcers are truly admirable and they can be a source of inspiration to women in the constabulary. Mr K. Radhakrishnan, IPS, whom I admire for taking an interest in women ofﬁcers’ welfare. He has been very supportive of my work and has assisted me greatly since 2000. We worked together on the Queens Award project and I immensely enjoyed the partnership in working for the cause of women police. In fact, he made me realize how much of a contribution senior ofﬁcers can make in transforming the police culture. The anonymous reviewers of the draft manuscript provided invaluable comments that have helped shape the argument of the book. Last, but not least, I am indebted to my closest friend, Jithendranath Vaidyanathan, Not only has he been emotionally supportive, but he has also provided critical comments on all the research reports, which helped me to think through my conclusions from a cultural perspective. I dedicate this book to the women police of Tamil Nadu who have improved the lives of so many unhappy and disadvantaged women over the years. Mangai Natarajan, Ph.D. Professor, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York, USA

PART 1 WOMEN POLICE WORLDWIDE

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Chapter 1

Women Police and Societal Change

Introduction This book presents the results of a series of studies of women police in Tamil Nadu, a Southern Indian state. The studies extend over a period of twenty years, and they chart the changes that have occurred in the utilization of women ofﬁcers. On the basis of this research, the book seeks to draw some broad conclusions about the most appropriate roles for women police in traditional societies, roles that satisfy the needs of the organization as well as those of the women themselves. Developing countries sometimes try to adapt or imitate western models in economic and social matters, hoping in this way to improve the lives of their citizens. Developments in technology and globalization have reinforced this trend because they have provided tangible and ever-present reminders of the success of western societies. However, learning from the West is not always easy because there is a basic conﬂict between the ideals of western industrialized nations (characterized by sociologists as “open” societies) and those of more traditional or “closed” societies. In “open” societies, or meritocracies, social mobility is made possible, based on personal achievement. These societies must reward socially useful talents and skills, rather than maintain privileges, if they are to survive. Social position in these societies is achieved rather than ascribed; each person is given an opportunity to climb the social ladder. This means that people in an open society will be more individualistic because, in theory, their position in society is determined by their achievements regardless of gender. Women in open societies compete with men, not because they are women, but because they see themselves as independent and autonomous individuals. These expectations help them to survive in society and also help them achieve success in male-dominated jobs such as policing. The ambitions of developing countries for economic and social improvement are therefore tempered by concerns that adapting western models could jeopardize cultural values and traditions that have served these societies well for hundreds of years. It is especially difﬁcult to change traditional values and norms relating to gender roles, and the place of family and religion in everyday life, because these are so deep rooted within the culture. Such changes threaten the very basis of society and undermine individuals’ feelings of self-worth and well-being. What people believe, what they value, what rules of conduct they follow or break are learned through membership in social groups embedded in the broader culture. Attempting to change the broader culture carries the threat of societal breakdown. This means

4

Women Police in a Changing Society

that traditional “closed” societies cannot adopt western models outright. Instead, they must ﬁrst ﬁnd ways to improve their economies and open up their societies without undermining their traditional values. This larger problem is mirrored in the more speciﬁc context of women policing. How can women who have been brought up to be dependent change so that they can function effectively in an aggressive, male-dominated occupation with energy, self-reliance and motivation? In order to avoid some of the problems of adopting a western model for traditional societies, it is necessary to ﬁnd an alternative route to bring women to equal status in the police force. This book will argue that the Tamil Nadu experience of utilizing women ofﬁcers might provide a model for other traditional societies.1 The police force in Tamil Nadu is organized on a paramilitary model, with recruits being placed for an extended period of training in police battalions run on military lines. The ﬁrst women ofﬁcers who were employed were not exposed to these harsh conditions, but were placed directly into police stations where they worked in a support role for men, mainly on cases with female offenders or victims. This did little to reduce the suspicion with which most women in Tamil Nadu viewed the police and they remained reluctant to come to the stations, which meant that victims in need of help and support from the police were simply not being served. To remedy this situation, the government decided to establish AWPUs to cater for the needs of women victims. The ﬁrst one was opened in 1992 and quickly judged a success. Within a short period of time, 148 of these units were opened. The women ofﬁcers working in them have gained experience of a much wider range of police work than when they were performing a support role in the police stations. They experienced much less harassment and intimidation than those working in a support role to men (such ill treatment is common all over the world; Brown and Heidensohn 2000). Their conﬁdence has increased and, despite some problems, their status among the public and within the force has greatly improved. Because these ofﬁcers serve a wide variety of functions, the police force is making better use of its resources and has enhanced its image among the public at large. In Martin’s (1980) terms used to describe differences in women’s adaptation to the police profession, these ofﬁcers are now functioning as policewomen: they show high commitment to their jobs and wish to work on patrol assignments. By contrast, the women deployed to the general police stations would be termed policewomen by Martin: they conform to sex role expectations, have a lack of occupational commitment, and are employed and assigned to an array of support functions, not patrol duties. It is therefore clear that segregating the women

1 A women police ofﬁcer in India says that “Being a woman police is a punishment” (Retrieved Thursday, 21 February, 2002, 17:43 GMT). However, many women police in Tamil Nadu perceive their current situations as improving because many steps have been taken there in the past few years to use women police more appropriately.

Women Police and Societal Change

5

ofﬁcers in their own units has brought many beneﬁts for the ofﬁcers, for the police force, and for the public in Tamil Nadu. Accordingly, it will be argued in this book that, contrary to the prevailing wisdom, segregation of women ofﬁcers can provide a “back door” to achieving equal status with men. This may be an interim stage to full integration, but it is still needed. The key to this door is the doctrine of “separate but equal.” This recognizes that men and women can both make an equal contribution to policing, even if these contributions are different. Men and women have different skills and capacities, which it is important to recognize in work assignments. In a traditional society, especially, it must be recognized that women ofﬁcers also have different societal roles that must be accommodated in the work environment. Nowhere has this been expressed better than in UNESCO’s (2000) deﬁnition of gender equality: Equality between men and women entails the concept that all human beings, both men and women, are free to develop their personal abilities and make choices without the limitations set by stereotypes, rigid gender roles and prejudices. Gender equality means that the different behavior, aspirations and needs of women and men are considered, valued and favored equally. It does not mean that women and men have to become the same, but that their rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born male or female. Gender equity means fairness of treatment for women and men, according to their respective needs. This may include equal treatment or treatment that is different but which is considered equivalent in terms of rights, beneﬁts, obligations and opportunities.

In conclusion, this book serves two broad objectives: (1) to explore the ways in which women can best be utilized in the police forces of traditional societies, and (2) to examine the ways in which women can obtain equal status to men in the police. More speciﬁcally, it seeks to: 1. Provide a detailed case study of women policing in a traditional society to show changes in the process of deployment over a period of time; 2. Show that women can be different but equal in policing and how this is achievable in traditional cultures; 3. Examine how “gendered policing” can pave the way for equality in the police; 4. Demonstrate the difﬁculties in adapting western models of integration in traditional societies and discuss alternative models of integration; 5. Describe ways in which women can be helped to play their unique and valuable role in policing. Gender Roles and Policing Gender roles are changing rapidly in the modern world. Industrialization and urbanization have impacted family size and structure and have also fundamentally

6

Women Police in a Changing Society

changed values and norms. In many parts of the world, increasing numbers of women have started to work outside the home to meet the material needs of their families, but also to enjoy satisfying careers. With higher living standards and more family income, college education has become possible not only for men, but also for increasing numbers of lower and middle-class women. As young women have learned marketable skills for use in the world of work, paid employment has developed a new importance in their lives. Increasingly, women all over the world see careers as desirable and permanent parts of their futures and many have tapped into jobs that were once male preserves. Law enforcement is one such job where, until quite recently, careers were not open to women, but where now a new world of employment opportunities has opened up for them. However, policing is still portrayed in the media and elsewhere as a masculine job. Physical strength, fearlessness and aggressiveness are portrayed as the qualities displayed by the ideal ofﬁcer. Overlooked are the many other qualities needed to carry out police work successfully. These include patience, compromise, empathy and diplomacy—all qualities that women possess to a considerable degree. Equally overlooked is that policing serves not just law enforcement, but also two other important functions—the maintenance of order and service to the public— which women can perform equally well if not better than men.2 The eight duties of police that have been identiﬁed by the American Bar Association help to make the point. These duties are as follows: 1. To prevent and control conduct widely recognized as threatening to life and property (serious crimes); 2. To aid individuals who are in danger of physical harm, such as the victim of a criminal attack; 3. To protect constitutional guarantees, such as the right of free speech and assembly (parade, demonstration work); 4. To facilitate the movement of people and vehicles (trafﬁc); 5. To assist those who cannot care for themselves: the intoxicated, the addicted, the mentally ill, the physically disabled, the old, and the young; 6. To resolve conﬂict, whether it be between individuals, groups of individuals, or individuals and their government; 7. To identify problems that have the potential for becoming more serious problems for the individual citizen, for the police, or for government; 8. To create and maintain a feeling of security in the community. 2 Order maintenance is a police function of preventing behavior that disturbs or threatens to disturb the public peace or that involves face-to-face conﬂict among two or more persons. Law enforcement is the police function of controlling crime by intervening in situations in which it is clear that the law has been violated and only the identity of the guilty needs to be determined. Service is the police function of providing assistance to the public, usually regarding matters that are unrelated to crime.

Women Police and Societal Change

7

These descriptions show that a great deal of police work is not dependent on physical strength or dominance, but relies on human sensitivity and the exercise of interpersonal skills. The central point is that policing encompasses a vast range of work, requiring the police to exercise many different skills and abilities and to work in a variety of ways. Within this range of duties, there is ample scope for women to work productively and to undertake essential duties. Nor should it be assumed that men are always better able to deal with violent situations because they are stronger. In fact, many studies show that women often respond to violent situations better than male ofﬁcers (Price, 1996) and they may have a special role in dealing with domestic violence, which is absorbing an increasing proportion of police time. Women often understand the emotions underlying the violence and respond to the case accordingly. Greater use of women in responding to these incidents could enhance the services provided to women victims of domestic violence. As the National Center for Women and Policing (1999) has stated, “The under-representation of women in law enforcement also has signiﬁcant implications for women in the community who are victims of domestic violence.”3 Despite this under-representation, women ofﬁcers are being increasingly recruited and they are also gradually becoming more integrated into law enforcement agencies. In almost all countries, women ﬁrst entered the police force as matrons who were hired to deal with women and children. Later, they were assigned to “women’s work”—nondangerous assignments such as shoplifting squads and juvenile bureaus, but still not to patrol or detective duties. Fuller utilization of women in the police is a phenomenon 3 If this is true of an advanced industrialized country such as the United States, it is even more so of less developed nations. The World Health Organization reports that between 12 percent and 25 percent of women around the world have experienced sexual violence at some time in their lives. More than 100 million girls and women around the world have undergone female genital mutilation. According to the United Nations Population Fund, an estimated four million women and girls around the world are bought and sold either into marriage, prostitution, or slavery. This organization also estimates that as many as 5,000 women and girls are murdered by family members each year in so-called “honor killings” around the world. The World Health Organization reports that in some countries, women and girls are attacked with acid as a result of family disputes or rejected sex or marriage proposals. In a report presented to the Beijing + 5 Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Government of India indicated a 15.2 percent rise in dowry deaths. Further, armed conﬂict situations and civil wars in approximately 100 countries around the world have seen the increasing use of rape as a weapon of warfare. Women civilians and refugees, speciﬁcally targeted by armed forces, are subject to mass rape, forced pregnancy, and sexual slavery (www.feminist.com/violence/spot/). These atrocities against women are not new, but in the past they have been ignored because of women’s marginal status in society. Largely as a result of pressure exerted by the women’s movement, which began in the 1970s and which has forcefully advocated gender equality and gender mainstreaming, there is now a much greater determination amongst police forces to deal effectively with crimes committed against women.

8

Women Police in a Changing Society

dating only from World War II (Shane, 1980), but it has accelerated in the past 30 years. It also varies with the openness of societies and their criminal justice systems, with social and economic development, and with the degree of resistance or support among the population at large.4 There are many countries today, however, where women police participate in a wide array of duties, including street patrol, dispatch, supervision, and administration. Even so, they still comprise only a small minority of serving ofﬁcers (Heidensohn, 1998; National Center for Women and Policing, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001; Prenzler, 1998; Harris, 1999; Horne, 1999). The most complete data relate to the United States. Figure 1.1 shows that in the United States in 1971, women constituted only 1.4 percent of the total number of police ofﬁcers. From 1971 to 2005, there was a constant overall increase in the number of women ofﬁcers in line positions.

Figure 1.1

Representation of sworn women police officers in the United States (1971–2005)

This trend mirrors the data provided by the National Center for Women and Policing survey report titled Equality Denied (2002), which shows that, between 1972 and 2001, the proportion of women ofﬁcers grew annually at less than one-half of 1 percent per year. It was not until 1993 that large police agencies reached a major benchmark by crossing into double digits. The survey also reports that in 2000 and 2001 this trend of slow increase has stalled and possibly even reversed. In 2001, women accounted for only 12.7 percent of all sworn law enforcement positions in large 4 According to commentators, much of the resistance to gender equality is due to men’s and women’s position in society that put them into ﬁxed categories for life .

Women Police and Societal Change

9

agencies (with 100 or more sworn personnel)—a ﬁgure that is barely four percentage points higher than in 1990, when women comprised 9 percent of sworn ofﬁcers. In small and rural agencies (with fewer than 100 sworn personnel), women comprised an even smaller 8.1 percent of all sworn personnel. When these ﬁgures are combined in a weighted estimate, they indicate that women represented only 11.2 percent of all sworn law enforcement personnel in the US—dramatically less than the participation of women in the whole of the labor force at 46.5 percent. Further, according to the report, women are concentrated in the lowest tier of sworn law enforcement positions. Women held 13.5 percent of line positions, but their numbers rapidly decrease in the higher ranks to 9.6 percent of supervisory posts and 7.3 percent of top command positions. More than half (55.9 percent) of the large police agencies surveyed reported no women in top command positions, and the vast majority (87.9 percent) reported no women of color in their highest ranks. For small and rural agencies, 97.4 percent had no women in top command positions, and only one of the 235 agencies had a woman of color as their chief. The report comments as follows: Overall, the number of women in law enforcement has increased at an alarmingly slowrate over the past 30 years and women remain severely under-represented in large, small and rural law enforcement agencies in the United States. Worse, this glacial pace of progress has either stalled or reversed in the past few years. Until law enforcement agencies enact policies and practices designed to recruit, retain, and promote women, gender balance in policing will remain a distant reality. Until then, law enforcement personnel will not fairly represent the characteristics of the communities they serve (National Center for Women and Policing Report, 2002).

As might be expected, the picture in most other countries is worse. Nowhere have women been fully integrated into policing, as judged by the roles they perform and their career expectations and opportunities. These are all considerably more limited than for men (Martin, 1990 and 1991; Schulz, 1995b, 1998; Coffey, Brown and Savage, 1992). This is particularly the case in developing countries where the women’s movement lacks credibility, where there is widespread resistance to women joining the labor force, and where equal opportunity laws have been weak or nonexistent. This somewhat discouraging picture raises the question of whether women will ever reach equal representation or gender balance within the police, particularly given the job climate that results in many women becoming dissatisﬁed and inclined to leave. It could be that under-representation of women in policing might be a temporary state of affairs, due simply to the fact that women are relatively recent arrivals in a male-dominated profession. If so, full integration can be expected to occur in time. On the other hand, there might be permanent barriers to full integration, which women might already be encountering (Heidensohn, 1992). These barriers

10

Women Police in a Changing Society

derive from several sources. They might be due to the prejudice of male ofﬁcers who refuse to believe that women can undertake the full complement of duties. They might be due to wider societal attitudes and beliefs about appropriate roles for women. They might result from inherent differences between men and women in physical capabilities. Finally, they might be due to the preferences of the women ofﬁcers themselves and the difﬁculty of ﬁnding a satisfying police role compatible with personal goals and family responsibilities. It might also be the case that the representation of women has not yet reached what Kanter (1977), in her famous book Men and Women of the Corporation, calls a “critical mass” for change. According to Kanter, when women are present in sufﬁcient numbers in an organization, they can exercise the power of numbers and provide a network of support for one another. This assists in speeding up the process of assimilation of women in the organization. However, Kanter also argues that “as long as organizations remain the same, merely replacing men with women would not alone make a difference” (p. xi), and what would make a difference to the everyday lives of people in an organization is not merely increased numbers of women, but structural changes in the dimensions of opportunity and power that women can help to bring about (p. 5). Of course, all this begs the question of what proportion of total strength women ofﬁcers should comprise. For diehard feminists, nothing less than 50 percent would be enough, but this assumes that men and women are both equally interested in, and equally suited to, policing as a career. To date, there is no clear evidence that either of these conditions holds, though the question of equal suitability is perhaps less important than that of equal interest. There are still some professions and occupations that women generally choose not to go into—for example, accountancy, engineering, mathematics, science, and blue-collar jobs. Policing may be one of these occupations. Women more than men may dislike confronting violence and using deadly force, and they might also dislike more the unsocial hours and often spartan working conditions of policing. In their research on women in non-traditional jobs, Padavic and Reskin (1990) found that there are two main reasons why women decide not to take up nontraditional jobs: (1) women are socialized to take up different kinds of work than men, and (2) they believe that they will not be treated well by their male co-workers. Lillydahl (1986, p. 321) expands these to ﬁve reasons why women do not seek jobs that are seen as non-traditional for women: 1. Women may prefer white-collar employment to blue-collar because of the inherent characteristics of each type of employment. 2. Women may seek out only “socially acceptable” employment and they avoid jobs that they believe may result in negative feedback and harassment from family members, friends, male coworkers, and employers. 3. Some women may have previously experienced sex discrimination in hiring and employment or harassment on the job. These women may no longer desire these jobs again.

Women Police and Societal Change

11

4. Women may feel ill prepared for blue-collar work. 5. The working hours and work schedules of some blue-collar jobs may deter women, especially those with young children. Policing Models and Women Officers Entrenched gender discrimination, coupled with cultural expectations regarding women’s role at home, used to mean that women would not generally opt for policing jobs. However, remarkable changes have occurred in the way police forces operate around the world (Weisburd and Braga, 2006, p. 350), which could have important implications for the role of women ofﬁcers in the police. The implications vary with differences in policing models which, according to Mawby (1990), a comparative

Table 1.1 Factors Legitimacy Structure Function

Characteristics of policing models Control-dominated Authority rests with political masters Paramilitary Maintaining law and order

Community-oriented Accorded by local citizens Relatively ﬂat hierarchy Crime prevention

policing expert, fall into two distinct types: (1) control-dominated systems, and (2) community-oriented systems. In control-dominated systems, the origins of which can be found in the colonial era, the police operate under a paramilitary regime and serve the interests of political leaders. Under the community-oriented model (sometimes called the Anglo Saxon model), policing legitimacy is accorded by citizens, and police work within a decentralized structure to safeguard society from crime. These two systems differ importantly on the three key factors of legitimacy, structure, and function (see Table 1.1). Legitimacy refers to the special authority granted to police by those in power, whether an elite within the society, an occupying force, or the community as a whole. Structure refers to the degree of specialization within the police and the extent to which codes of practice govern such technical matters as legitimate use of force. Lastly, function refers to the degree to which the police are concentrated on the maintenance of law and order and the prevention and detection of offences (Mawby, 2005). Mawby does not discuss the implications of these two basic models for women police,5 but the paramilitary structure of control-dominated systems would have limited appeal for most women ofﬁcers. For example, control-dominated systems

5 According to Manning and Robinson (2000) this is a general failing of policing models: “Although models of policing provide a foundation for understanding police behavior, the gendered nature of policing remains invisible. Gender is a characteristic that permeates

12

Women Police in a Changing Society

expect police ofﬁcers to be tough, aggressive, and on call at any hour of the day. Much more appealing for women would be the community-oriented model, which in its most recent manifestation in the United States of “community policing” has been widely embraced because it promises to improve police relations with minority communities. It seeks to do this by such means as foot patrols, shop-front police stations, community newsletters and undertaking local problem-solving initiatives. What has generally not been recognized, however, is that community policing can also offer a better service to women in general and a better career for women ofﬁcers because it depends more heavily on policing through consensus than through force.6 Policing through consensus capitalizes on the particular skills and strengths of women ofﬁcers. As Southgate (1981) has remarked, the most effective deployment of women in the police force can be achieved if management is aware of what female ofﬁcers feel they can do best, and what they feel is good or bad about the conditions and content of their work. The following section examines what women themselves feel about their preferred roles and functions and then assesses the implications of this information for theoretical models of integration. Theoretical Models of Integration According to Heidensohn (2002) there are two prevailing models of the assimilation of women into the police. The ﬁrst derives from the equal opportunity position that women have a right to enter any occupation they choose to, and they ought to fulﬁll the same role as men in the police. This can be called the “integrated” model. The second model derives from the origins of female law enforcement, when women police dealt with women and children. It holds that women have a specialist role in the police that they are uniquely qualiﬁed to fulﬁl. This role relates to the protective

all aspects of society. Models that do not address gender can only be considered partial explanations of policing.” 6 Policing through consensus is similar to Wilson’s (1968) “service style” of policing. He distinguishes three different styles—watchman, legalistic, and service. The watchman style encourages ofﬁcers to focus on maintaining order rather than enforcing the law. The legalistic style emphasizes a law enforcement approach where ofﬁcers are supposed to be aggressive crime-ﬁghters and treat all offenses formally. The service style is a combination of the watchman and legalistic and encourages ofﬁcers to intervene frequently to maintain order, but to make arrests sparingly and treat citizens like customers rather than criminals. Police forces do indeed adopt all these styles, depending upon the job to be done and according to the capacities of personnel. Management may strive to identify the particular talents of individual ofﬁcers and allocate assignments on the basis of these talents. For example, a policeman who is talented in investigation will be allocated to the detective division. However, most police forces ignore the qualities of their women personnel in assigning duties.

Women Police and Societal Change

13

and preventive functions of policing and, according to Appier (1992), was the role advocated by many female reformers. This might be called the “gendered” model. Integrated Model It has been repeatedly shown that there was a great deal of opposition to the entry of women into policing and that women are still far from being fully integrated into this largely male profession. Whether full integration is simply a matter of time or whether it is unachievable is therefore an open question. On the basis of her comparative study of women police in European countries, Brown (1997) argues that over time women ofﬁcers gradually become more integrated into the police force, passing through six distinct stages, which she characterizes as “entry,” “separate restricted development,” “integration,” “take-off,” “reform,” and “tip-over” (Figure 1.2). “Entry” of women into policing is often precipitated by some crisis such as the wholesale conscription of men in Britain during World War I and the consequent shortage of police recruits. Once admitted to the police, women are “restricted” to dealing with women and children. They then often become enmeshed in their separate career structure and status and get caught in what Brown calls a crab-basket (Krabbenmard) so that they drag each other back to a “restricted” role. Paradoxically, this can lead to heightened awareness of equal-opportunities legislation mandating “integration,” which in turn can arouse policemen’s resistance to women ofﬁcers. Women may respond through litigation, with the result that the numbers of women recruits “take off.” A consequent deterioration of the relationship between men and women ofﬁcers results in increased problems such as sexual harassment. Research sheds light on these problems and leads to the stage of “reform.” This includes inspections by outsiders, improved training, and the development of procedures for handling grievances. Women ofﬁcers may begin to come up against a “glass ceiling” blocking their upward progress through the ranks, when the numbers of women “tipover” from being a small minority of ofﬁcers to a more equal representation. This stage requires the appointment of an external watchdog to monitor the treatment of women ofﬁcers by the force. Brown argues that observed differences in integration between countries are the result of different rates of progress through these various stages, and that these differences will eventually disappear once the proportion of women ofﬁcers in each country (said to be about 25 percent of total enrolment) results in “tip-over.” In a later work, Brown and her colleagues (1999) took the model further by incorporating two other dimensions: discriminatory practices (harassment, deployment, and career progression) and a cross-cultural frame which was divided into three traditions of policing: Anglo-American, Colonial and European. Brown’s model seems to ﬁt the experience in Europe, but does not ﬁt Natarajan’s (1996a) view of policing in India. On the basis of her study of AWPUs in Tamil Nadu, Natarajan argued that the complete integration of women in the police force

Women Police in a Changing Society

14

might not occur in traditional societies, or will take a longer period of time because of the particular advantages of a degree of segregation both for the police force and the policewomen. Of course, prevailing norms in a society play an important role in shaping women’s roles in police. In western countries, there is tremendous societal pressure to improve the status of women in all social arenas, including the police force. In traditional societies, however, the position of women is improving only slowly, where strapped economies and other pressing needs and priorities make equality for women of secondary importance. Gendered Policing While the “integrated” model of women policing promotes the idea that female and male ofﬁcers should perform the same jobs, the “gendered” model advocates women performing a variety of functions depending upon their expertise, speciﬁcally policing women and children. “Gender” is a socially constructed concept to describe a biological variability of humans. In the occupational arena, gender relations are considered an important focus in understanding the development of men and women who enter the job market. The tendency for women and men to work differently is an important feature of all societies and there is always a degree of gender segregation in occupations (Blackburn, 2006; Blackburn et al., 2002). According to Blackburn and Jarman (2006), “Most discussions of gender segregation treat the existence of segregation as a form of gender inequality or as being strongly related to inequality, and the inequality is unquestioningly taken to be to the advantage of men”. Further, they state that most theories of gender segregation depict that “male power” is the major root cause which is generally explained by the following factors: biological (Goldberg, 1979, 1993), human capital and rational choice (Polacheck, 1975; Mincer and Polacheck, 1974), or patriarchy (Delphy, 1977; Jenson, Laufer and Maruani, 2000; Anderson and Tomaskovic-Devey, 1995; Reskin and Hartmann, 1986), or the three in combination (Hakim, 2000). These explanations overemphasize male agency, underemphasize women’s ability both to resist but also at times supporting a status quo in which they have an unequal status, and overlook the interactions of gender and class that place limitations on working-class men’s power to control their environments. They also tend to underestimate the impact of expansion and contraction of the labor supply and its effects on opportunities, or lack thereof, for new entrants to the labor force (Blackburn and Jarman, p. 291).

Policing is certainly an occupation with a high level of segregation and, as Blackburn and Jarman (2006) suggest, in order to understand the reasons for gender segregation, one must look beyond gender relations to developments in the wider society. For example, signiﬁcant technical and social developments have transformed the nature

Women Police and Societal Change

Figure 1.2

Brown’s model of integration of women into policing

15

16

Women Police in a Changing Society

of work and the changes in the available workforces, and these developments have completely changed the involvement of women in work around the world (Blackburn et al., 2002). Women entered into the police force because of the necessity to deal with women and children. Their entry changed the male-dominated (in numbers) and male-centered (concentrating primarily on male population) occupation. According to Appier (1998), female reformers in the US argued that the presence of women in the police force would make the police more responsive to the needs of women and children, as well as infuse police work with values associated with women and social work. It would also lift the overall intelligence level of police ofﬁcers and create a police system that would not only detect crime but, more importantly in their view, also prevent it. In short their case for women police constituted a searching critique of prevailing police practices and philosophy. It also provided the basis for a female-gendered model of police work known as the crime prevention model. In essence, “the history of women’s entry into the police force has impacted not only the discourse and direction of police reform but also the incorporation of gender into police operations and organization” (Appier, 1998, p. 2). This view of the role of women ofﬁcers implies that it is much easier to accommodate and assimilate women within an Anglo Saxon approach to policing (primarily a community-oriented policing model) than within colonial or bureaucratic models of policing. The National Center for Women & Policing (2003) conﬁrms that: Research conducted both in the United States and internationally clearly demonstrates that women ofﬁcers rely on a style of policing that uses less physical force, are better at defusing and de-escalating potentially violent confrontations with citizens, and are less likely to become involved in problems with use 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. The very presence of women in the ﬁeld will often bring about change in policies and procedures that beneﬁt both male and female ofﬁcers.

As gathered from Appier’s (1998, 1992) historical account, a “gendered” model of women policing has advantages for those new arrivals in the police force. It is safe to say that at the advent of the feminist movements, US women police in the 1970s dismissed the idea of segregation, because they wanted to be treated as equals by their male colleagues and they thought segregation, as represented by the women’s bureaus, would undermine or hinder their careers in the police force. More than three decades have passed since then and women have not achieved much progress in terms of equality in the police force. Within this context, more thought should be given to gendered policing to see whether it might provide more scope for integrating women into the police force. In sum, both models of women in policing emphasize equal representation of women in policing. The difference is that gendered policing focuses on equal

Women Police and Societal Change

17

opportunity by deploying women in a range of police duties that are suitable for them, whereas the integrated model of women in policing advocates equal opportunity by deploying women in the same duties as male ofﬁcers. The suitability of each model depends to some extent on the economic and social development of the society in question. For example, women police in the US or in England beneﬁt from afﬁrmative legislation that supports the equal status of women, and they have the economic opportunity structure to combine both family and career when compared to women ofﬁcers, for example, in India or in Ethiopia. Thus, most women ofﬁcers in England and the US come from middle class families which allows them to provide the means for daycare facilities for their children, easy amenities for cooking and cleaning, and easy transportation to work. This is rarely the case for women ofﬁcers in developing and underdeveloped countries. In essence, The promotion of equality must not be confused with the simple objective of balancing the statistics: it is a question of promoting long-lasting changes in parental roles, family structures, institutional practices, the organization of work and time, their personal development and independence, but also concerns men and the whole of society, in which it can encourage progress and be a token of democracy and pluralism. (Commission of European Communities 1996).7

Research has repeatedly shown that women perform better than men in certain police duties, and males perform better than women in others. However, this ﬁnding is rarely taken into account when assigning duties to women. Any minor failures by women are inﬂated into major problems and woven into stereotypic comments, such as “women cannot do this and that.” Sometimes the stereotypes are harsh and women are devalued and harassed just for being women. This situation leads to helplessness, which results in many women ofﬁcers becoming unhappy and eventually leaving their jobs. Police managements frequently claim that women leave more often than men because they are not committed to the work. However, the management literature clearly indicates that morale decreases when employees are ignored and not given status and encouragement. Many police departments have failed to learn this lesson in their treatment of women ofﬁcers. Summary For generations, it was believed that policing is an unsuitable job for women because of their timidity and lack of physical strength. In reality, much police work is not physical and involves little use of force. Experience has shown that much of the crime work and all the service functions of police can be performed just as well, if not better, by women ofﬁcers. Women also have a special role in policing women 7 For more details, see:.

18

Women Police in a Changing Society

and children and in helping female victims of crime. Even so, women are still poorly represented in the ranks of the police all over the world. This chapter provides an introduction to some concepts that are important to achieving an understanding of women policing, including gender roles, policing models, and societal changes. It reviews data about the current representation of women and the roles they have ﬁlled. It considers the question of what level of representation would be satisfactory and explores what features of policing might make it an unattractive career for women. Using the two major theoretical models of integration, the “integrated” and the “gendered” model, this chapter argues that the prevailing norms of society and the dominant style of policing operations make it unlikely that women ofﬁcers will be fully integrated in policing for many years to come. This is even truer for women ofﬁcers in developing and traditional societies. The best hope of promoting equality of men and women ofﬁcers in these countries is provided by the gendered model which is essentially a segregated model of policing. Such a model is being successfully promoted in Tamil Nadu, where the ﬁeld research for this book was undertaken. Overview of the Book The book falls into the following four parts: Part I (Chapters 1 and 2): Women Police Worldwide Part II (Chapters 3 and 4): Women Police in a Traditional Society Part III (Chapters 5–7): Studies of Women Police in Tamil Nadu Part IV (Chapters 8 and 9): Women Policing in a Changing Society The book includes reports of seven studies conducted over nearly 20 years. These are brieﬂy described in the preface and are listed in Table 1.2. Chapter 1 provides an overview of women policing around the world and asks whether western models of integration are appropriate to the social and economic conditions of developing countries. Chapter 2 provides an extensive review of the international literature on women police, covering around ﬁve hundred studies. The dominant themes of this literature are identiﬁed and the principal conclusions are summarized. It reviews the history of the deployment of women police ofﬁcers in western countries particularly the United States and the United Kingdom, where women have progressively become more integrated into the mainstream of policing. It sets the stage for the argument of the book: western models of integration do not necessarily hold for traditional societies and that the experience of Tamil Nadu may hold more relevant lessons. Chapter 3 which draws upon Natarajan (1991, 1996a), focuses primarily on India, a developing traditional society. It describes the police force and discusses variations in the deployment of women police within India. Chapter 4 describes the history, the structure and the functions of women police in Tamil Nadu.

Table 1.2

Summary of studies reported in the book

#

Fieldwork Objective Date

Method

Sample

Main Findings

1

1988

Self-admin. Survey

2

1994

196 US and 183 Indian Women Ofﬁcers 3 AWPUs 61 Ofﬁcers

Indian ofﬁcers preferred a Natarajan, 1991, 1994, traditional/modiﬁed role; US 1996a,1996b preferred integrated role Preferred the wider range of duties and Natarajan, 1996b enjoyed working only with women

3

2000a

Progress of women in AWPUs

Improved self-conﬁdence in women ofﬁcers. Optimistic about combining police and family duties.

Natarajan, 2001, 2005

4

2000b

Roles of women recruited in 1997

Self-admin. Survey; Interviews

19 AWPUs 140 Women Ofﬁcers 75 Women Ofﬁcers 104 Ofﬁcers 55 Ofﬁcers

Many more of the 1997 recruits want to be fully integrated than ofﬁcers in AWPUs

Natarajan, 2003, 2005

5

2003a

Effectiveness of AWPUs

Ofﬁce Records; Interviews

Natarajan, 2005a, 2006c, 2007

6

2003b

Evaluation of Training in Dispute Resolution

AWPUs encourage reporting of crimes against women and reduce violence against women. But some training needed E-training effective

7

2007

Pilot Study of All Women Informal Battalion (AWB) Interviews

Compare role preferences of women ofﬁcers in India and US Roles of women ofﬁcers deployed in AWPUs

Observation; Self-admin. Survey Observation; Self-admin. Survey; Interviews

474 cases in 3 AWPUs 60 Women Petitioners Process and 3 AWPUs Impact Evaluation 30 Women Ofﬁcers 30 Women Ofﬁcers in Battalion

Women ofﬁcers in AWB prefer AWPU assignment on completion of training

Publication

Natarajan, 2006a, 2006b, 2006c

20

Women Police in a Changing Society

Chapter 5 which draws upon Natarajan (1991, 1994, 1996a, 2001a), reports a study of the status of Tamil Nadu women police in the 1980s and makes a comparison with women ofﬁcers in the US. Chapter 6 which draws upon Natarajan (1991, 1996b, 2001a, 2003, 2006b, 2006c) describes the all women police units (AWPUs) in Tamil Nadu and reports a study of what women police in the units feel about their roles, career commitment and gender role conﬂicts. It also reports a study of the effectiveness of AWPUs in reducing domestic violence. Further, the chapter reports an evaluation of training given to women ofﬁcers in the units on dispute resolution, interviewing, and data management. Chapter 7 which draws upon Natarajan (2001a and 2003) discusses the impact of labor law legislation in Tamil Nadu, which required more women to be recruited to the police force. It also reports a study of the experience of the women recruited in 1997 under this legislation. Chapter 8 reports the experience of segregated policing in Brazil and Pakistan and considers the implications for policing in traditional cultures. Chapter 9 provides prescriptions for 21st-century women policing in terms of theory, research, and policy. It takes into account the lessons learned from the Tamil Nadu model of women policing in discussing the merits of integrated and “gendered” models of policing. The book’s closing remarks emphasize the importance of gendered policing as a precursor to full integration, at least for traditional societies.

Chapter 2

Three Decades of Research on Women Police: What Has Been Learned? Though based on a detailed case study of the role of women in the Tamil Nadu Police force, this book is intended to contribute to the broad and vexed question of the most appropriate role for women police ofﬁcers—one that will satisfy the needs of women ofﬁcers and the police forces that employ them, as well as the needs of society. This question has dominated much of the literature on policewomen and in order to place the Tamil Nadu case study in broader context, this chapter reviews that literature—at least that part of it published in English. A search through the National Criminal Justice Reference Service and Criminal Justice Abstracts yielded 487 publications about women police ofﬁcers (articles, research reports, dissertations, and books) published between 1970 and 2005 (see the bibliography).1 As would be expected, most of these English-language publications emanate from the US or the UK, with only a handful from other parts of the world. In order to limit what otherwise might have been an unmanageable undertaking the literature was divided into ﬁve principal topics that bear directly on the larger question of the role of women ofﬁcers, as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

The history of women in policing Impediments to integration Perceived performance and job satisfaction Current status of women police worldwide Prospects for full integration

Each study was then examined to see which of the ﬁve topics it principally addressed (see Table 2.1). Table 2.1 shows a steady increase in the publications for the past 35 years. The greatest number of studies have been concentrated on the impediments to women’s progress in policing. Of the 70 studies concerned with women policing around the world, only very few related to traditional or developing countries. The discussion below of the literature on women policing is organized around these ﬁve topics.2 In each section, certain individual studies are discussed in detail. 1 Some later articles not included in this review are referred to subsequently elsewhere in the book. 2 This review draws on Natarajan’s (2005b) introduction to her Women Police encyclopedia published by Ashgate.

Women Police in a Changing Society

22

These studies are either frequently cited or the most comprehensive, recent studies on the topic. Table 2.1

Primary focus of 487 published studies on women police (1970–2005)

Topics

1970–1979

1980–1989

1990–1999

2000–2005

1970–2005

History

4

4

17

15

40

Impediments to Integration

13

38

68

57

176

Performance and Job Satisfaction

14

24

39

34

111

4

13

31

22

70

10

27

31

22

90

45

106

186

150

487

Women Police Worldwide Prospects for Full Integration Total

History of Women in Policing Many accounts exist of the origins of women’s entry into the police. They document strong opposition to the employment of women and describe the ways in which this opposition has been partially overcome so that now women have achieved a greater degree of integration in the police of Britain, America, Australia and Europe. The topics discussed in this section include resistance to the deployment of women, segregation of duties, stereotypes about women’s physical ﬁtness, and doubts about their capacity to exercise authority and employ force when needed. Most of the research is based on the US and British experience and this is summarized separately below. Experience in the United States According to Horne (1980) women have been used throughout American history as spies and agents for various governmental and military intelligence organizations. They have also worked successfully as undercover agents and detectives for such private security agencies as Pinkerton, Burns and Wells Fargo. But their potential role as fully sworn policewomen has been recognized only relatively recently. The ﬁrst “modern” city police organizations established in the 1840s recruited only men and it was not until 1910 that the ﬁrst policewomen were hired. These were

Three Decades of Research on Women Police

23

recruited by the city of Los Angeles, speciﬁcally to protect women and children, and were placed in a new division called the city mother’s bureau. The bureau offered conﬁdential advice to women on domestic matters such as desertion, non-support, battery and unruly children. During World War I and in the post-war period, women were admitted to a number of police departments in a quasi-police capacity. Policewomen of this period worked in separate units performing duties of a preventive nature, dealing with juvenile delinquency, female criminality, missing persons, and aiding and interviewing victims of sex crimes. They received less pay than male ofﬁcers, although most women far surpassed male ofﬁcers in terms of educational qualiﬁcations (Horne, 1980). In the 1950s and 1960s, an increasing number of police agencies employed women to perform in-house clerical and communications support roles (Horne, 1980; Schulz, 1989, 1993a, 1993b, 1995). According to Parsons and Jesilow (2001b), women were grudgingly accepted into police work, but almost exclusively because they handled situations disliked by men, in particular incidents that involved women and children. In general, they performed a variety of “social work” roles and carried out many tasks resembling standard police work such as interviewing victims of sexual assault, interrogating women prisoners, record keeping, disseminating information to the public, taking complaints, patrolling areas of prostitution, and dealing with juvenile offenders or cases involving minors (Talney, 1969). The argument that female ofﬁcers were inherently better suited than male ofﬁcers to handle cases of women and children succeeded in getting women into the police force, but it fostered gender-based occupational segregation. In 1956, the New York Police Department (NYPD) established “women’s bureaus” whose purpose was to provide a central ofﬁce where women and girls could seek police help in a home-like atmosphere. The bureaus were viewed by many of the women ofﬁcers assigned to them as a physical and spiritual refuge for the city’s troubled women and children—a place where women could ﬁnd a network of support and advice open to them 24 hours a day. However, many leading policewomen of the day disliked the bureaus and the philosophy underlying their practices, and they took every opportunity to criticize them. Some argued that policewomen could more effectively carry out their special duties if they were assigned to police stations. Others claimed that policemen made poor supervisors of policewomen. In her book, Owings (1969) made the case for female-headed women bureaus. She argued that women’s bureaus in Detroit and Washington were successful because their female directors were free to select their own personnel and implement their own programs of preventive work. Despite being surrounded by controversy, the bureaus continued to survive, though 180 women working in them were reassigned in 1967 to precinct desk jobs. This was symptomatic of the major changes taking place in the 1960s and 1970s, both in society at large as well as in policing. A milestone in achieving occupational equality with men was achieved by policewomen in 1972, when 15 women volunteered to

24

Women Police in a Changing Society

go on patrol as an experiment. The following year, with the experiment deemed a success, both the policewomen’s bureaus and the title of “policewoman” were abolished. A new title of “police ofﬁcer” was established for both male and female members of the service, and hundreds of female police ofﬁcers joined the NYPD patrol force. The amendment of the Civil Rights Act in 1972 hastened the changes in the role of women in policing (Berg and Budnick, 1986). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act enshrined the principle that women could negotiate identical terms and compensation for doing the same work as men. Together with amendments to the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, this provided the legal basis for women ofﬁcers to achieve a functional status similar to that of their male counterparts. The effects were immediate, with the number of women ofﬁcers doubling between 1971 and 1977. In 1975, serious attention began to be paid to female offenders and the rise in female criminality. Freda Adler’s ‘Sisters in Crime’ (1975) and Rita Simon’s ‘Women and Crime’ (1975) brought the problem to the attention not only of criminologists, but also of those in the law enforcement ﬁeld—which in turn helped justify hiring more female ofﬁcers to deal with female criminals. Today, a large number of women in the United States are performing a wide range of law enforcement duties, including those traditionally considered appropriate primarily for men, such as patrolling, trafﬁc control, and investigation. These duties, however, tend to be at the lower end of the task scale (Sulton and Townsey, 1981). Fairly equal proportions of men and women are assigned to patrol, administrative, and technical functions in municipal departments, but relatively more women are assigned to juvenile functions and more men are still assigned to trafﬁc and investigative functions. A fuller analysis of the work of policewomen is presented later in this chapter. In recent years, efforts to attract and hire women into law enforcement careers have been minimal. Pervasive negative beliefs regarding the abilities of women to perform the police role continue to exist, despite research ﬁndings that women perform equally as well as their male counterparts. Efforts to integrate women into police work have fallen short, largely because they have not altered the value system supporting negative attitudes about the capabilities of women. Even so, the improvements in status gained by women ofﬁcers in the United States through equal opportunity legislation and the feminist movement have encouraged policewomen around the world to demand equal treatment with their male counterparts. British Experience The same general picture is apparent in the United Kingdom as in the United States. Women’s involvement in policing was initially the result of social reform movements, which were given impetus by the huge depletion of manpower caused by World War I and the consequent need to draw upon the reserve of female labor. Public concern about the safety of women and girls entering the workforce in such large

Three Decades of Research on Women Police

25

numbers prompted various voluntary organizations to set up preventive patrols. In 1919, 100 patrolwomen were employed in these roles, but were not granted formal status because the existing Police Acts applied only to men. In addition, there was considerable hostility to the idea of women police from both the public and the police service. The role of women police was formally considered by Parliament in 1920, and in 1922 the full powers of a sworn constable were granted to women. In 1930, the contribution made by policewomen was recognized in standards that were established for pay and conditions of service. This set the stage for women policing in Britain for the next 45 years. By 1971, there were 3,884 women ofﬁcers representing 3.9 percent of total national police strength. The principal duties included: enquiries concerning crimes against women; interrogation and escorting of female offenders; investigations of female missing persons; handling cases of domestic problems; and maintaining records. These duties were performed in policewomen’s departments that had their own rank and promotion structure and their own inspectorate. They had morning and afternoon shifts, but none in the evening or at night. In 1975, the Sex Discrimination Act had a major impact on the role of women police. This resulted in full integration into the mainstream of policing on equal terms with men, including night shifts and all aspects of patrol and specialist work (Jones, 1986). According to Heidensohn (1992), there are signiﬁcant differences in the attitudes of women police in the US. and Britain. In the US, there is a greater awareness of gender issues and greater support for, and appreciation of the feminist movement. American women police ofﬁcers are aggressive and forthright in demanding equality in the police force. Unlike the UK, women in America were able to employ litigation to gain entry to the police and they have a more extensive and well-organized national networks. For example, Alice Stebbins Wells founded the International Association for Women Police (IAWP) in 1915, which was reestablished in 1956. Currently, about 2,400 police ofﬁcers and other law enforcement professionals from more than 45 countries belong to the organization. The National Center for Women and Policing, a division of the Feminist Majority Foundation (founded in 1987), has the resources to gather national level statistics, to organize specialized training for women ofﬁcers, and to campaign for equal pay and treatment. In Britain, entry of women into the police force was more delayed than in America, but in other respects the progress they have made to integration appears similar to that in the Untied States. In both the United States and Britain, the acceptance of women in the police has depended upon a conﬂuence of several key factors: favorable public attitudes towards women participation in the labor force, especially in male-dominated jobs; women’s support groups, and legislation condemning gender discrimination and sexual harassment.3

3 This has also been the case in Australia where public support for women in the police was strong, even before equal opportunities legislation came into force (Prenzler, 1994).

26

Women Police in a Changing Society

The Changing Roles of Women Police Early descriptions of the experiences of women who were among the ﬁrst to be employed in the police show that, despite the stultifying inﬂuence of the maledominated policing culture, they did perform a valuable, though segregated, function in assisting women victims and dealing with women offenders (Corbo, 2004; Darien, 2002; Gillen, 2003; Jackson, 2003; Schulz, 2004a, 2004b, and Wells, 2005). According to Alice Stebbins Wells (1913), apart from patrolling amusement places, women ofﬁcers had “regular ofﬁce hours and women come for help and advice which they would not go to the regular police department.” This created a marginal role for women in policing, but provided “a female gendered identity which had as a premise the idea that women were necessary and natural protectors of women and children…” Women ofﬁcers were able to cultivate an image of themselves as intelligent, sympathetic caseworkers, ﬁnding non-coercive solutions to problems of crime. It is also apparent that women helped shape the direction of police reform in the United States during the ﬁrst half of the twentieth century. For example, they actively searched their communities for the social conditions that supposedly hid or encouraged crime, such as dark streets, certain types of dance halls and “blind pigs” (places where people bought and/or drank liquor illegally), and thus helped create a safer environment for women and children. Policewomen in plain clothes regularly patrolled certain public areas, such as theaters, amusement parks, and railway stations, with an eye towards detecting and interrupting illegal behavior for evidence of offenses against middle-class moral standards, such as the sale of allegedly obscene literature and erotic styles of dancing. In many respects they were public chaperones (Appier, 1992, p.13).

In the 1910s to 1930s, women ofﬁcers in America were assimilated into the general crime prevention role of the police, even though the tasks they performed in this role were rather circumscribed (Appier, 1992). Later, when policing began to move to a crime control model, women ofﬁcers increasingly found their work devalued and their functions increasingly segregated. This trend culminated in the establishment of women police bureaus where women and children coming to police attention would be channeled for help in personal matters. These bureaus were subsequently abolished as a result of the broader social movement for equal status and employment for women. In her book From Social Worker to Crime Fighter, Schulz (1995b) explains that the generation of women ofﬁcers recruited immediately after World War II was mostly recruited from the middle class and was relatively well educated.4 These 4 In her recent (2004) book Breaking the Brass Ceiling: Women Police Chiefs and Their Paths to the Top, Schulz provides an account of women sheriffs and chiefs which traces the histories of these women prior to the 1920s.

Three Decades of Research on Women Police

27

ofﬁcers put more emphasis on professionalism than equality and were generally content to work in the women’s bureaus. It was the later generation of recruits, generally drawn from the working class and with only a high school diploma, who became frustrated with their segregation in the bureaus and who claimed the right to do the same work as male ofﬁcers. One of the ﬁrst empirical studies of women police was conducted by Martin (1989b). Her work explored the effect on recruitment of women ofﬁcers of the 1972 Amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 eliminating discriminatory practices. Her data from 319 agencies show a marked upturn in recruitment, but data on retention and promotion show a mixed picture regarding the status of women in policing. Most had followed a career path somewhat different from men and while some reached the higher ranks, this was not in proportion to the numbers recruited. Martin (1990, p.xvii) comments: “Despite changes in equal opportunity policies many of the barriers women ofﬁcers face are built into a formal organizational culture of policing, as well as culturally prescribed patterns of male/female interaction which remain strong.” Women were kept out of any upward mobility because of the often reported constraints such as male colleagues’ appraisals, chivalry attitudes by their supervisors and the perceived notion of lack of commitment to a police career. In her chapter on “Rather Fearful Experiments,” Segarve (1995) notes that the role of policewomen developed in other countries for basically the same reasons and under the same conditions as in the United States. For example, though the ﬁrst female ofﬁcer was appointed in Australia in 1915, women police were hired to respond to the rapid growth in automobile use, which resulted in an expanded role for police in trafﬁc control. Prenzler (1998b), who describes the history of women policing in that country, reports that few of the women recruited were assigned different roles, primarily because of low scores on physical ability tests. He argues that the case for employing women ofﬁcers can no longer be based on the concept of their distinctive contribution to police work—though at the same time the rights of women offenders and victims to be dealt with by their own gender remain valid grounds for employing equal numbers of women ofﬁcers. He emphasizes the important role played by pressure exerted by powerful political ﬁgures (especially women) in moving police further down the path of gender equality. In summary, women were ﬁrst inducted into the police force to ﬁll an auxiliary role, which helps explain the slow progress they have made. However, over the years, policies promoting equal opportunity and discouraging sex discrimination and sexual harassment have made some impact on the numbers of women recruited and on their deployment in a wider range of duties. Impediments to Integration The barriers working against the full integration of women into law enforcement are embedded in the historical evolution of policing and are linked to the status

28

Women Police in a Changing Society

of women in particular societies (United Nations, 1985). These barriers are: (a) long-standing socio-cultural perceptions of the nature of police work; (b) features of the organizational structure of law enforcement and the police subculture; and most important (c) pervasive stereotyping of female police ofﬁcers by their male colleagues, supervisors, and the public at large. The Nature of Police Work Policing is generally considered to be a stressful job, especially for women ofﬁcers. The main sources of stress are: the work environment, including lack of peer support and trust; social and family pressures, the bureaucratic nature of the organization; and lack of time or opportunity to make use of coping mechanisms. On the basis of interviews with 30 male and 30 female ofﬁcers in one Vermont municipal department, Bartol et al. (1992) report that stressors are generally the same for both men and women ofﬁcers. However, women ofﬁcers experienced more stress when exposed to tragedy, and felt more responsibility for the safety of the public and their professional colleagues. Women also reported stress associated with working in a male-dominated occupation, resulting from sexual harassment and negative attitudes towards female ofﬁcers. Though sexual harassment is a serious concern, according to Martin (1996) it is not the most important one for women ofﬁcers. Issues surrounding maternity leaves and childcare have greater ramiﬁcations for the careers of women police ofﬁcers. Martin emphasizes the need to deal directly with these issues, but she recognizes that this requires an unusual degree of commitment and a certain amount of “moral bravery” by senior ofﬁcials. She also criticizes the feminist perspective as being too one-sided and recommends that male ofﬁcers’ views be canvassed when examining equal opportunity policies. He, Zhao and Archbold (2002) compare survey data obtained from 943 men and 157 women ofﬁcers in Baltimore. They report that women ofﬁcers have higher levels of depression compared to their male counterparts. In seeking to cope with depression, women were more likely to take constructive steps, such as seeking spiritual guidance and discussing problems with their husbands, family members, and friends. Police Organizational Culture On the basis of repertory grid interviews with 51 male and female ofﬁcers, Dick and Jankowicz (2001) examine whether the police organizational culture is a major impediment to women’s advancement in the police. Of the 11 categories identiﬁed by the respondents as central themes, commitment seems to be interpreted differently by men and women. Speciﬁcally, women ofﬁcers choose not to work longer hours due to their family commitments. This has a negative impact on their chances of promotion. The authors conclude that gender inﬂuences organizational culture

Three Decades of Research on Women Police

29

through socio-cultural transmission of gender-differentiated expectations such as who should be the primary caregiver at home. Brown, Maidment and Bull (1993) examine self-report data collected from three groups: 32 male ofﬁcers, 31 women ofﬁcers and 32 sergeants. They found gender difference in only four of the 17 attributes studied. Women considered themselves as having effective listening skills and as being more likely to show consideration for others, while men were more likely to rate themselves higher for physical strength and their ability to use physical force. This was conﬁrmed by the sergeants’ ratings of these ofﬁcers. These differences were reﬂected in different deployment patterns. Men were more often assigned to public order duties and dealing with trafﬁc accidents; women were more often assigned to dealing with victims of sexual offenses. The data also indicates that in only one of the ten duties—public order—was physical strength considered important, but women were often not assigned to these tasks. The study concludes that gender bias could be the major force in explaining the differential treatment of women in policing. Resistance from Male Officers Almost all research studies show that male ofﬁcers resist the entry of women into the police force and most doubt that they can perform as well as males (Dorsey and Giacopassi, 1986; Balkin, 1988). Using survey data collected in 1977 from a sample of 740 ofﬁcers in 24 police departments, Worden (1993) examined ofﬁcers’ attitudes to their roles, to citizens, to their colleagues and departments, and regarding occupational integration. She found few differences and notes that these might simply be the product of different experiences of male and female ofﬁcers in the police. She suggests there is a tendency in gender research to comb through data to ﬁnd differences that might in fact be small or unimportant, and argues that over time men’s and women’s views will converge as a result of women being employed in a greater variety of roles. Finally, she points out that research usually overlooks positive aspects of feminine behaviors such as attentiveness and responsiveness to citizens. It has traditionally been thought that women do not belong in patrol because of their lack of physical strength and their inability to maintain an authoritative presence in the face of conﬂict. It has also been argued that women ofﬁcers might create danger for male colleagues and for the public during violent situations (Jones, 1986; Grennan, 1987a). Based on data obtained from 300 men and 59 women constables in the Queensland police, French and Waugh (1998) report that the perceptions of women as the “weaker sex” has fuelled these attitudes. They argue that actions of chivalry or gallantry by male peers or supervisors which attempt to shield women from potentially violent situations may effectively reduce their exposure to a range of policing experiences, thereby disadvantaging their chances of advancement and perpetuating the stereotypical view of women as the weak link.

30

Women Police in a Changing Society

Many studies show that physical strength tests in police forces are discriminatory (Charles, 1982; Evans, 1980; Prenzler, 1996). In spite of condemnation by the courts of the use of height and weight standards, many police departments continue to use physical tests. Birzer and Craig (1996) review eight years’ worth of data to see whether the test measures abilities demanded by various police tasks. They found little relationship between the abilities tested and the physical demands of the job. Attitudes and perceptions change over time and what may have been true in the 1970s and 1980s may not hold now. Breci (1997) reports a study designed to ﬁnd out whether the public still hold the same stereotypical attitudes prevalent in the 1970s and 1980s about the capacity of female ofﬁcers to deal with violence. After questioning 702 individuals (42 percent male and 58 percent female), he reports that, while most people believe that women are as good as men in performing police duties, some gender differences were perceived. Male police ofﬁcers were characterized by aggressiveness, resourcefulness, and bravery, while women ofﬁcers were identiﬁed with empathy, nurturing, and sensitivity. Using survey data collected from 263 women and 320 men in one police force in England, Holdaway and Parker (1998) analyze the different ways in which perceived gender roles and internal organizational culture combine to structure women’s employment in the police. Conﬂicts between home and work make it difﬁcult for women ofﬁcers to meet their professional goals, despite their strong commitment to key values of the occupation. But they are also hindered by dominant ideas about who should be employed on different types of police work—ideas that, for example, resulted in the exclusion of women ofﬁcers from the CID. In sum, studies have repeatedly shown that gender role expectations play an important role in the deployment of women ofﬁcers. Though women are often assigned tasks that are gender-speciﬁc and do not require “muscle,” they must meet the same physical standards as men on being hired. The nature of the job is considered stressful for both men and women ofﬁcers, but women have to go through additional emotional stressors such as an unfriendly atmosphere and sexual harassment. Perceived Performance and Job Satisfaction Can women ofﬁcers perform patrol duty as effectively as men? In the United States, this was the question addressed by nine major studies of women on patrol conducted in the 1970s (1) Bloch and Anderson (1974), Washington DC; (2) Vera Institute of Justice (1974), New York City; (3) Sherman (1975), St Louis County; (4) California Highway Patrol (1976), State of California; (5) Bartlett and Rosenblum (1977), Denver; (6) Kizziah and Morris (1977), Newton, Massachusetts; (7) Pennsylvania State Police Department Headquarters (1973), State of Pennsylvania; (8) Bartell and Associates (1978), Philadelphia (Phase I and Phase II); (9) Sichel et al. (1978), New York City.

Three Decades of Research on Women Police

31

Morash and Greene (1986) reviewed the nine evaluation studies and found that the gender differences reported are the result of psychological or biological characteristics of women and the failure to examine differences within same-sexed groups. They argue that the research problem is more related to a biased deﬁnition of the police role than to gender differences. They also identiﬁed several other shortcomings in the studies, including a failure to evaluate the accomplishment of identiﬁable police tasks or to specify preferred behaviors. Furthermore, many studies were prefaced on conformity with male stereotypes, which is questionable in assessing women’s performance. Although few important differences in the performance of men and women have been found in these studies, it has been generally found that women can more often successfully resolve conﬂicts without resorting to force. Perhaps this is the standard against which the performance of men might be judged! Bloch and Anderson’s (1974) study was conducted at a time when large numbers of women were entering the police in America. The study addressed the following issues: recruitment and selection, differences in work assignments between men and women, attitudes of counterparts, and supervisor’s expectations. Bloch and Anderson concluded that many police departments assign women to patrols only because of legal requirements. Women were assigned to regular uniformed patrol less frequently than men and the assignments in the patrol unit were different for male and female ofﬁcers. For example, men were less often assigned to station duty and more often assigned to one-ofﬁcer cars. Women were given inside assignments. Men made more arrests (felony and misdemeanor) than women, although the arrests made by women resulted as frequently in convictions. Women tended to handle more service calls than men. Women obtained the same results as men in handling angry or violent situations. Women received the same amount of backup, or assistance, from other police units as men. Women were given similar performance ratings on several patrol skills on a special rating form; however, it was concluded that men received higher ratings on ability to handle various violent situations and general competence to perform street patrol. Due to the injuries caused during violent situations, women were more likely than men to be placed on light duty by the police departments. Though most of these studies were hampered by methodological problems or limited samples, in aggregate they showed that women are able to perform as well as men on general patrol. More speciﬁcally, they showed that: (1) women perform patrol duties as well as men; (2) women perform better than men in situations with children and women; and (3) women are good at defusing potentially violent situations. Despite this research, the assumed inability of women to cope with violence runs through many of the arguments for restricting women’s role in the police force. Feminist scholars have been critical of much of the research comparing the abilities of male and female ofﬁcers. Their two basic charges are that the research concentrates on (1) variables that are highly valued because they are associated with maleness, and (2) variables that distinguish men and women rather than the variables that unite them.

32

Women Police in a Changing Society

In any ﬁeld of work, level of performance is the key for upward mobility. According to the American literature, women have proved that they are competent and efﬁcient in police work. They have demonstrated the ability to prevent violent situations and to communicate with citizens, and their attitude has often proved to be more effective than male muscle power (Bloch and Anderson, 1984; Sherman, 1975; California Highway Patrol, 1976; Kizziah and Morris, 1977; Bartlett and Rosenblum, 1977; Sichel et al., 1978). Women have achieved promotion records traditionally held by men alone (Schulz, 2004b). These studies gave reason to policymakers and administrators to have conﬁdence in women’s abilities and encouraged more recruitment of women. There is now a higher percentage of women serving as line ofﬁcers in the police force, and administrators have begun to ask what can be done to help them in their work: how can training standards and hiring practices be improved, what are women’s expectations in the police force, what can be done to motivate them, and how can male ofﬁcers’ attitudes toward their female counterparts be improved? In sum, as noted by many evaluations, women perform the same as men, but the gender stereotype still prevails within the police and the general public that women cannot handle violent situations. In addition, the particular strengths of women in dealing with certain policing tasks continue to be overlooked. This is partly because performance appraisals tend to be weighted towards masculine qualities. Thus, in spite of the many success stories of women in policing, women ofﬁcers are still not assigned to the full range of tasks and are often given little credit for things that they do better than men. Status of Women Police Worldwide Most cross-cultural comparisons of police have focused exclusively on men (Bayley, 1976, 1985) and those that have included women have usually covered only western nations. Lewis Sherman (1973) was the ﬁrst to discuss women police in nations other than the United States and Great Britain. His descriptive study of 21 countries brieﬂy touches on the roles of women ofﬁcers. Shane’s (1980) comparative study of ﬁve countries (India, Israel, the United States, the Netherlands, and Great Britain) included brief descriptions of the role of women ofﬁcers. A later comparative study, conducted by the United Nations (1985), presented a detailed description of the involvement of women worldwide in various criminal justice system sectors and compared differing national stages of development during the years 1970 to 1982. This ﬁrst global survey reports that the participation of women in criminal justice increased with economic advancement, social change, and modernization. The changing world climate for the employment of women as practitioners and administrators in law enforcement is clearly reﬂected in the results of the survey. The most dramatic increases in the employment of women during the period 1970 to

Three Decades of Research on Women Police

33

1982 occurred in law enforcement, in which 35.2 percent of the responding countries (n=53) reported an increase over the period considered. By region, countries in Western Europe and North America reported by far the largest increases of women in law enforcement—57.9 percent of the reporting countries (n=19)—followed by Asia and the Paciﬁc with 44.4 percent (n=9); Eastern Europe with 33.3 percent (n=3) and Latin America and the Caribbean with 30 percent (n=10). On the progress of women in law enforcement by status of development, 65.2 percent of the reporting developed countries (n=23) registered an increase in female employment, followed by 14.8 percent (n=24) of the developing countries. The least developed countries reported no increase. Though data obtained in this survey were just approximations, this was a vital ﬁrst step toward a greater understanding of women in law enforcement across the globe. Brown, Hazenberg and Ormiston’s (1999) chapter in Mawby’s (1999) Policing Across the World provides a review of European, African and Asian women in policing. This study highlighted a general disagreement among women ofﬁcers about their role. The more radical feminists wished women police to protect other women from violence from men. In contrast, and more dominant, were those policewomen who saw their role as public servants preserving the status quo, exercising the same controls over women as policemen. Further, there are two schools of thought amongst women ofﬁcers—one viewed the support role played by women ofﬁcers as entirely appropriate and the other viewed it as discriminatory. The review noted the importance of the support of male colleagues as an important factor in the progress of women police and concludes thats despite nearly 100 years of women’s involvement in police, they are still a marginalized minority. The Statistical Picture The Sixth United Nations Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems shows that there are several countries with a higher representation of women in the police than the United States (see Table 2.2). These are mostly countries that have the resources and data needed to complete the survey. Very few developing countries supplied data for the survey, but in most of these countries women ofﬁcers comprise less than 5 percent of total strength. More surprising is that women comprise less than 5 percent of total strength in a number of developed countries including Spain, Portugal, Iceland, and Italy. The only studies of women police that go beyond western nations are descriptive accounts of the numbers of women ofﬁcers and the ways that they are deployed. Though few of the studies are in depth, they conﬁrm that the progress of women police in traditional societies is far behind that of their western counterparts (Sherman, 1977; Yang, 1985; Stevens and Patlye, 1985; Fairchild, 1987; Igbinovia, 1987; Natarajan, 1996a; Pagon and Lobnikar, 1999; Brown and Heidensohn, 2000; Flavin and Bennett, 2001).

Women Police in a Changing Society

34

Table 2.2

Female police personnel in selected countries (2000 and 1997) (percentage of total strength)

Country

Percentage 2000

Country

1997

Percentage 2000

1997

1

Korea

2.4

1.7

24 Andorra

NR

8.6

2

Moldova, Rep.

3.5

1.8

25 Ireland

12.1

8.7

3

India

2.2

1.9

26 Romania

8.6

8.8

4

Spain

3.6

3.0

27 Sri Lanka

5.3

8.8

5

Japan

3.7

3.4

28 Poland

9.6

9.0

6

Turkey

4.5

3.4

29 Maldives

NR

9.9

7

Portugal

3.8

3.6

30 Malaysia

9.7

10.2

8

Iceland

0.0

4.4

31 China

11.25

11.2

9

Kazakhstan

10.0

4.4

32 Czech Republic

10.7

11.5

10 Slovenia

7.1

4.4

33 Lithuania

14.1

11.6

11 Italy

5.3

4.5

34 Tanzania

NR

12.0

12 Colombia

5.0

4.6

35 Tonga

NR

13.9

13 Ukraine

NR

4.9

36 New Zealand

NR

14.6

14 Mauritius

5.4

5.5

37 Netherlands

17.1

14.8

15 Denmark

7.7

6.1

38 Thailand

5.0

15.5

16 Finland

8.6

6.3

39 Hong Kong

12.5

18.2

17 Zimbabwe

6.5

6.9

40 Bahamas

NR

18.8

18 Chile

6.0

7.0

41 South Africa

21.4

19.5

19 Greece

NR

7.0

42 Israel

NR

20.2

20 Belgium

NR

7.3

43 Singapore

19.1

21.6

21 Cyprus

NR

7.3

44 Estonia

26.0

23.0

22 Croatia

NR

7.5

45 Sweden

17.3

32.1

23 Fiji

NR

7.7

Source: Sixth and Seventh United Nations Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems

Women Police in Developed Countries Yang (1985) reports a comparative study of female policing in Taiwan and the United States, which describes the role of women in law enforcement agencies and attempts to analyze structural, historical, and cultural aspects of women in policing. An examination of these areas suggests possible causes of the variations between countries. For example, the police in Taiwan are highly centralized under a rigid bureaucracy. This means that women ofﬁcers have less chance to bring about

Three Decades of Research on Women Police

35

changes in department policies when compared to American women, who work in much smaller, more independent forces and who are more successful in exerting inﬂuence on departmental polices. Women ofﬁcers in Taiwan also feel more pressure to conform to prevailing cultural norms, especially concerning the importance of meeting family responsibilities. The women’s movement in Taiwan is still in its infancy and it will take a while to have an impact in that society. Stevens and Aldrich (1985) compare the integration of women ofﬁcers in the police forces of West Germany and the United States. It concludes that West German acceptance and use of women in uniformed service is ﬁve to ten years behind the United States, but that the German police have deliberately sought to create equal opportunities for women. With the current level of integration of women at the lower ranks of the police service, some six to eight years will likely be required before females will be seen in larger numbers in the higher ranks. Pagon and Lobnikar (1999) report that women police were ﬁrst hired in Slovenia in 1973. Soon after that, there was a halt in hiring until 1997 when 55 women were admitted and trained, primarily to deal with women and children. These women police ofﬁcers said that they had joined the police because they perceived policing to be diverse work that provided opportunities for helping and interacting with the public. They believed that police work contributed to their own personal growth and gave them the opportunity to prove their own capabilities and to inﬂuence events in society. A recent study by Beck, Barko and Tatarenko (2003), based on data collected from nearly 500 serving ofﬁcers in Kyiv relating to the experiences of female ofﬁcers working within the post-Soviet Ukrainian militia, shows that women ofﬁcers are signiﬁcantly more dissatisﬁed with their role, have a poorer relationship with their line managers and perceive that they receive a more authoritarian and directive style of management than their male counterparts. Resetnikova (2004) reports in a recent conference paper that, “Since the reestablishment of the Estonian Police in 1991, the reorganization and ongoing reforms of the police have resulted in changes in which members of society join the police, as well as in the roles of the police in society.” As of 2004, female police ofﬁcers constitute 30.1 percent of the sworn police personnel, which is a much higher percentage than in most other police agencies. However, many female ofﬁcers in Estonia are working at positions that offer them little prestige in the police organization. They tend to get lower salaries than men and gain little or no access to higher positions. Shadmi (1993) explores the status of women in the Israeli police force. She concludes that women have not been fully integrated and they still encounter discriminatory practices. However, progress is slowly being made, which she attributes to successful performance of duties, uniﬁed pressure to obtain promotion, some enlightened thinking among senior ofﬁcials, and the growing intolerance of sex discrimination.

36

Women Police in a Changing Society

Women Police in Developing and Traditional Societies To achieve any degree of recognition in the force, women in traditional societies have had to work much harder than their male counterparts. Banks (2001) describes the case of women police in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and compares their situation with the United States and Britain. The study identiﬁes some similarities, such as the reluctance of police managers to expose women ofﬁcers to the risk of violence on patrol and the recognition of women’s expertise in dealing with women and children. In PNG, they play a particularly valuable role in marital conﬂicts. In western countries, when couples need assistance they generally turn to marriage counseling services. In PNG society, however, there is traditionally little distinction between the public and the domestic realm and so the public constantly seeks the help of constabulary to intervene in marital problems. In this regard, the involvement of women ofﬁcers added a new feature to policing. Natarajan’s (2006a) paper on women policing in the Asian region reveals growing acceptance of the need for gender-sensitive policing, including the use of women ofﬁcers in dealing with violence against women. Many police forces in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, and the Philippines are creating women’s desks, women cells, women stations, women bureaus and women units in order to open up opportunities for women to serve in the police as well as to deal with the increased numbers of domestic violence cases now being reported. According to Natarajan’s review, women take up a career in the police service to ensure personal security and to help other women. The review also suggests that local culture and norms greatly inﬂuence the deployment of women police ofﬁcers in line duties (Aleem, 1991; Banks, 2001; Bhardwaj, 1999; Boni and Circelli, 2002; Natarajan, 1996a, 1996b, 2001, 2003, 2005a, 2005b; Prenzler and Hennessey, 2000; Prenzler, 1995, 1998, 2004a, 2004b; Vishnoi, 1999; Wilkinson and Froyland, 1996; Wilson, 1999; Yang, 1985). Several articles on African women in law enforcement present a consistent picture of few women being hired and being deployed in “inferior jobs” (Igbinovia, 1987; Aremu and Adeyoju, 2003; Morrison, 2004). As in many other parts of the world, police administrators in Africa believe that women cannot handle regular patrol duties and so they are used in service-oriented functions relating to women and children. The women’s branch of police was ﬁrst formed in Ghana in 1952, in Nigeria in 1955 and in Kenya in 1965. Igbinovia (1987:33) notes that of the thirty seven independent states in Africa, twenty-one (about 60%t) have predominantly Muslim populations. Among these groups, there is traditional reluctance to give women the same rights as men in any matter. Women are regarded as servants to their male counterparts and are not to be seen or heard. The majority of these women are still illiterate, disenfranchised and conﬁned to their homes. Thus, few women hold jobs at all, let alone within police services.

Three Decades of Research on Women Police

37

All three studies also report that women do not join the police force because of the risks involved, the mobility demanded, long working hours and night patrolling, unattractive living conditions, and dealing with undesirables. According to Nelson (1996), Hautzinger (2002), Ostermann (2003), and Santos (2004, 2005), women’s rights in Brazil are given little importance and women victims have had difﬁculty in obtaining justice through legal institutions. Working from an anthropological perspective, Santos (2004) describes how women police stations were introduced in the mid-1980s to respond more adequately to violence against women and to avoid discrimination in traditional police settings. There are now hundreds of these stations, which have high social visibility as creations of the feminist movement. This poses a problem for the women working in these stations: they owe their employment to feminist agitation, but they must not be seen themselves as feminist agitators. To succeed in the police, they must conform to the predominant male police culture. All women police units (AWPUs) have also been established in Tamil Nadu, a southern Indian state. Unlike those in Brazil, the units (now numbering 198) were not established as result of feminist pressure, but in response to widespread social concern about the plight of dowry victims. Natarajan’s (2003) study examines how this wellintentioned reform fell foul of equal opportunity legislation. Male police ofﬁcers in the Tamil Nadu constabulary, angered by what they perceived as favored treatment of women, were able to instigate court rulings in 1997 that required male and female ofﬁcers to serve under identical conditions. This meant that new female recruits had to endure the rigors of paramilitary training for six years in police battalions. Consequently, in 2000, the women police in Tamil Nadu, India, fell into two distinct cohorts: (1) those recruited prior to 1997 who are deployed in AWPUs, and (2) those recruited in 1997 who, as a result of equal opportunity legislation, have been placed in regular police battalions. Her study reveals considerable dissatisfaction in both cohorts. Those in the battalions deeply disliked the militaristic regime and could not wait to be assigned to regular police stations; those in the AWPUs had another 20 years to serve and were concerned about their future and the future of the units. This story of unintended consequences demonstrates how the transition to equality can encounter pitfalls at every turn. In sum, comparative and cross-cultural studies on policing have paid little attention to gender issues and the few that have been published are mostly descriptive in nature. The largest gap in knowledge concerns women policing in the former “Eastern Bloc” countries. Overall, the literature shows that women police in developed countries enjoy a better status than women police in traditional and developing countries, where women are mostly employed to deal with women and children and are rarely assigned to patrol.

38

Women Police in a Changing Society

Prospects for Full Integration The ﬁrst systematic study of policewomen’s views on integration, by British researcher Peter Southgate (1977), considered three main areas: the reactions of serving women to the effects of integration, the commitment of policewomen to a career in policing, and their opinions about the policing role that women could or should play. Southgate distinguished three kinds of roles: the traditional role (duties involving female offenders and victims, juveniles, and missing persons), the integrated role (the same duties as male police ofﬁcers), and the modified role (similar duties to men except those where violence is anticipated). The questionnaire was developed through discussions with police ofﬁcers and with reference to the research literature, mainly Bloch and Anderson’s (1974) report. Southgate distributed the questionnaires to 680 women in ﬁve police forces in the United Kingdom. He found that, overall, almost half of his survey respondents preferred a modiﬁed role, less than a third favored an integrated role, and less than a quarter preferred a traditional role. Southgate’s survey did not attempt to assess the operational or organizational effectiveness of women, as did a number of other studies conducted in the United States at that time. Instead, his survey examined female ofﬁcers’ levels of conﬁdence in handling various policing tasks. The aim was to see how women perceive themselves in undertaking conventional police work and in handling dangerous situations. The survey showed that women were generally conﬁdent in their capacity to work in these ways and that there was little support for a return to a social work role for policewomen. Southgate’s study was conducted soon after the implementation of the Sex Discrimination Act, perhaps before there had been time for its effects to be fully appreciated (Jones, 1986). Accordingly, Jones (1986) conducted a follow-up survey six years later in London. The focus of her research was to establish the nature of male attitudes, whether they were shared by female ofﬁcers and, more important, whether they were reﬂected in formal or informal practice. Her research consisted of four parts: (1) In-depth interviews with female and male police ofﬁcers (n=40), using a matched pair cohort sampling method (matched by age) to compare male and female expectations and career patterns, and attitudes and views on the effects of integration. (2) A survey questionnaire consisting of items designed to examine the deployment, training, and promotion experiences of men and women, as well as male and female attitudes toward the role of women in the police. Jones’s questionnaire beneﬁted from Southgate’s earlier work and was reﬁned in her own pilot study. The questionnaire was administered to all women in the force and a random, 10 percent, sample of all men, selected from the computerized force personnel list. A total of 466 police ofﬁcers were sent questionnaires

Three Decades of Research on Women Police

39

with a 75.9 percent response rate of completed surveys. (3) Observational work to examine the kinds of police tasks to which ofﬁcers are deployed and whether female ofﬁcers respond to and deal differently with incidents. This method helped her to discuss ofﬁcers’ views about women on patrol and observe men’s attitudes toward their female counterparts. (4) Study of documentary and statistical information from 1971 to 1983, to examine trends and changes since the integration of women. She discovered that policewomen were even more conﬁdent about their abilities and their prospects than reported by Southgate—a change that could have been due to the prospects of equal opportunity in pay and conditions of service. Martin’s (1980) study of one police district in the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, DC, involved 55 police ofﬁcers on patrol duty (27 males and 28 females) and was essentially a qualitative analysis of women in a male-dominated police profession. She looked at patrol assignments for women and the problems they faced, and also examined the attitudes of their male counterparts. The study raised many interesting hypotheses for further research on women breaking and entering male-dominated occupations in the criminal justice system. Research on the assimilation of women in the police forces of western countries has suggested that women police are becoming “more fully integrated into the mainstream of policing” (Heidensohn, 1992, p. 56). They are no longer conﬁned to their own bureaus, and the roles they are asked to perform and duties required to undertake have been gradually expanding over the past two decades. The numbers of women in policing both in absolute terms and relative to men have also increased, although it is still rare for women ofﬁcers to exceed 20 percent of the total in any force. Some commentators have assumed that these trends will eventually result in the full integration of women ofﬁcers in the police, so that recruitment, assignment of duties, and promotions will be “gender blind.” Indeed, the focus of recent discussions of women policing frequently concerns the most efﬁcient means for promoting this view of integration (for example, Prenzler, 1992). Prenzler and Hayes (2000) report a survey of police agencies in Australia concerned with key indicators of gender equity. The survey was designed to identify the nature of change in the prior decade and to test the capacity of senior management to evaluate performance. Marked differences were found between agencies in achieving progress and these differences indicated that management polices strongly inﬂuenced outcomes. It was also apparent that a greater commitment is needed to comprehensive data collection in order to properly diagnose and remedy inequities. In fact, they found that agencies that supplied the best data also showed the most progress in integration. Heidensohn (1998) provides a comparative account of women in policing in Britain, the US and Australia. She also reviews different models of integration of women in policing and attempts to show that comparative research using these

40

Women Police in a Changing Society

models would yield valuable insights into gender and policing. She argues that a series of common themes links the experiences of women police around the world, despite considerable difference between cultures, structures, and law enforcement agencies. Despite this overall consistency, the individual careers of women ofﬁcers differ signiﬁcantly. Comparative research informed by the models of integration would help both the performance of agencies and the careers of individual ofﬁcers. After reviewing the position of women in some European countries, Brown (1997) provides a model for studying the integration of women in the police. She made cross-cultural comparisons on four major themes: “unsuitable job for women,” “equal opportunities,” “gentle touch” and “desperate remedy.” These themes relate to constraints that inhibit the progress of women within police forces at each one of six stages of integration (entry, separate restricted development, integration, take-off, reform and tip-over). According to her analysis, nowhere in the world have women reached the tip-over stage when women play a full part in policing and achieve higher rank in greater numbers. She suggests that this stage is reached only when women comprise at least 25 percent of the force. While Brown’s model appears to hold for Western societies, all sharing a common cultural heritage, it might not hold for traditional societies with very different expectations about the roles and duties of women. Natarajan (2001) examines the argument that police women in traditional societies do not aspire to being fully integrated into mainstream policing, but may prefer a more restricted and segregated role. Using data gathered through interviews and a standardized questionnaire, her longitudinal study focused on the preferences expressed by women ofﬁcers about roles and styles of policing in India and other countries. She concluded that, while progress to full integration in traditional societies may be slower, it seems to follow the same sequence of stages found in western society. Miller’s (1999) case study of community policing and gender issues in Jackson City is highly relevant to theories of integration. Through in-depth interviews with 40 neighborhood ofﬁcers (past and present) and ﬁeld observations of the neighborhoods, Miller examines the ambiguities that surround “feminine” skills and their enthusiastic appropriation by community policing, in contrast to their rejection in traditional policing. She shows how community policing models of the 1990s borrow from early twentieth-century police models and considers how “women’s work,” once considered to be without merit, has been transformed into the showpiece of community policing today. She goes on to raise interesting questions of how the paramilitary structure of policing and the masculine ideals it epitomizes can be transformed to honor the values of care, connection, empathy, and informality. What changes must occur to reconcile the contradictions between masculine and feminine police activities? Will male and female ofﬁcers be evaluated differently because of gender-based assumptions? What matters more, the gender of the ofﬁcers, or that ofﬁcers of either gender can integrate “feminine” traits into social control? Finally, how do gender and gender-role expectations shape police activities? She concludes

Three Decades of Research on Women Police

41

that traditional patrol ofﬁcers and the (community policing) neighborhood ofﬁcers are not as far apart as their dual images and work expectations might suggest. In sum, the studies show that, despite a long history of employment in the police, nowhere in the world are women fully integrated into policing. They are either conﬁned to gendered tasks and treated as tokens or assigned to equal duties with reservations. The “gender neutral/gender blind” model seems to demand too many changes within the policing subculture to allow women to be fully integrated. The “gendered” model of policing introduced in Chapter 1 offers a way to move beyond this impasse by deﬁning a separate but equal role for women ofﬁcers. This model will be discussed more fully in the concluding chapter. Lessons Learned The studies reviewed in this chapter amply document the need for women ofﬁcers in the police, while at the same time describing the many barriers they face in being fully assimilated. It has been shown repeatedly that there has been considerable opposition to the entry of women into policing. They were originally recruited to deal with women and children, and in many forces they have continued to occupy a marginal role despite studies showing that women perform as well as, if not better than, men in most duties. Women have not been recognized for what they can contribute, and have been neglected by their organizations and disparaged by their male counterparts. They have also been subjected to widespread sexual harassment. Even under a strong feminist agenda, western countries still have not reached their “critical mass,” that is 25 percent of women police ofﬁcers in their forces. Afﬁrmative legislation and equal opportunity standards have had limited beneﬁts for women in the police because judgments about equality have been skewed to masculine standards. The situation is even worse for women ofﬁcers in traditional and developing societies because gender bias is much more acute and prevalent in those countries than in western nations. The research reviewed in this chapter gives the overwhelming impression that a feminist perspective, whether implicit or explicit, has dominated research on women police. Most of the studies are focused on identifying and explaining barriers to the integration of women in the police. Women are painted as victims of unjust social discrimination. There has been little discussion of the choices women themselves make in joining the police or their choices once they have joined. It must be recognized, however, that policing may be seen as an unrewarding career by many young women. Future research should pay greater attention to this possibility and police managers must try to ﬁnd ways of making police work more congenial to women ofﬁcers. The current shift to community policing in western countries might give greater importance to crime prevention, which many women might ﬁnd more satisfying than law enforcement. If so, this might improve recruitment of women and speed up the process of integration (Sims, Scarborough and Ahmad, 2003; Miller, 1999).

42

Women Police in a Changing Society

Indeed, the emphasis that has been placed on the importance of gender neutrality in policing might have been a disservice to women and it will be argued in the concluding chapter that the “gendered” model of policing laid out in this book might have more to offer women police. Unless feminine skills and attributes are valued by police forces, it could be that women cannot ever achieve equal status. We must examine the human qualities needed to serve the policing goals—not only to provide better services to the public but also to provide more satisfactory careers for women ofﬁcers. The lesson here is that recruitment of a greater number of women depends on a radical change in attitudes about women’s contribution to policing. Women have been trying their best to adjust to the demands of policing; it is now time for the police to adjust to the demands of women.

PART II WOMEN POLICE IN A TRADITIONAL SOCIETY

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Chapter 3

Women Police in India You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru

India—Country Profile India has a land area slightly more than one-third the size of the US and consists of 28 states and 7 union territories,1 which vary in size, population, resources, and culture. Though Hindi is spoken by 45 percent of the Indian population, it is still not considered to be the national language. In fact there are about 15 major languages and 844 different dialects in India. The Indian population has shown very rapid growth. According to the Census of India, India had a population of 548 million in 1971, 683 million in 1981, 846 million in 1991, and 1.028 billion in 2001. It is now the second most populous country in the world after China. It holds only 2.4 percent of the world’s land area, but supports over one sixth of the world’s population. Two thirds of this population lives in villages or rural areas (see Table 3.1). Table 3.1

Population by urban/rural residence in 2001, India

Residence

Person

Rural Urban

742,617,747 286,119,689

Total

1,028,737,436

Source: Ofﬁce of the Registrar General, India, 2002

In 2000, the majority of the Indian population (81.3 percent) consisted of Hindus, followed by Muslims (12 percent), Christians (2.3 percent), Sikhs (1.9 percent), and a mixture of other groups including Buddhists, Jains, and Parsis (2.5 percent). The 1 Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Pondicherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

Women Police in a Changing Society

46

literacy rate has increased from 39 percent in 1991 to 54 percent in 2001. Though India has been achieving economic success in recent years, many parts of India are still below the poverty line. There has been a gradual decrease in the ratio of females per 1,000 males since 1901 (see Table 3.2). Many demographers associate this decline with a higher female mortality rate associated with the Indian preference for male children (Dreze and Sen, 1995; Swaminathan, 2002). As a result of the dowry system, female children are more often looked upon as a liability than males, and female infanticides regularly occur. Table 3.2

Female ratio

Sex ratio trends in India (1901–2001) 1901 1911

1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001

972

955

964

950

945

946

941

930

934

927

933

This short country proﬁle provides the background for the account in this chapter of social changes that have implications for the status of women. The chapter then describes the structure and function of the police before describing the history of women’s entry into the Indian police service, their deployment, and the progress they have made to date in policing. Women, Culture and Social Changes in India According to Kuppuswamy (1975), Indian women enjoyed equal status with men between 4000-1000 B.C. the Vedic and Rig Vedic periods in Indian History. Women were required to participate with men in performing religious ceremonies and the half woman/half man portrayal of Shiva, the Indian god, is a symbolic representation of the equality of men and women. Even the Manu Shastra (BC), a Hindu canon, required women to be treated as equal and divine. The degradation of women began around 300 BC (Devi, 1993) and has been attributed to foreign invasions that brought changes in the status accorded to women. Since independence from Britain in 1947, the social position of women in India has undergone, and is still undergoing, a series of profound changes in which there were two phases. The ﬁrst was characterized by the admission of women to an increasing variety of previously masculine jobs—provided that the women were unencumbered by family ties. In India, family and kinship systems govern the lives of individuals, and for women the family has priority over outside work or a career. The distinctive feature of the second phase has been the efforts made by a growing number of women to combine their family and employment responsibilities. Industrialization and modernization has shifted increasingly large numbers of

Women Police in India

47

women from the household to the work force. According to the census of India, the participation of women in the labor force increased from 15.9 percent in 1971 to 31 percent in 2001. The Indian government has taken various approaches to increase this percentage over the years: a “welfare” approach (1950s and 1960s); an “equity and antipoverty” approach (1970s); an “efﬁciency” approach (1980s), and currently an “empowerment” approach is being used. The Constitution of India guarantees women fundamental rights and secures their dignity under the law (see Table 3.3 below). In 1975, emancipation of women in all spheres was evaluated on the basis of a status report by the government of India, and India’s participation in the Fourth World Conference on Women held in 1995, in Beijing, resulted in the Department of Women and Child Development drafting a National Policy for the Empowerment of Women. This built upon nationwide consultations to make the status of women in all walks of life on a par with that of men and to actualize the constitutional guarantee of equality without discrimination on grounds of sex. Opportunities for women in the labor market have since been improved and, in 1997, the Labor Law required 33 percent of government jobs to be reserved for women.

Table 3.3

Constitutional Guarantees for Indian women

Fundamental Rights 14: “The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.” 15(1): “The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.” 15(3): “Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children.” 16(2): “No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect of, any employment or ofﬁce under the State.” Directive Principles of State Policy 39: “The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing (a) that the citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means of livelihood; ... (d) that there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women; (e) that the health and strength of workers, men and women, and the tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength.”

Women Police in a Changing Society

48

According to census data, the female literacy rate increased from 8.9 percent in 1951 to 54.2 percent in 2001. In recent years the female literacy rate has increased slightly faster than the male literacy rate. Though this represents progress, especially for urban women, there are many rural women still living below the poverty line, lacking education and oppressed with patriarchic values systems. The Ofﬁce of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in India (2001) summarized the position of women as follows: • • •

•

•

There are far fewer women in the paid workforce than there are men. Women’s work is undervalued and unrecognized. Women work longer hours than men, and carry the major share of household and community work, which is unpaid and invisible. Women are under-represented in governance and decision-making positions. At present, less than 8 percent of Parliamentary seats, less than 6 percent of Cabinet positions, less than 4 percent of seats in High Courts and the Supreme Court, are occupied by women. Less than 3 percent of administrators and managers are women. Women are legally discriminated against in land and property rights. Most women do not own any property in their own names, and do not get a share of parental property. Women face violence inside and outside the family throughout their lives. Police records show that a woman is molested in the country every 26 minutes. A rape occurs every 34 minutes. Every 42 minutes, an incident of sexual harassment takes place. Every 43 minutes, a woman is kidnapped. Every 93 minutes, a woman is killed.

According to the UNDP’s Gender Development Index (GDI)2 that measures three basic dimensions comparing men and women—a long and healthy life, knowledge and a decent standard of living—India ranked 128 among 178 countries in 1995. By 2003 it had moved up to 98, but at the same time, it could not even be ranked on the Gender Empowerment Index (GEM),3 a composite index measuring gender inequality in three basic dimensions of empowerment—economic participation 2 The Gender Development Index (GDI) captures average achievement to reﬂect the inequalities between men and women in the following dimensions: 1. A long and healthy life, as measured by life expectancy at birth. 2. Knowledge, as measured by the adult literacy rate and the combined primary, secondary, and tertiary gross enrolment ratio. 3. A decent standard of living, as measured by estimated earned income. 3 The Gender Empowerment Index (GEM) focuses on women’s opportunities rather than their capabilities and it captures gender inequality in three key areas: 1. Political participation and decision-making power, as measured by women’s and men’s percentage shares of Pparliamentary seats. 2. Economic participation and decision-making power, as measured by two indicators—women’s and men’s percentage shares of positions as legislators, senior ofﬁcials and managers and women’s and men’s percentage shares of professional and technical

Women Police in India

49

and decision-making, political participation and decision-making, and power over economic resources. The development of women in India is tied closely to the economic and social conditions prevailing in the society at large. There are already signs of change in the public’s attitude towards women. Even older people are changing their attitude towards their female children and are encouraging them to seek education for employment in occupations once originally dominated by males. More women are obtaining higher education and more are employed throughout the labor force. Women have demonstrated their capability in holding jobs and earning money. All this has implications for the employment of women in the Indian police force, which, as in most other countries, is male-dominated, rigid, and bureaucratic in nature. The Indian Police India’s police system was designed by the British, but it did not change even after independence in 1947 (Raghavan and Natarajan, 1996). The police are a civil authority subordinate to the Executive member—the Prime Minister in the Union Government and the Chief Minister, and their respective Councils of Ministers in the State Government. The police are organized in quasi-military bureaucratic structures and they have territorial responsibilities. They fulﬁll similar functions to the British police, including social control and social support (Shane, 1980). They undergo special training and are considered to be professionals. The Indian police work under two divisions: the Union or central police force and state police forces. The Union police forces include the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). Each of these is headed by a Director/Director-General of the status of a three-star General in the army and is under the control of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs headed by a Cabinet Minister. The CBI, on the other hand, is functionally controlled by the Department of Personnel of the Union Government, headed by a Minister of State reporting to the Prime Minister. Each state police force is headed by a Director-General of Police (DGP) who is equivalent in rank to his counterpart in the Union Government forces. A number of Additional Directors-General or Inspectors-General of Police (IGP) who look after various portfolios, such as Personnel, Law and Order, Intelligence, Crime, Armed Police, Training, Technical Services, and so on, are located at the State Police Headquarters and they report directly to the DGP. Major cities in a state are headed by a Commissioner of Police (CP) who, again, reports to the DGP. The states are divided into districts of varying size. In 2004, there were 676 of positions. 3. Power over economic resources, as measured by women’s and men’s estimated earned income (UNDP report, 2002, .

50

Women Police in a Changing Society

these, each headed by a Superintendent of Police (SP) and supervised by a Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) whose jurisdiction is called a range, composed of a group of three or four districts. In each District and in the city police force, the basic police unit is a police station (PS). A few police stations have an out-post (OP), which is a mini-station for serving remote or trouble-prone localities. As of 2004, there are 8,052 rural police stations, 4,389 urban police stations and 293 women police stations in India. The number of police stations depends on the size of the state and the district. A SubInspector heads each police station or Inspector referred to as the Station House Ofﬁcer (SHO). A designated number of constables, the lowest rank in the police force, and Head Constables are assigned to each police station. In some states, there are additional ranks, such as Assistant Sub-Inspector or Assistant Police Inspector. While urban police stations often have certain functional divisions such as Law and Order, Crime and Trafﬁc, no such divisions exist in rural or village police stations. An armed reserve at the District Headquarters, under the command of the Superintendent of Police, handles public disturbance problems, such as religious or caste riots and clashes between political rivals. There are a few battalions of the Special Armed Police (SAP) used for more serious situations. The SAP is deployed by the Director-General of Police when the situation warrants it. For example, if during a major breakdown of public order the state police are outnumbered and unable to cope with the magnitude of the disorder, a state government may ask for central forces, especially the Central Reserve Police Force which is supported by the State government. As of 2004, the actual strength of armed police was 294,339 (ofﬁcers of all ranks) which constitutes 28 percent of total police strength in India. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID), an important arm of every state police department, is headed by an Additional Director General of Police or Inspector General of Police. It is a specialized agency for conducting sensitive inquiries into allegations against public ﬁgures or police personnel. More importantly, it is entrusted with the investigation of important criminal cases, which cannot be solved by the district police. The bottom of the hierarchy, the Constabulary, is the backbone of the police force and consists of ofﬁcers below the ranks of Assistant Sub Inspectors of Police. The Constabulary deals with local law and order issues and undertakes patrolling in neighborhoods; ofﬁcers are not armed but they carry a long baton (a “lathi”). In India, patrol work is done on foot. In cities, depending on the rank of the police ofﬁcer, patrolling is done on two-wheeled motorcycles or bicycles. Motorized patrolling is uncommon in rural India. In India, patrolling, investigation, and trafﬁc are the most common and largest units. Specialized units are the dowry and juvenile units. Law and order is considered as the primary responsibility. The trafﬁc control function includes accident investigation, trafﬁc direction, and accident prevention. In India more emphasis is given to trafﬁc direction and accident prevention than to trafﬁc enforcement, though police motorbike patrols have recently been instituted to stop vehicles and interrogate drivers. Police are placed at trafﬁc

Women Police in India

51

junctions to regulate the ﬂow of vehicles; trafﬁc lights are uncommon in rural areas and in the cities trafﬁc lights are installed only on major roads or at junctions. Numbers of Women Police The use of women in law enforcement activities is as old as recorded Indian history. Kautilya’s Arthashastra, written about 310 BC, gives vivid accounts of the use of women as spies (Sharma, 1977). Even so, it was not until the end of the 1930s, during the colonial era, that women were inducted into the police as uniformed ofﬁcers to deal with women involved in political protests. For this purpose, women ofﬁcers were appointed in Kanpur in 1939 and, during the same period, one of the southern states, Travancore, appointed 12 women as special constables (Nigam, 1963). They are reported to have acquitted themselves well in this role. Before independence, women were also engaged to search women passengers at the ports of Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras (Saha, 1989). It was only after independence in 1947, however, that women were appointed in greater numbers as police ofﬁcers for line duties. Women were assigned to the Prime Minister’s security force and to check “purdah-nasin” Muslim women (the traditional Muslim system of keeping women secluded by covering their faces in the presence of men by veil or curtain) who were passing through India to Pakistan. From 1960 to 1970, there was a very large increase in the number of women apprehended, convicted, and tried in India (Rao, 1975), which led the government to recruit more women into the police force to deal with this new situation. The entry of women into the police force was considered a considerable strain on the public exchequer. For example, one witness testifying before the Punjab Police Commission (1961) stated that women police were really an extravagant eccentricity, as they themselves had to be protected by the male police on various occasions when they were employed to perform their duties. The Commission acknowledged that there was considerable prejudice against the recruitment of women ofﬁcers. However, its recommendations were favorable except that it was opposed to enlisting married women (Saha, 1989). As a result, many states began to employ women in their police forces in larger numbers. The need to deal with women law breakers (and victims) was reinforced by a generally raised consciousness of the position of women in the labor market. This change in attitudes was given impetus by the recommendations of the United Nations World Conference for the Decade for Women which resulted in the year 1975 being declared International Women’s Year. The suitability of women for law enforcement is no longer a matter of controversy in ofﬁcial circles (Mahajan, 1982).4 A number of women have successfully completed

4 Mahajan’s (1982) research, completed over three decades ago, was the ﬁrst study to examine the social factors that govern women’s decisions to opt for new occupational roles in policing and the problems that they face. His sample consisted of 153 women ofﬁcers

Women Police in a Changing Society

52

Table 3.4

Percentage of women police in Indian states (as of 12/31/04)

State

Percent Women

State

Percent Women

Daman & Lakshad. Nagaland Assam Orissa Jharkhand Uttar Pradesh West Bengal Andhra Pradesh Bihar Meghalaya Tripura Haryana Punjab Rajasthan Gujarat Jammu and Kashmir D & N Haveli

.00 .43 .79 1.23 1.39 1.51 1.94 2.07 2.23 2.30 2.39 2.55 2.91 3.44 3.49 3.56 3.57

Madhya Pradesh Kerala Arunachal Pradesh Delhi Uttaranchal Manipur Pondicherry Himachal Pradesh A & N Islands Maharashtra Sikkim Chandigarh Goa Karnataka Chhattisgarh Mizoram Tamil Nadu

3.69 3.91 4.32 4.60 4.95 5.12 5.13 5.83 5.84 5.94 5.97 6.59 7.01 8.41 8.77 8.87 10.54

All India

4.0

Source: Crime in India, 2004

the unisex training program at the Sardhar Vallabhai Patel National Police Academy and have been accepted by the Indian police force to serve in supervisory capacities. But the numbers of women in the police still lag far below the numbers of male ofﬁcers. According to Crime in India (2004), about 4 percent of all police in India are women, with a range of 0–10.5 percent among the various states (see Table 3.4). Tamil Nadu has the high representation of women (10.5 percent) in the police force. The discrepancy in the proportions of male and female ofﬁcers is most apparent at the higher ranks (see Table 3.5). Only 1.3 percent of women ofﬁcers are included among the top ranking ofﬁcers group, which include Director-General of Police, Additional Director-General of Police, Inspector-General of Police, and Deputy Director-General of Police. These are all IPS ofﬁcers, who are recruited by the Union Public Service Commission exam. Of the 35 states including the Union Territories, only ﬁve states have such senior level women police ofﬁcers, with Tamil Nadu having the highest number. It is interesting to note that Chhattisgarh state, a new born twenty-ﬁrst century state, has by far the highest percentage of women

in the Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, a Union territory. It was concluded that the generally ineffective performance of women was due to the following factors: newness of their role; lack of appropriate training; prejudice and resistance from their male colleagues; existence of informal along with formal expectations; organizational apathy; lack of commitment of policewomen (especially older ofﬁcers) and the negative attitude of society at large.

Women Police in India

Table 3.5

53

Percentage of women police in Indian states by rank

State

All DGs IGS/DIGS

SPs/ASP/ DSP

All Inspectors

Constables

A & N Islands

0

18.2

3.9

6.1

Andhra Pradesh

0

0

0.5

2.3

Arunachal Pradesh

0

0

2.6

4.8

Assam

0

0

0.5

.87

Chandigarh

0

0

6.0

6.7

Chhattisgarh

0

4.0

50.6

3.0

D & N Haveli

0

0

14.1

2.9

Daman & Diu

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Delhi

0

2.7

4.7

4.6

Goa

0

7.7

10.0

6.8

Gujarat

0

0

1.9

3.9

Haryana

0

0

1.3

2.8

Himachal Pradesh

0

5.0

2.5

6.5

Jammu & Kashmir

2.9

2.4

0.8

3.9

Jharkhand

0

0

0.8

1.5

Kerala

0

0.4

2.2

4.1

Maharashtra

3.0

4.1

2.5

6.7

Manipur

0

0

0.5

6.4

Meghalaya

0

4.7

3.9

2.0

Mizoram

0

0

11.2

8.4

Nagaland

0

0

0

0.5

Pondicherry

0

0

2.0

5.8

Punjab

0

0

2.9

2.9

Rajasthan

0

0.4

1.5

3.8

Sikkim

0

4.8

6.0

6.0

Tamil Nadu

6.9

7.3

10.8

10.6

Uttar Pradesh

0

2.9

1.5

1.5

Uttaranchal

5.9

1.6

4.4

5.0

West Bengal

2.3

2.7

1.8

2.0

All India

1.3

2.7

3.1

4.2

Source: Crime in India, 2004

inspectors (51 percent of all inspectors in post). This state is taking many initiatives to improve the status of women in all areas and speciﬁcally with respect to crime against women.

Women Police in a Changing Society

54

Role of Women Police Changes in the status of women in policing in the 1980s are related to changes that began in the two previous decades relative to society’s laws, norms, and values; the police informal subculture; and departmental policies and practices (Martin, 1990: xvi).

As mentioned above, women were inducted into the police in larger numbers in the 1970s, as a result of the women’s movement and accompanying social changes in Indian society at large. In the 1980s, the numbers of women ofﬁcers were again stepped up to deal with marked increases in women and juvenile offenders. Even if they were offenders, it was recognized that women ought to be treated in a sensitive and humane manner and female ofﬁcers were considered to be more appropriate for searching and interrogating women offenders. The wide social, cultural, and economic changes that have occurred in India in the past three decades created opportunities for both men and women to seek a better life. While these opportunities helped women in many ways, they also led to some problems, for example, more women became vulnerable to victimization both at home and outside. Thus, in the 1980s and 1990s, many more dowry deaths were reported than in previous decades, an increase that has been attributed to the fact that many more households could afford to acquire stoves (kerosene stoves in villages and gas stoves in towns) that are used in bride burnings. Further, “eve teasing”5 of young women was uncommon in the 1970s, because only few women went to college or to work. In the late 1980s and 1990s, many young women went to college and to work and became visible in public when waiting for buses and trains. Finally, many more men took to alcohol and drugs because these became more readily affordable, which led to an increase in domestic violence. At the same time as their risks of victimization have increased, women have become more conﬁdent and assertive and many more now report being victimized to the police. As this reporting increased, awareness grew of the need to introduce preventive measures, including enacting and amending laws that relate to violence against women. This new social legislation included the Children’s Act, Suppression 5 Eve teasing is a form of sexual harassment of women by men that happens in many public places such as beaches, roads, cinema halls, buses, trains, temples, markets, and educational institutions. This is more common in urban Indian cites. The resultant act of eveteasing includes verbal assaults such as making passes or unwelcome sexual jokes; non-verbal assaults such as winking, whistling, and staring; showing of indecent gestures and postures; outraging modesty; and physical assaults such as pinching, fondling, and rubbing against women in public places, Ramasubramainan and Oliver, 2003). In 1998, the death of a female student named Sarika Shah in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, caused by eve teasing, brought some tough laws to counter this menace in South India. For example, the Tamil Nadu state government decided to make all eve-teasing offenses non-bailable spurred by an acid attack on two girls by eve teasers and the suicide of a school student in a southern district of Tamil Nadu (Venkataraman, 2004).

Women Police in India

Table 3.6 Nagaland Assam Tripura Haryana Manipur Pondicherry Goa Uttaranchal Chhattisgarh Kerala

55

Number of women police stations in Indian States 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 3

Gujarat Punjab Orissa Madhya Pradesh Uttar Pradesh Rajasthan Karnataka Andhra Pradesh Tamil Nadu All India

4 4 6 9 11 12 13 24 195 293

Source: Crime in India 2004

of Immoral Trafﬁc Act, Beggars Act, Young Persons Act, Probation of Offenders Act, Commission of Sati Act, Dowry Prohibition Act, Child Marriage Restraint Act, and Indecent Representation of Women Act. These laws created a need for more female police ofﬁcers to assist and protect the underprivileged and weaker segments of the country’s populace. Under pressure to deal with so-called dowry murders, India has created a comprehensive law called “The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.” Prior to this act, Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code could be used to ﬁle a complaint against an abusive spouse, but this could not give protection to the woman or safeguard her rights. Further, the Act also has made police ofﬁcers accountable under this law if a woman comes to the police station with a complaint about domestic violence. More importantly, it marks a departure from penal provisions, which hinged on stringent punishments, towards positive civil rights of protection and injunction. Not only were more women ofﬁcers employed, but many more special family courts were introduced and more women judges were appointed. Many state police also created women’s cells and all women police stations, in response to recommendations made by the National Police Commission (1977). In fact, Kerala, one of the southern states, had introduced the ﬁrst all women police station in 1973. Somewhat later, other states such as Andra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu followed Kerala’s lead (Aleem, 1989). Of the 35 states and Union territories in India, 19 have now introduced women police stations (See Table 3.6). Two thirds of these stations (230) are situated in the southern states of Orissa, Kerala, Pondicherry, Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. Judging from Internet sources, many more states are in the process of introducing all women police stations to deal with crimes against women cases. Despite all these indicators of progress, there are still no clear-cut policies relating to the appropriate roles of women in the Indian police force and there is the danger they will continue to be used mainly in what Shane (1980) calls social support roles or, in Singh’s words (1989, p. 395), only to “control social evils” such as related to the dowry practice. In the 1970s, it is acknowledged that women police ofﬁcers

Women Police in a Changing Society

56

Table 3.7

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

Jobs assigned to women officers in India in the 1970s

Searching and frisking at airports Patrolling at railway stations Missing Persons Squad Assisting in eviction and demolition operations Search and interrogation of female suspects at police stations Arrangements at religious and national functions, demonstrations, public disturbances, strikes, processions, and so on. Suppression of immoral trafﬁc in girls and women Security and Welfare duty Assisting the anti-smuggling staff in raids and house searches Special Central Investigation Department Wireless control room duty Escorting juvenile offenders to trial and servicing mobile courts Hospital duty when a female offender is ill Reserve staff

Source: Adapted from Bhardwaj (1976)

were mainly assigned to peripheral duties. The list of job assignments in Table 3.7 illustrates their functions. On the face of it, these duties do not seem all that different from the functions of women police documented by Bhardwaj in a recent study: interrogating and escorting of juvenile destitute and delinquents, women offenders, mentally sick and mentally retarded; investigating offenses involving women and children; arranging bandobust duties at festivals, public meetings, processions, agitations etc.; duties at police stations, VIP security; frisking and security duties at airports; anti-eve teasing work and duties at crime women cell; duty at drug addiction centers; juvenile aid centers; trafﬁc education and regulation; prevention of immoral trafﬁcking; conducting rescue operations, raids, escorting duty to protective homes, courts and hospitals; working at anti-beggary squads and demolition squads; work at foreign regional registration ofﬁces; missing persons squads and watch duty at railway stations and bus terminals (Bhardwaj 1999, p. 230).

Furthermore, Aleem’s (1991) study of the role of women police in Andra Pradesh concluded that the long list of functions, including trafﬁc duties, which could be entrusted to women police meant very little, because in fact they are given very few functions. She argued that: •

The functions are more ceremonial than real. Generally women police are not given independent investigation of crimes even where sexual abuse, rape,

Women Police in India

•

•

•

57

dowry deaths and so on, are involved. In most of the crimes committed by or against women, women police function only to assist men police wherever needed, but do not act as independent entities. The potentialities of women police are not utilized to the maximum extent possible. In particular, no attempt is made to utilize the services of women police as social workers. Women police can prove to be a powerful instrument for the prevention of social crimes like immoral trafﬁc, but the police departments lack an imaginative policy to utilize them accordingly.

This assessment is given some support in Bhardwaj’s (1999) study, which reported that some of the young and well-educated women police had expressed dissatisfaction with their status and role. They blamed resistance from lower ranking male ofﬁcers rather than the senior hierarchy. However, most of them had conﬁdence in their ability to perform all police tasks. Their main complaint (echoed by women interviewed by Vishnoi, 1999) was that the nature of their duties harmed their social lives, especially their marriage prospects. The picture is therefore a bit mixed and the impact of the increased deployment of women on the police may not yet have been fully realized. One concrete and important indication of the changes that can be expected in the way that women ofﬁcers are viewed is India’s recent decision to send 125 female police ofﬁcers, one complete specialized unit, to assist United Nations peacekeeping operations in Liberia: This unprecedented move sends a message not only to other post-conﬂict countries about the importance of having women ofﬁcers, but also to police contributing nations. These 125 ofﬁcers are currently undergoing the ﬁnal stages of their training in India, will make up a specialized unit, known as a Formed Police Unit (FPU). The UN has had increasing success with such units over the past few years as a means of bridging the gap between regular and lightly-armed police and fully-armed blue helmets. (UN News Service, September 5, 2006)

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Chapter 4

Women Police in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu, the main focus of this book, is located on the southeastern coast of India with a land area about half the size of the United Kingdom. In 2001, the state’s population was 62.1 million people, approximately 56 percent of whom lived in rural areas. Under half (44.8 percent) of the population was employed, of which women represented 34.7 percent. Nearly three-quarters of the population was literate (males 82.3 percent and females 64.6 percent). Like other southern Indian states, Tamil Nadu was largely unaffected by foreign invasions. It is a center of Tamil culture, which is one of the ancient Dravidian cultures. As a result, Tamil Nadu and the other southern states are socially and culturally different from those in the north. Tamil Nadu is often considered to be conservative or traditional, but the state shows the political, social, religious, and economic diversity of the nation as a whole (Hartjen and Priyadarsini, 1984).

Map 4.1

Map of India showing position of Tamil Nadu

60

Women Police in a Changing Society

The Tamil Nadu Police The Tamil Nadu police force was established about 140 years ago and is the ﬁfth largest state police force in India. The chief minister of Tamil Nadu has administrative control over the police, which is supervised by the Home Department. The DirectorGeneral of Police is the top appointed ofﬁcial, who is assisted by several InspectorsGeneral and Superintendents of Police in charge of law and order, intelligence, the criminal investigation department (CID), and the armed police (See Diagram 4.1).

Diagram 4.1 Tamil Nadu police—organizational chart The state is divided into four police zones (North, Central, West, and South), each headed by an Inspector-General of Police. There are three categories of police station in Tamil Nadu: Metropolitan City; District Headquarters (including municipal town headquarters and circle headquarters); and rural police stations. Recruitment into any of these police stations is at three levels: police constable (including constable and head constable), Inspector (including sub-inspectors and inspectors) and deputy or assistant superintendent (DSP or ADSP). There are six Metropolitan City stations (Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, Thiruchirapalli, Salem, and Thirunelveli), each of which is headed by a Commissioner

Women Police in Tamil Nadu

61

of Police. A Superintendent of Police (SP) heads each of the 30 police districts.1 Deputy Inspectors-General (DIGs) supervise the work of two to three districts, which constitute a Police Range. There are several special units, which perform speciﬁc functions such as security, intelligence, and criminal investigations.2 There are 1,218 police stations (503 rural and 715 urban), 117 police outposts and 195 All women police stations (AWPUs). Tamil Nadu has the highest number of urban police stations and AWPUs in India. In 2004, the actual strength of Tamil Nadu police was 76,357 (Crime in India, 2004), which translates to about 1 ofﬁcer per 1,000 population. A great majority of the police force (88.6 percent) is comprised of constables (head constables, and constable grades I and II). In 2004, women constituted 10.5 percent of the police force, a higher percentage than in any other state. Particular accomplishments of the force include: the ﬁrst Women Commando Force in the country; the ﬁrst integrated modern police control room in the country; and the ﬁrst established ﬁngerprint lab in the world. Table 4.1

Actual police strength of Tamil Nadu including district armed police in 2004

Rank

Total Strength

Women

Men

1. DG/ADDL.DG/IG/DIG

72 (0.1 percent)

5

67

2. SP/Additional S. Dy. SP

687 (0.9 percent)

50

637

3. Inspector, SI, and ASI

7935 (10.4 percent)

860

7075

4. Constables

67663 (88.6 percent)

7136

60527

5. Total

76357 (100 percent)

8051 (10.5 percent)

68306 (89.5 percent)

Source: Crime in India, 2004 1 The 30 districts are as follows: Chennai, Coimbatore, Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Erode, Kancheeputam, Kanniakumari, Karur, Krishnagiri, Madurai, Nagapattinam, Namakkal, Perambalur, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram, Salem, Sivagangai Thanjavur, The Nilgris, Theni, Thoothukudi, Thiruchirappalli, Thirunelveli, Thiruvallur, Thiruvannamalai, Thiruvarur, Vellore, Villuppuram, Virudhunagar. 2 These are: armed police or Tamil Nadu Special Police; Civil Defence and Home Guard; Civil Supplies, CID; Coastal Security Group; Crime Branch, CID; Economic Offences Wing; Operations—T.N. Commando Force and Commando School; Prohibition Enforcement Wing; Railways; Social Justice and Human Rights; Special Branch, CID including Security; Technical Services.

Women Police in a Changing Society

62

Recruitment and Training of Police Officers in Tamil Nadu The senior ofﬁcers in categories 1 and 2 of Table 4.1 are recruited at the national level through a central exam which is known as Union Public Service Commission. These ofﬁcers undergo training at the National Police Academy, Hyderabad, and are then posted to respective states in the rank of Superintendent of Police. These ofﬁcers are distinguished by their “I.P.S.” or “Indian Police Service” titles. According to length of service, they subsequently obtain promotions to higher ranks, such as DIG, IG, ADGP and DGP. The remaining ofﬁcers are selected through a State Service Commission exam, known as the Tamil Nadu Public Service exam. These ofﬁcers undergo training (following a rigorous physical regime) at the state police training college, located in Chennai, the state capital of Tamil Nadu. Once their training is complete, constables are posted to the armed reserve for at least 6 years before they are allocated to do police stations duties. They will be called to help deal with any disturbance in the state. Inspectors and sub inspectors are posted directly to police stations.

Table 4.2

Strength and agility requirements for men and women police constables Category

Running

100 mtrs

Men (2 marks) 15 secs

Women (2 marks) 16.5 secs

Men Women (5 marks) (5 marks) 13.5 secs. 15.5 secs

200 mtrs

NA

36 sec

NA

33sec

400 mtrs

80 secs

NA

70sec

NA

3.80 mtrs 1.20 mtrs 5.0 mtrs

3.25 mtrs NA NA

4.50 mtrs 1.40 mtrs 6.0 mtrs

3.75 mtrs NA NA

NA

4.5 mtrs

NA

5.5 mtrs

NA

17 mtrs

NA

21 mtrs

Jumping

Long Jump High Jump Rope Climbing Rope Climbing Shotput or Shotput Throw Ball

Throw Ball

Note: The physical requirements for both PCs and sub-inspectors are the same.

Women Police in Tamil Nadu

63

Women Police in Tamil Nadu In the 1990s, Tamil Nadu ranked fourth in the number of women police employed, but it now employs more women ofﬁcers than any other state. This is the result of the recent national labor law legislation that requires at least 33 percent of new recruits for government jobs to be women. Recruitment of Women Recruitment of women to the Tamil Nadu police force is undertaken in batches every few years, with 2003 being the most recent recruitment year. There are no differences between men and women in age requirements, educational qualiﬁcations, written test, and oral exam, but there are some differences in physical standards. The minimum height for women is 157 cms and for men 168 cms. For men, the normal chest minimum is 81 cms with an expansion of 5 cms. There is no such requirement for women. There are also some differences in standards of strength and agility or “physical efﬁciency” (see Table 4.2). For example, women are tested for running speed over 100 and 200 mtrs, while men are tested over 100 and 400 mtrs. Men have to pass a rope climbing test, whereas women have to pass tests for shotputs or ball throws. Deployment of Women Deployment of women ofﬁcers in Tamil Nadu is consistent with the picture for India as a whole and elsewhere in the world. In Tamil Nadu, women ofﬁcers were ﬁrst recruited in 1973.3 At that time, as in the rest of India, they were hired to deal with women and children, but were slowly assimilated into more general police duties such as assisting senior ofﬁcers with clerical duties, escorting women offenders to courts and prisons, and trafﬁc operations. They also began to be posted to divisions for detection/investigation, community liaison, crime prevention, communications, administration, “bandobust” operations (that is, order maintenance at parades, marches and so on), and dowry cells and vice squads (Natarajan, 1991). They became increasingly visible to the public because many were placed on trafﬁc duty. Prior to the 1990s, there were very few trafﬁc lights on major streets and roads in Tamil Nadu. Podiums were introduced at many junctions for police to control and direct the trafﬁc, and women constables were often deployed for this

3 Informal discussions between the author and women recruited in the 1970s revealed that these ofﬁcers were considered for the position on the basis of their weight and height. A majority of them were unmarried at the time of appointment. Many of them said that because of their career, they postponed childbirth until their thirties which led to difﬁcult births and sometimes surgery. In India, especially in rural parts, the marriage age for girls is between 13-20 years. Many of them give birth to babies in their early twenties.

64

Women Police in a Changing Society

purpose. They also drew public attention for their work in so-called juvenile booths at railway stations. These were established to help deal with juvenile runaways, mostly young girls from the country coming to Chennai with dreams of a career in the movies (Chennai is well known for its cinema industry). Many pimps and local organized crime groups wait for such girls to show up and lure them into prostitution locally or trafﬁc them to other states in India. Some of these children are maimed and used for begging, a persistent social problem in Tamil Nadu. Whatever money they make is collected by the organized crime group, which provides the children with some food and shelter and a few cents as pocket money. For some children, the only alternative to this sort of life was starvation. The juvenile booths were set up to protect runaways from such dreadful exploitation. The All Women Police Units Against a background of rising crime against women in the late 1980s, particularly crime associated with the dowry practice (see Annex), the Police Commission undertook a detailed study of the role of women ofﬁcers. While it stated that policewomen are “an integral part of the force requiring no concessions or special status,” it noted that female victims generally prefer to conﬁde in women ofﬁcers and are reluctant to go to police stations staffed solely by men. It concluded that there were insufﬁcient female ofﬁcers to deal with the large increase in crimes against women and it recommended the setting up of a few all-women police stations, as a stop-gap arrangement until the number of police women in the force increased to permit each police station to have its full complement of women. The Commission recommended that the AWPUs in Tamil Nadu should be modeled on the all women police station at Calicut, in Kerala, another southern Indian state. This was the ﬁrst AWPU in the country, established in the early 1970s. The public generally welcomed the Commission’s report, but the policewomen themselves were not entirely happy with the proposed all women units. As discussed in the Commission’s report, the reasons for their opposition were as follows: (1) there will be a tendency in the department to treat the all-women stations with condescension and accord them second class status (2) such segregated police stations run the risk of isolation and lack of co-operation from other sections of the police (3) the jurisdictional police stations will wash their hands of all crimes involving women and generally minimize the gravity of offenses (Tamil Nadu Police Commission Report, 1990).

Despite this opposition, the ﬁrst AWPU was opened in the Thousand Lights area in central Madras on April 13, 1992. This unit was considered a success in handling crimes against women and the government sanctioned the opening of all-women units throughout Tamil Nadu. These were developed rapidly and currently there are 195 in total (see Table 4.3). The units are spread out to cover both rural and urban areas, so that many women petitioners could access them. This also means that a majority of

Women Police in Tamil Nadu

Table 4.3

Distribution of all women police stations in Tamil Nadu

Zone

Range

North Chennai

Chengalpet

Central Trichy

South Madurai

Greater Chennai

65

Cities/Districts

Chengai East Kancheeputam Thiruvallur Vellore Vellore Thiruvannamalai Villupuram Villupuram Cuddalore Trichy Trichy City Trichy Perambalur Karur Pudukottai Thanjavur Thanjavur Nagapattinam Thiruvarur Coimbatore Coimbatore Erode The Nilgris Coimbatore City Salem Salem City Salem Namakkal Dharmapuri Krishnagiri Madurai Madurai City Madurai Virudhunagar Dindigul Dindigul Theni Ramnad Ramanathapuram Sivagangai Thirunelveli Thirunelveli Thoothukudi Kanniakumari Thirunelveli City Greater Chennai

7 5 4 7 6 6 6 4 4 3 2 5 6 4 4 7 6 5 3 3 5 4 3 4 3 5 6 6 4 6 5 7 7 4 2 28

41 34 28 51 35 44 44 12 25 24 15 34 40 26 26 47 44 25 12 11 32 25 22 28 16 40 46 35 29 39 34 58 46 31 7 80

1 4 2 4 2 3 1 3 6 0 0 3 0 2 4 6 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 4 2 0 4 3 5 7 3 4 1 9

All Women Police Stations 7 5 4 7 6 6 6 4 4 3 2 5 6 4 4 7 6 5 3 3 5 4 3 4 3 5 6 6 4 6 5 7 7 4 2 20

Railway

2 3

15 16

15 11

0 0

R.P. Trichy R.P. Chennai

Sub Police Out Divisions Stations Posts

Source: Tamil Nadu Government Policy Note (2004)

Women Police in a Changing Society

66

MARITAL PROBLEMS • Maladjustment between husband, in-laws and the wife • Physical and mental harassment by husband and in-laws unrelated to dowry • Dowry harassment • Extra-marital relations ◦ Bigamy ◦ Concubine • Temporary separation ◦ Abduction of children • Desertion by husband • Maintenance • Return of sridhan or dowry Figure 4.1

PRE-MARITAL PROBLEMS • False promise of marriage ◦ With sexual intimacy ◦ Without any illicit intimacy • Breach of engagement MISCELLANEOUS • Petty quarrels • Cheating • Civil dispute

Nature of cases dealt with by the AWPUs

Source: Natarajan, 1996b.

women police personnel in the state were allocated to serve in these units. All units are located either in the same premises or close to a general police station. Scope of Duties The introduction of the AWPUs changed the career structure for women ofﬁcers in the police force. These units deal with crimes against women—particularly violence related to problems over dowries—and also with premarital problems such as false promises in marriage. For example, a teenage girl promised in marriage to a teenage boy may be made pregnant by him and abandoned. The girl can report this to the police, who will discuss the matter with both sets of parents to make arrangements for the marriage, or for monetary settlements to help the girl with raising the child. Many teenage girls and their families seek police help in this regard. The AWPUs deal with Indian Penal Code and Indian Criminal Procedural Code cases involving crimes against women. These are categorized in Figure 4.1. Each AWPU is headed by an inspector who reports to the commissioner or assistant commissioner of the police. In most units, there are two sub-inspectors under the inspector, three head constables and 12 constables. They come for roll call around 7.30 am and collect their daily assignments before leaving the station. On any given day, only one or two constables are available for station duties. Their role is to receive petitions and listen to complainants. Once a complaint has been ﬁled (which may take a full day of discussion with the complainant) the ﬁrst objective

Women Police in Tamil Nadu

67

of the investigation is usually to achieve reconciliation between the parties without going to court. The accused party will be summoned to the station and, if he fails to appear within a reasonable time, he will be subject to arrest. After the preliminary inquiry, the police inspector in charge may refer the case to a counseling service. For example, at the Thousand Lights unit in Madras, a counseling service comprised of four trained psychologists and social workers is located in the same premises as the station building. The counselors arrange meetings with the parties involved in the case and may visit them in their homes. Several counseling sessions may take place before agreement is reached. When the chances of reconciliation are bleak, the ofﬁcer in charge will take action in the court against the offending party with the approval of the inspector. Where a threat exists to a victim, she will be escorted to and from court proceedings by a women constable and in some cases will be given more extensive protection (Natarajan, 2001). Apart from dealing with these cases, ofﬁcers in these units undertake a number of other duties. They are routinely assigned to escort women ministers. During state emergency situations, the women ofﬁcers may also be assigned to maintaining order (bandobust operations) in crowds, demonstrations, and processions. The following is the ofﬁcial list of other duties undertaken by the women ofﬁcers of the AWPUs: • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • •

Escort of women prisoners from jail to the court and back (here the whole day is lost for the escort personnel) Temple bandobust duties Eve teasing bandobust (morning and evening) in school and college areas and bus stands/stops VIP security duties Other maintenance of law and order (for example, during the recent monthlong government employees’ strike, the entire women police strength was on law and order duty, all over the state) Escorting petitioners, counter petitioners, witnesses, to and from various places, which is a very time-consuming process Mobile counseling duties/child line/women help line duties (a new set of duties) Attending public meetings On duty at religious/political processions Watch and ward duty Court duty; night duty; tapal duty Other duties in AC’s/DC’s ofﬁce Training Public awareness campaigns A plethora of events that suddenly crop up (such as a recent Indian Air Force show in the Marina, which attracted more than 100,000 spectators).

68

Women Police in a Changing Society

The AWPUs have become well known locally and increasing numbers of women now feel conﬁdent in approaching the units for help with their problems. Judged by station logs, which show a large increase in the numbers of petitions ﬁled, these units have now become very busy. The Women’s Battalion and All Women Commandos The position of women police has recently changed again in Tamil Nadu as a result of new equal opportunity legislation, which requires that 33 percent of new recruits to the police be women. Male ofﬁcers threatened strike action unless the women recruited under this legislation were assigned to the same work and conditions as male ofﬁcers, widely perceived as being more onerous than in the AWPUs. This has resulted in court rulings requiring that both male and female recruits undergo six years’ training in the armed reserve (“battalions”) before they are posted to station duties. Previously, this requirement applied only to male recruits, while women recruits undertook a six-month period of training at the police training college in Chennai, before being allocated to the general police stations. Women police constables recruited after 1997 are therefore now placed in battalions (see Chapter 7 for more details). As a result of problems faced by women in the battalions, the government has recently created the “all women battalion,” perhaps the ﬁrst of its kind in the world. It has also introduced “women commandos” who are deployed to perform combat roles. One hundred and ﬁfty-one women from the women’s battalion were selected for this special function and were given a three-month training course. This training included unarmed combat, weapons handling and shooting, bomb detection and disposal, VIP security, ambush and counter-ambush, driving, swimming, rowing, rock-climbing, rappelling, horse-riding and so on. In summary, two major changes occurred in 1997 which had a major impact on women policing in Tamil Nadu: (1) far larger numbers of women were recruited to the force than on past occasions due to the new labor laws and, (2) these new recruits were not placed in the AWPUs because male ofﬁcers demanded that they be treated the same as men. This means that women police in Tamil Nadu fall into two distinct cohorts: (1) those recruited prior to 1997 who are deployed in AWPUs, general police stations and ofﬁces, and (2) those recruited in 1997 who, as a result of equal opportunity legislation, have been placed in regular police battalions, all women battalions and women commandos. The implications of these changes will be discussed in Chapter 8. Annex: The Dowry System The dowry system is deeply rooted in Indian culture and is the customary practice of giving gifts in cash and kind by the bride’s family to that of the groom. These gifts

Women Police in Tamil Nadu

69

may be given before the marriage or at any time afterwards and include such things as appliances and furniture as well as cash and jewelry. The cost of the wedding, which can be very elaborate and expensive, is included in the dowry. The amount of the dowry is set by the man’s family based upon his position and income; the highest market value being for government ofﬁcials (especially those in foreign and administrative service), physicians, lawyers, and those with highly paid overseas jobs. Nonetheless, the dowry system has penetrated into all socio economic strata. In many parts of Tamil Nadu, even the wood cutter has a dowry rate (Natarajan, 1995). The practice of dowry has its roots in the most common rite associated with a Hindu marriage (the majority of Indians are Hindus), “Kanyadan,” the act of giving the bride to the groom. (The word literally means the act of giving or donating a virgin to the groom on an auspicious day.) It is recommended in the shastras (certain scriptures prescribed in the Hindu philosophy) that the bride be adorned with jewelry and then given away. According to the shastras, the ritual gift remains incomplete until the groom and his parents are given “dakshana,” a token gift in their honor. This is supposed to be in recognition of the fact that the bridegroom and his kin deserve to be honored for accepting the girl into their fold. Despite its religious origins, the dowry settlement has all the characteristics of a market transaction. Some scholars suggest that the practice of giving dowry follows from a system of inheritance that excludes the female children, and to some extent compensates for the discriminatory effects of the system. The dowry practice should therefore be considered in the context of property rights under a system of exclusively male inheritance (Harrel and Dickey, 1985; Paul, 1986; Upadhya, 1990). Indeed, D’Souza and Natarajan (1986) have argued that the spread of the dowry practice from upper class Hindus to the middle and lower classes, as well as to other religious groups, is evidence of its real purpose in compensating for women’s low economic value (Natarajan, 1995). The nature and amount of the dowry is carefully negotiated between the bride’s family and that of the groom. Quite often the bridegroom and his family become dissatisﬁed with the dowry or the arrangements made for its payment and they may humiliate, harass, and physically abuse the bride (Natarajan 1995). Family disputes leading to violence in India are often over dowries. In 1998 and 1999, over 12,612 dowry deaths were recorded across India. There were probably many more thousands of dowry deaths of women that were not reported. While committed in a variety of ways, these murders are generally known as “bride burning” (Kumari, 1993; Sharma, 1993; Natarajan, 1995; Fernandez, 1997; Rao, 1997; Oldenburg, 1993; Stone and James, 1997; Bloch and Rao, 2000; Vindhya, 2000; Bhattacharya, 2004; Roy, 1999). Indian society deﬁnes the gender role expectations of men and women, which are reinforced by religious practices and caste systems. As Gelles and Straus (1979) point out, social learning provides the mechanism by which structural conditions are transformed into individual behavior and crystallized into cultural norms and values. Women’s tolerance of abuse and their reluctance to report it are consequences of

70

Women Police in a Changing Society

the socialization process. They are taught to believe that family matters should be kept within the home and that they must always respect their husbands, regardless of the treatment they receive, since husbands will always do what is best for the family. By the same token, men are socialized to be authority ﬁgures at home, who must sometimes punish their wives. Arranged marriages are still very common in Indian society. In the early stages of marriage, a new bride who is mistreated by her husband’s family cannot readily seek help from her own parents because they will already have counseled her that she must try to adjust to her new situation. Another reason a wife might not complain to her parents is that she has sisters at home waiting for marriage and her parents may have gone into debt in order to provide her dowry. She may feel that she cannot add to her parents’ problems by complaining and must endure her mistreatment. If she does complain, her parents will generally be reluctant to intercede on her behalf with the in-laws or husband. This reﬂects the cultural norm that once a girl is married, her parents have only limited say in her new family’s personal affairs. If a girl returns to her parents’ house because of disputes with her husband, it brings shame on her parents’ family and prevents the marriage of any of her siblings. Moreover, she cannot take part in any religious ceremonies without her spouse. Many times, dowry victims have no way to seek help even when they are repeatedly victimized. The extent of the suffering from this repeated victimization is unmeasured, but it is a very serious problem in the Indian subcontinent. The women’s movement, and access to education and jobs for many women in Tamil Nadu prompted action to deal with dowry violence. For example, in the early 1980s, the Joint Action Council for Women (JACW), a non-proﬁt organization formed by professional women in Madras (now Chennai) introduced the ﬁrst help center for women known as Sahodari (that is, “sister”). The author was employed as the social worker in charge of the Sahodari. Within a year, another two centers were opened to cater to the needs of women in north and south Madras, and now many help centers operate throughout the state. The help centers are managed by a variety of non-proﬁt women’s organizations supported by public and private funds, and they assist victims through mediation services, vocational training, and afﬁrmative education. Women from all walks of life seek help from these centers, which have struggled hard to raise awareness of the seriousness of dowry problems throughout the country. Due to resource constraints, these centers are able to provide only limited help and they cannot take legal action to restrain violent offenders. However, they have helped to create broader awareness about the victimization of women and fuelled the demand for government action—action that led to the establishment of the AWPUs.

PART III STUDIES OF WOMEN POLICE IN TAMIL NADU

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Chapter 5

Tamil Nadu Women Police in the 1980s Perlstein (1971) has argued that only research can provide the necessary information regarding what role women should play in law enforcement and, if this research is not conducted, law enforcement will suffer from the misuse of personnel at a time when it can be least afforded. The empirical research reported in this chapter, which was undertaken in 1988, used a self-completion survey to discover what women ofﬁcers in the Tamil Nadu police felt about their work in terms of their career commitment, interests, and own capabilities when compared to male ofﬁcers. They were also asked about their preferred role and preferred style of police department. Their responses were compared with those of a sample of women ofﬁcers in New Jersey. This was intended to facilitate interpretation of the Indian data since the United States serves as a benchmark for countries, such as India, which have not reached the same level of emancipation of women or use of women in the police in terms of their numbers and functions (Aleem, 1989). The Survey of Women Officers in Tamil Nadu This study was greatly assisted by the late Dr P.D. Senapathy, Professor and Reader in the Department of Psychology, University of Madras. He obtained permission to conduct the research in Tamil Nadu, he arranged for the translation of the questionnaire into Tamil, and he supervised the administration of the questionnaire. The Sample According to information provided by the Tamil Nadu Director-General of Police, there were 857 women ofﬁcers (constables and inspectors—ranks equivalent to patrol ofﬁcers and sergeants) engaged on routine policing duties in Tamil Nadu in 1988. Because of the practical difﬁculties drawing a systematic sample of women ofﬁcers, the assistance of the state police headquarters had to be obtained in distributing the questionnaires. These were distributed to 300 women ofﬁcers in the Tamil Nadu police departments that had female police, and to the female police ofﬁcers who attended training sessions at the police headquarters through their departments. The data collected from the female ofﬁcers at the training program were from ofﬁcers in the Madras City police departments, which in 1988 employed half the female ofﬁcers in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Women Police in a Changing Society

74

In total, 183 women ofﬁcers returned completed questionnaires, for a response rate of 60 percent. Those who responded had a mean age of 30.3 years. Most (68 percent) had a high school education, 29.5 percent had a bachelor’s degree, and 2.2 percent had a master’s degree. More than half (59.6 percent) were married, 38.8 percent were single, and only 1.6 percent were divorced. Their mean length of service was 8.3 years. One quarter were in supervisory positions and the rest were constables. The Questionnaire The questionnaire used in this study was originally developed by Sandra Jones (1986) for her research in England. It covers a wide range of information including: (1) background characteristics (age, education, marital status, and length of service); (2) deployment experience; (3) career commitment; (4) perceived capability compared with male ofﬁcers; (5) perceived interests in various police tasks; (6) perceived and preferred role; and (7) perceived and preferred style of police department. Preferred roles for women ofﬁcers are divided into three categories: •

• •

Traditional—in which women do not do the same work as men, but specialize in duties such as those involving female offenders and victims, juveniles, and missing persons; Modified—in which women may take on similar duties, except those where violence is anticipated; Integrated—in which women take on the same duties as men.

The preferred style of police department is also divided into three categories: •

• •

Separate—separate policewomen’s departments, with a career structure for women; ofﬁcers that specialize in female offenders and victims, juveniles and missing children; Conﬁned—departments staffed by both male and female police ofﬁcers that specialize in female offenders and victims, juveniles and missing children; Integrated—fully integrated departments for all police ofﬁcers such that men and women perform the same duties.

Findings Perceived Career Commitment Forty-three percent of Tamil Nadu women ofﬁcers view the police service as a job, while 57 percent view it as a career. Two thirds of them have no intention of leaving the job. These results suggest that the majority of women ofﬁcers have a professional commitment to their work.

Tamil Nadu Women Police in the 1980s

75

Perceived Capability Compared with Male Officers Table 5.1 shows that half the women ofﬁcers believed that women are less competent than men in a range of police duties: general purpose motor patrol duties, surveillance, foot patrol, dealing with trafﬁc offenses and accidents, dealing with crowds of males on the street, dealing with situations where someone has a lethal weapon, and interviewing male suspects. The majority see themselves as more competent than men on only the following tasks: clerical work, writing reports, interviewing female suspects, dealing with domestic disputes, and dealing with juvenile offenders. The majority also see themselves as at least equal to men in getting information at the scene of a crime and in community liaison work. It can be inferred from this pattern of results that these women ofﬁcers have little conﬁdence in their ability to perform many patrol and line duties and that they see their expertise as conﬁned to the roles traditionally assigned to women. Table 5.1

Capability of women police officers (n=183) compared with male officers, Tamil Nadu, 1988 (responses in percent)

Police Tasks 1. General purpose motor patrol

Better

Same

Worse

3

15

82

2. Someone with deadly weapon

3

22

75

3. Dealing with 4–6 males on street

11

19

70

4. Interviewing male suspects

6

31

63

5. Trafﬁc offenses

15

22

63

6. Trafﬁc accidents

14

20

66

7. Surveillance

13

34

53

8. Foot patrol

16

33

51

9. Getting info at crime scene

17

47

36

10. Child abuse cases

34

35

31

11. Community liaison

33

42

25

12. Domestic disputes

45

43

12

13. Juvenile offenders

50

30

20

14. Writing reports

63

24

13

15. Questioning victims of rape

70

21

9

16. Interviewing female suspects

74

18

8

17. Clerical work

70

26

4

Women Police in a Changing Society

76

Perceived Interest in Police Tasks A ﬁve-point scale was used to measure career interests on 17 different police tasks (see Table 5.2). The data show that women ofﬁcers are most interested in giving advice and information to members of the public, working with juveniles, dealing with general disputes, intervening in family crises, preparing crime reports, and police station duties. Overall, these ofﬁcers ﬁnd service duties of greater interest, though the majority also report being “interested” or “very interested” in most of the law enforcement duties. Deployment Experience Most of the women police ofﬁcers have a limited range of experience. More than three quarters report having been employed in only one division, usually either the trafﬁc or general patrol division (Table 5.3). Only a minority of women had experience of most of the listed duties, which is all the more surprising given the average length of service of nearly 8.5 years. Table 5.2

Women officers’ (n=183) interest in specific police activities, Tamil Nadu, 1988

Police Activities

Percent Interested or Very Interested

Law enforcement duties 1. Trafﬁc patrol

48.1

2. Surveillance

49.3

3. Trafﬁc management

50.0

4. Dealing with motoring offenses

51.6

5. Dealing with trafﬁc accidents

55.7

6. General purpose motor patrol

57.7

7. Making arrests

58.1

8. Foot patrol

62.4

9. Community liaison

63.3

10. Collecting evidence

66.0

11. Interviewing suspects

66.3

Service duties 12. Giving advice/info to public

67.0

13. Working with juveniles

67.0

14. Dealing with general disputes

67.1

15. Intervening in family crises

69.5

16. Preparing crime reports

77.5

17. Police station duties

77.8

Tamil Nadu Women Police in the 1980s

Table 5.3

77

Deployment experience of 183 women police officers in Tamil Nadu (1988)

Department

Percentage

General police stations

53.6

Trafﬁc

53.6

Juvenile division

19.7

Crime prevention

14.8

Detective/Investigation

18.6

Admin/Clerical/Training/Personnel

28.4

Community liaison

18.0

Specialist Squads (includes dowry cell)

8.4

Preferred Role and Style of Police Department The women were asked to state which roles and styles of police departments they most preferred: integrated, modiﬁed, or traditional. As Figure 5.1 shows 30 percent (55 cases) favored an integrated role, 24.2 percent a modiﬁed role, and 45.6 percent a traditional role. Figure 5.1 also shows the preferred styles of police departments. Slightly more than one-third of the ofﬁcers (35.5 percent) favored the establishment of separate policewomen departments, with a separate career structure, that would specialize in female offenders and victims, juveniles, children, and missing persons. Just over 38 percent favored the establishment of a department staffed by both male and female police ofﬁcers, which would also specialize in female offenders and victims, juveniles and children, and missing persons. Twenty-six percent favored a fully integrated department for all police ofﬁcers in which men and women perform the same duties. The results indicate that slightly more than half of the women ofﬁcers preferred either an integrated or modiﬁed role within the police department. A comparison of these ofﬁcers with those preferring a traditional role found no statistical differences on background characteristics such as age, rank, length of service, marital status, or education. However, there was a slight difference in their deployment experience: Women preferring non-traditional roles tended to have wider deployment experience, mostly in primary line functions (general uniform patrol, detective, and crime prevention). Further, more women preferring non traditional roles had undergone special training than those preferring a traditional role (chi square 3.5, df 1, p<.06). Not surprisingly, women who preferred non-traditional roles were highly careeroriented (chi square 4.99, df 1, p<.02), had greater interest in non-traditional tasks, and assessed themselves as equally capable as male ofﬁcers in performing nontraditional tasks.

Women Police in a Changing Society

78

Figure 5.1

Preferred role and style of police department by women officers (n=183) in Tamil Nadu, 1988

These results were not unduly inﬂuenced by the over-representation in the present sample of the more successful and senior ofﬁcers because age, rank, and length of service were not related to preferences (Natarajan, 1994). The results therefore indicate that women ofﬁcers may be ready to perform a broader role in the Tamil Nadu police force. Generally speaking, although women ofﬁcers are not conﬁdent in performing all police duties, the results reveal that Indian women ofﬁcers perceive themselves in general: 1. To be committed to the police job 2. To have an interest in all law enforcement duties 3. To be able to perform a broader role (most had no wish to return to a social work role). Comparison of Women Police Roles in Tamil Nadu and in the US, 1988 To benchmark the progress of Tamil Nadu women police, a comparison was made with data collected at the same time from women ofﬁcers in the United States, speciﬁcally in New Jersey. New Jersey was chosen because this gave the researcher easier access to police departments and also allowed the research to be conducted within cost and time limitations. New Jersey is situated between the major cities of New York and Philadelphia and can be classiﬁed as the “Crossroads of the Northeast.” Its geographic location has contributed to the state’s development and growth. Nationally, New Jersey ranks

Tamil Nadu Women Police in the 1980s

79

ninth in population and ﬁrst as the most densely populated state in the country. Even so, New Jersey, “The Garden State,” has many miles of rural areas and sparsely settled communities. The state is divided politically into 21 counties. Women police are to be found in municipal, county police, and sheriff’s departments. According to the 1988 Uniform Crime Report, women police ofﬁcers were employed in 116 municipal departments out of 572 (that is, 20 percent), one county police department out of four (25 percent), and in all 21 county sheriff’s departments. All departments listed with women police were approached to participate in the study. However, 17 municipal departments currently did not have women ofﬁcers and a further 21 departments failed to respond to the initial enquiry, leaving a total of 78 participating municipal departments. Out of the 21 sheriff’s departments, 18 supplied information about women ofﬁcers and agreed to participate in the study. The one county police department with women ofﬁcers also agreed to participate. Between them, these 97 participating departments employed a total of 310 patrol ofﬁcers and women in sergeant ranks engaged on routine policing duties. Questionnaires were distributed to these women through their departments. In total, 196 usable questionnaires (a 63 percent response rate) were returned directly to the researcher in the pre-paid envelopes provided. This constituted the New Jersey sample. The female ofﬁcers sampled in the state of New Jersey were somewhat older (with a mean age of 34.8 years) and many more (nearly half) were single. More of them (over one-third) had a bachelor’s degree. They had been in service for a shorter period (with a mean of 6.6 years) and fewer (15 percent) were in supervisory positions. While questionnaires were completed anonymously in both countries, other aspects of sampling and of questionnaire administration differed for reasons beyond the researcher’s control. Furthermore, substantial numbers of those sent questionnaires in both countries did not return them. There were some signiﬁcant differences between the Indian and American ofﬁcers in age, marital status, length of service and rank. While the representativeness of the two samples must therefore be in question, their large size suggests that any conclusions reached would hold for at least a substantial proportion of women ofﬁcers in both states. Details of the analysis undertaken are in the Annex to the chapter. Here only the most important results are summarized, the ﬁrst of which concerned women ofﬁcers’ preferred roles. Forty-six percent of Indian female ofﬁcers preferred a traditional role (in which policewomen specialize in duties such as those involving female offenders and victims, juveniles, and missing persons), 25 percent a modiﬁed role (in which policewomen may perform duties similar to those of policemen, except those where violence is anticipated) and 30 percent an integrated role (in which policewomen perform the same duties as policemen). In marked contrast with the preferences expressed by the Indian ofﬁcers, a large majority (93 percent) of US female ofﬁcers in this study preferred an integrated role. Only 3 percent preferred a modiﬁed role and 4 percent a traditional role.

Women Police in a Changing Society

80

This important difference in the preferred role between the Indian and American ofﬁcers is reﬂected in some other differences revealed in the analysis, as follows: • •

• •

More Indian ofﬁcers (44 percent) than American ofﬁcers (17 percent) perceive police work as just a job and not a career. High proportions of Indian women ofﬁcers assess men as better in dealing with multi-purpose patrol duties (82 percent), in situations where someone has a lethal weapon (73 percent), in dealing with trafﬁc accidents (66 percent) and in interviewing male suspects (63 percent). Most American ofﬁcers believe they are equally competent in performing these tasks. More Indian women ofﬁcers (54 percent) have been deployed in trafﬁc duties than American ofﬁcers (12 percent). Indian women ofﬁcers have a greater interest in trafﬁc duties (51 percent compared with 20 percent in the US), foot patrol (62 percent compared with 33 percent in the US) and in police station duties (78 percent compared with 28 percent in the US).

Discussion The results show that Tamil Nadu women ofﬁcers in the 1980s were ready to perform a broader role in the Indian police force. There were already signs in the 1980s of a change in the public’s attitude towards women and of increased participation of women in the labor force. These changes were bound to have an inﬂuence on the police culture, though change may be slower in India’s traditional society. In western countries, women have already paved the way towards equality in all walks of life, assisted by more powerful equal opportunity legislation than in traditional societies. According to Martin (1990), “Changes in the status of women in policing in the 1980s are related to changes that began in the two previous decades relative to society’s laws, norms, and values; the police informal subculture; and departmental policies and practices” (Martin, 1990, p. xvi). Women ofﬁcers’ attitudes toward their role reﬂect not only the status of women in the wider society, but are also based on their experience within the police force. The study found that a substantial number of women ofﬁcers were highly careeroriented and were interested in performing a wide range of police tasks. Women ofﬁcers who preferred non-traditional assignments tended to have wider deployment experience and to have undergone special training in the police force. The main purpose of including a comparison with women ofﬁcers in the United States in the present study was to facilitate interpretation of the questionnaire responses made by the ofﬁcers in Tamil Nadu. Some of the differences observed in the responses of the women ofﬁcers in the two countries may reﬂect differences in the administration of the surveys or differences between the samples in age, rank, marital status, length of service, and deployment experience. Even so, it does seem clear that

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81

women ofﬁcers in Tamil Nadu in 1988, as in other Indian police forces (Mahajan, 1982; Aleem, 1989), both fulﬁll and prefer a more traditional role than their American counterparts. This may not be surprising, given the much wider prevalence in India (and most other Asian countries) of traditional attitudes with respect to women’s position in society. As observed by Yang (1981), women in traditional societies will inevitably ﬁnd more structural and cultural barriers to their full integration into policing. Differences in the type of social stratiﬁcation and variations in the patterns of socialization thus account for many of the differences between women police ofﬁcers in the United States and India in such matters as deployment experience and preferred role. Other differences reﬂect variations in policing styles. For example, in India and the United States. There is a marked difference between the two countries in their use of foot and motorized patrols, which inevitably affects the deployment experience of women ofﬁcers. It is not economically feasible to provide many ofﬁcers in India with motor vehicles and the necessary fuel, so only limited numbers of ofﬁcers, mostly in a supervisory capacity (most of whom are men), are given a vehicle. Lastly, American women have also been considerably beneﬁted by strong equal opportunity standards in the general labor market: “The women’s liberation movement has played a direct and important role in changing the laws as it relates to women, particularly policewomen. The movement has helped to produce a new social climate” (Martin, 1980). None of this means that the position of women police in traditional societies such as Tamil Nadu will not change. Informal comparisons suggest that the preferred roles of female ofﬁcers in England in 1977 (Southgate, 1981) were very similar to those of the Tamil Nadu women in the present study, but in Jones’s (1986) study undertaken a decade later, the preferences of female ofﬁcers in the UK were closer to those of the American ofﬁcers in the present study. A similar progression towards a more integrated role for women ofﬁcers has been observed in Germany (Stevens and Aldrich, 1985) and such a trend might also be expected in Tamil Nadu, though it is impossible to predict how long it will take for Tamil Nadu women ofﬁcers to reach the same level of integration as their American counterparts. A substantial portion of women ofﬁcers are ready for a change in their roles and Tamil Nadu is also changing in all spheres of life. Women’s organizations are raising awareness of women’s status in society. All these trends will have a profound impact on the roles of women police ofﬁcers. Annex: The Statistical Analyses Bivariate analyses revealed differences on 11 of the variables and Wilks’ lambda1 identiﬁed those that most powerfully distinguished between the two comparison

1 Bivariate analysis showed signiﬁcant differences in about 38 variables (see Natarajan, 1991). A good subset of variables was obtained as advocated by Huberty (1984), on the basis of Wilks’ lambda and the associated F value. Variables that showed multicollinearity were

82

Women Police in a Changing Society

groups. This preliminary selection created the variables for the discriminant analysis, which led to the formation of a ﬁnal model summarizing the differences between the two groups. The discriminant function for the Indian and US groups (dependent variable) indicated that 13 variables were signiﬁcant. Wilks’ lambda takes into consideration both the differences between groups and the cohesiveness or homogeneity within groups. The signiﬁcance of the change in Wilks’ lambda when a variable is entered or removed from the model is based on a multivariate F statistic. Since lambda is an inverse measure, the variables selected were those contributing the largest F and smallest lambda for the test of group differences. Table 5.4 lists the resulting Wilks’ lambda and its signiﬁcance level. Although the inclusion of additional variables results in a decrease in Wilks’ lambda, the observed signiﬁcance level does not necessarily decrease, since it depends both on the value of lambda and on the number of independent variables in the model (Nourusis, 1988). Variables (such as perceived interests in preparing crime reports and the deployment experience in detective division) having loadings less than .2536 were not interpreted, because they did not increase the probability of any signiﬁcant change. A stepwise algorithm was used to examine these 13 variables and Table 5.4 shows the results of discriminant analysis. Eleven of the 13 variables were found signiﬁcantly different between the two countries (chi square 382.03, df 11, p <.001). Wilks’ lambda and the associated signiﬁcance (p <.001) shows 74.6 percent of variance in the discriminant scores explained by the differences between the two groups. Further, the canonical correlation coefﬁcient (.8644) shows the correlation between the discriminant score and the group variable, and the large eigen value (2.9423) proves the “good” discriminant function. Overall, the discriminant function correctly classiﬁed just over 94 percent of the cases, which conﬁrms the degree of group separation and the effectiveness of the discriminant model (Klecka, 1980). The percentage of the known cases which are correctly classiﬁed is an additional measure of group differences. It can be used along with Wilks’ lambda and the canonical correlations to indicate the amount of discrimination contained in the variables (Klecka, 1980). The percentage is a direct measure of predictive accuracy and is the most “intuitive” (Klecka, 1980) measure of discrimination. In this case, the classiﬁcation based on the discriminating variables made an error proportion of only 6 percent, compared with an expected 50 percent by random assignment following original distribution of US (47.5 percent) and Indian (52.5 percent) cases. Centroid functions for the two groups were 1.79512 and -1.62757, respectively, statistically signiﬁcant at the .001 level. The signs of the group centroids demonstrate that the two groups are distinct. The positive sign in the US group denotes that the female ofﬁcers, on average, scored higher than their Indian counterparts on many variables.

eliminated. The selection is mainly based on the logical and statistical elimination, thus creating a model for a ﬁnal discriminant analysis.

Tamil Nadu Women Police in the 1980s

Table 5.4

83

Summary of the results of the discriminant analysis (n=286)*

Variable

Wilks’ lambda

F value**

Standardized discriminant coefﬁcient

1. Preferred role

.32934

191.42

.46321

2. Interest in police station duties

.39303

218.12

-.42329

3. Capability in motor control

.50579

277.49

.29415

4. Capability in interviewing male suspects

.29799

165.49

.29330

5. Capability in dealing with deadly weapon

.26135

97.85

.24285

6. Age

.28697

139.14

.22253

7. Career commitment

.26892

107.96

.20859

8. Interest in trafﬁc management

.27726

121.21

-.14798

9. Interest in foot patrol

.25805

88.1

-.14503

10. Deployment experience in trafﬁc division

.25478

80.43

-.13473

11. Capability in dealing with trafﬁc accidents

.25366

73.28

.08141

*Cases missing information (including no opinion cases) were excluded from the analysis. **All values are signiﬁcant at p<.0001 level.

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Chapter 6

Tamil Nadu All Women Police Units—An Assessment A substantial minority of the 183 Tamil Nadu women ofﬁcers questioned in 1988 said that they would prefer a fully integrated role, and this minority generally had wider experience of police work. As more women ofﬁcers gain this wider experience, it seems likely that, even in a traditional society such as India, more of them will come to believe that they can perform as well as male ofﬁcers and will expect equal treatment. This does not mean that similar goals and aspirations are shared by women in both western and traditional cultures or that the women in traditional cultures will eventually “catch up” with their western counterparts. Women in traditional cultures may have the same aspirations to have meaningful and rewarding careers, but may not wish to integrate fully into the man’s working world. They may prefer to structure the work environment according to their own concerns and priorities, including cultural expectations about the role of women in society. Rather than trying to get men to change, they might prefer to develop their own parallel working arrangements free of the inﬂuence of men. This may free them from unfair criticism and from worries about harassment and exploitation. If these speculations have any validity, it might be expected that the AWPUs in Tamil Nadu will survive and even prosper. There are already 195 of these units, which is a very rapid expansion in their numbers given that the ﬁrst one was opened in 1992. The expansion occurred under the direction of Tamil Nadu’s chief minister, a prominent woman politician, and it could not have been achieved without the compliance of the women in the force. This suggests that these units, which on the face of it represent a diversion from the goal of full integration, are perceived as having signiﬁcant advantages for women ofﬁcers. Indeed, their establishment in many other Indian states, in Pakistan and in Brazil might be a sign of a new direction being taken in traditional cultures to bring women into a satisfactory employment role. Rather than the unthinking promotion of a fully integrated role on the western model, researchers and policy analysts focusing on traditional cultures might consider the alternative model currently being pursued by the Tamil Nadu police. This chapter reports three studies undertaken in 1994, 2000, and 2003 that take a closer look at the AWPUs. While each study has a somewhat different focus, together they examine the women’s satisfaction with their role and their status; the difﬁculties they experience; how effective they appear to be; how satisﬁed petitioners are with the help they are given; and what training they might need in order to improve

86

Women Police in a Changing Society

their performance. The studies used a variety of techniques including interviews with women ofﬁcers in the units using a standardized questionnaire; interviews with senior ofﬁcers whose jurisdictions included AWPUs; interviews with victims who approached the AWPUs for help;1 observation of the units and examination of the ofﬁcial records. While visiting the units, informal discussions with the ofﬁcers provided the author with insights into their lives and additional context for interpreting the results of interviews and questionnaire responses. Mawby (1999) has noted that comparative research can often be criticized on methodological grounds. Despite its use of a standardized questionnaire (rare in comparative studies), the studies reported here are not immune from such criticism. In particular, the samples were not large, nor were they randomly selected. They also differed in age, educational background, and deployment experience. It is therefore difﬁcult to make precise comparisons among them on the basis of the quantitative data yielded by the questionnaire. In interpreting the results, the author has therefore relied extensively on qualitative data from interviews and more informal sources, including casual conversations with policewomen encountered in the course of data collection. Her familiarity with the language and customs of Tamil Nadu probably served to protect the research from serious misinterpretations of the data. An Early Look at the All Women Police Units (1994) The ﬁrst AWPU was opened in the Thousand Lights area in central Madras on April 13, 1992. It was considered a success in handling crimes against women and the Government sanctioned the opening of AWPUs throughout Tamil Nadu. In 1994, there were 29 units operating in Tamil Nadu, of which ten had been open for more than one year. This study focused upon ﬁve AWPUs, which were all those that had been in existence for at least one year at the time of the research (August, 1994). Three were in the capital, Madras, while the two others were in Madurai and Coimbatore, major cities within a day’s train journey from the capital. Coimbatore is a modern, industrial city, whereas Madurai is an older, underdeveloped rural center. Interviews were conducted with senior ofﬁcers directly in charge of the ﬁve police districts in which the women’s units were located, as well as with the most senior woman ofﬁcer in the Tamil Nadu police with overall responsibility for the deployment of women ofﬁcers in the force. These interviews focused speciﬁcally on the perceived advantages and disadvantages of AWPUs, the reasons for establishment

1 Participation by the women ofﬁcers and petitioners was voluntary. To ensure cooperation, the names of those interviewed were not recorded, nor the units to which they belonged. Questionnaires were completed anonymously while on duty, in the author’s presence. Research assistants who were Criminology and Psychology graduates of the University of Madras assisted the author in the studies undertaken in 2000 and 2003.

Tamil Nadu All Women Police Units—An Assessment

87

of the units in Tamil Nadu, the nature of the workload, and any differences in duties performed by women in these units compared with those in general units. In addition to these interviews with senior administrators, ﬁve AWPUs were visited by the author in order to conduct interviews (in Tamil) with the women inspectors in charge and with women constables. A questionnaire was also completed by whichever ofﬁcers were present in the unit on the day of the visit, a total sample of 61. The precoded questionnaire, in both English and Tamil, asked about duties performed prior to joining the AWPUs, preferred roles, and demographic characteristics. The questionnaire was based on one originally developed by Jones (1986) and was previously used by the present author in her study of policewomen’s roles in the Tamil Nadu police prior to the establishment of the AWPUs in 1988 (Chapter 5). Use of the same questionnaire permitted a comparison of responses made by the women in the AWPUs with those obtained in the earlier study. Demographic Characteristics Table 6.1 compares the personal characteristics of the two samples, that is, 61 ofﬁcers in the AWPUs and the sample of 183 police women in Tamil Nadu in 1988 (see Chapter 5). Table 6.1

Personal characteristics of women officers in 1988 (n=183) and in 1994 (n=61) 1988 Survey (n=183)

AWPUs (n=61)

30.2 yrs

32.2 yrs

8.8 yrs

11.1 yrs

High school

68.3 percent

57.0 percent

Bachelor’s degree

29.5 percent

30.0 percent

Master’s degree

2.2 percent

13.0 percent

Married

59.6 percent

75.4 percent

Single

38.8 percent

23.0 percent

Divorced/Separated

1.6 percent

1.6 percent

Inspectors/Sub-Inspectors

25.0 percent

24.0 percent

Constables/Head-constables

75.0 percent

76.0 percent

Age** Mean Age Length of service** Mean length of service Educational status*

Marital status+

Rank

+Not Signiﬁcant. *Chi square value signiﬁcant at p <.003. **t value signiﬁcant at p<.05

Women Police in a Changing Society

88

It can be seen that the ofﬁcers in the AWPUs were slightly older than the 1988 sample. They also had longer service records than the 1988 sample, but this may partly reﬂect the fact that the earlier sample was questioned about six years prior to the AWPU sample. More of the women ofﬁcers in the AWPUs had a masters degree, but otherwise there was little difference between the groups in educational background, rank, and marital status. Overall, most women in both samples were married, had a high school diploma and were constables. Prior Experience The questionnaire requested information about duties performed prior to the women’s deployment in the all-women unit. Table 6.2 shows that considerably more of the women ofﬁcers in the 1988 sample had experience of general police work including general patrol, trafﬁc, juvenile-related, and administration or clerical duties. More of the ofﬁcers in the all-women police units had been deployed in “crime prevention” than the 1988 sample (that is, more had been involved in a variety of escort duties—involving women government ofﬁcers and politicians as well as women offenders and victims—in monitoring of crowds, and in stafﬁng ﬁxed observation booths in railway stations and other public places). No differences are found in their deployment experiences in community liaison, detective/investigation, and dowryrelated duties. Table 6.2

Prior deployment experience of women police 1988 Survey (n=183) percent

AWPUs (n=61) percent

Significance level (Chi square)

General police duties

53.6

39.3

.05

Trafﬁc

53.6

26.2

.001

Juvenile division

19.7

8.2

.05

Crime prevention

14.8

34.4

.001

Detective/Investigation

18.6

13.3

n.s.

Administration/Clerical/ Training/Personnel

28.4

1.7

.001

Community liaison

18.0

11.5

n.s.

Dowry

18.0

26.2

n.s.

Preferred Roles Women ofﬁcers were asked which of the following three categories most closely reﬂected their preferred roles: (1) the traditional role in which women do not do the

Tamil Nadu All Women Police Units—An Assessment

89

same work as men, but instead specialize in duties such as those involving female offenders and victims, juveniles, and missing persons; (2) an integrated role in which women take on the same duties as men; and (3) a modified role in which women may take on similar duties except those where violence is anticipated. The data show a signiﬁcant difference in the preferred roles of the 1988 sample and the sample from the AWPUs (Table 6.3), with more of the ofﬁcers in AWPUs preferring an integrated role and very few preferring a traditional role. Despite this, Table 6.4 shows that a much larger proportion of the AWPU sample (72 percent) compared with the 1988 sample (35.5 percent) would prefer a modiﬁed style of police department with a career structure for women ofﬁcers. This was the case even though, as the questionnaire choice speciﬁed, these units would specialize in female offenders and victims, juveniles and missing children. However, many of the respondents in the AWPUs endorsed their responses, signifying that they would like the AWPUs to perform a full range of police functions. Table 6.3

Preferred role of women officers* 1988 Survey (n=183) percent

AWPUs (n=61) percent

a. Policewomen should perform the same duties as policemen (Integrated role)

30.2

54.1

b. Policewomen should perform similar duties to policemen except where violence is anticipated Modiﬁed role)

24.2

24.6

c. Policewomen should not do the same work as policemen, but should specialize in duties such as female offenders and victims, juveniles, and missing children (Traditional role)

45.6

21.3

*Chi square value signiﬁcant at p <.001.

Career Commitment Two questions were asked about the ofﬁcers’ interest in making a career in law enforcement and their intentions of remaining in the police force. Table 6.5 shows sharp differences in the responses of the two samples. A much larger proportion of ofﬁcers of AWPUs (about 90 percent) than those in the 1988 sample have an interest in making law enforcement a career and intend to remain in the police force.

90

Table 6.4

Women Police in a Changing Society

Preferred style of police department* 1988 Survey (n=183) percent

AWPUs (n=61) percent

a. A fully integrated role for all police ofﬁcers such that men and women perform the same duties

26.2

19.7

b. The establishment of policewomen’s departments, with a career structure for women ofﬁcers, that would specialize in female offenders and victims, juveniles, and missing children

35.5

72.1

c. The establishment of a department staffed by both male and female police ofﬁcers that would specialize in female offenders and victims, juveniles and missing children

38.3

8.2

1988 Survey (n=183) percent

AWPUs (n=61) percent

Intention of making law enforcement a career*

56.2

90.1

Intention of leaving the police force

35.5

12.0

*Chi square value signiﬁcant at p <.001.

Table 6.5

Career commitment

*Chi square value signiﬁcant at p <.001.

Summary and Discussion Apart from age, education, and length of service, the ofﬁcers in the AWPUs were not very different in terms of their personal backgrounds from the general sample of women ofﬁcers questioned in 1988, but they did have a different background of previous experience in the police force. Most notably, fewer of the women in the AWPUs had been employed on general patrol and trafﬁc duties, the mainstay of policing. This leaves open the question of whether the women chosen for the AWPUs represent a special sub-group of women ofﬁcers. It is possible that they had been among those perceived as more reluctant to perform the full range of police duties. If this were so prior to their deployment in the AWPUs, it is certainly not the case afterwards, since more of the all-women ofﬁcers than the 1988 sample expressed an interest in performing the full range of duties. However, they would

Tamil Nadu All Women Police Units—An Assessment

91

like to perform these duties in units staffed exclusively by women. Finally, they also generally expressed a greater interest in policing as a career and had less intention of leaving. To sum up, it appears that a group of women who had not previously performed a wide range of police work developed aspirations to perform wider duties after their experience in the AWPUs. It is ironic that this occurred despite their being conﬁned to a narrow range of police work in the AWPUs. Rather than having undermined their conﬁdence, this experience seems to have made them conﬁdent that they could successfully perform the wider roles, though they would like to perform these roles in units that did not include men. These questionnaire responses are consistent with the author’s interviews and discussions with the women ofﬁcers. They reported enjoying the experience of working directly with so many other women ofﬁcers and having a woman as their chief. Their superior ofﬁcers understood their need to combine ofﬁcial and domestic duties and understood the priority that must sometimes be assigned to home and family. The women ofﬁcers enjoyed the camaraderie in the units and the freedom to discuss issues and topics that they found interesting and important—not always the same issues and topics as occupy men. The ofﬁcers’ husbands were also happier that they were working in a female environment since this relieved them of worries about sexual entanglements or harassment. Generally, the author found high levels of satisfaction among the ofﬁcers in the AWPUs, which was particularly marked in those with strong leadership. Only a few complaints were regularly voiced. Many women ofﬁcers wanted more formal and systematic evaluations of their work as well as training in a broader range of duties. They also complained about the uncomfortable (and unﬂattering) nature of the police uniforms, though they felt that uniforms enhanced their professionalism. (As an example of caring leadership, in some units the inspector in charge made it her business to help her subordinates get better-ﬁtting uniforms—something the women claimed would never have happened with a male chief.) These favorable views expressed by the women in the units were generally supported by those of the (male) senior ofﬁcers in charge of the districts in which the units were located, and the senior-most women ofﬁcer in the Tamil Nadu police, all of whom said they were well satisﬁed with the experiment. In particular, they believed that women victims were coming forward more conﬁdently for police assistance since the establishment of the AWPUs and there were many fewer complaints from women offenders and victims about their treatment at the hands of the police. Some Problems Surface (2000) At the time of the second study (2000), the number of AWPUs in Tamil Nadu had grown to 58, presumably a reﬂection of their success. At the same time, however, other changes with important consequences for the AWPUs had occurred. First, the

92

Women Police in a Changing Society

public standing of these units had declined as a result of media stories about corrupt women ofﬁcers and about their supposed failure to deal adequately with violent incidents. Second, male ofﬁcers had threatened industrial action if women were to be given preference in recruitment (recent legislation required that at least 33 percent of new recruits should be women), while at the same time not being required to perform the full range of police duties. Third, in response to this pressure from male ofﬁcers, recent women recruits had not been assigned to the AWPUS but were sent to armed reserve/battalions for six years to undergo the same training as male recruits. Finally, the 1990s were a period of extremely rapid social change, which resulted in Indian women making unprecedented demands for equal status with men and, in particular, for equal access to rewarding work and careers. Because these changes would inevitably affect the attitudes and expectations of women ofﬁcers in the AWPUs, a follow-up study was undertaken to see whether the women in the units were still as satisﬁed with their work as they had been in 1994 when the units had been operating for only a brief period of time. In particular, the study aimed to answer the following questions: have changes occurred in preferences of ofﬁcers in the all-women police units? Are they satisﬁed with their work in the units? If not what are the problems encountered by the women and what needs to be done to ensure a meaningful career in the all women police units? There were two stages to this study: ﬁrst, using the same questionnaire that was used in the 1988 and 1994 studies, data were collected on the attitudes, experience and career aspirations of women ofﬁcers in the AWPUs in August 2000. The author visited 19 of the 58 units existing at that time and administered the questionnaire to 140 ofﬁcers. Second, she conducted in-depth interviews with 75 ofﬁcers (who were among the 140 ofﬁcers), and collected data on the women ofﬁcers’ daily activities, work problems and job satisfaction, family problems, and gender-related physical problems. The information obtained from these two stages was supplemented by informal interviews with senior police administrators and direct observation by the author of the women’s working environment. Questionnaire Reponses The mean age of the women ofﬁcers who completed the questionnaire was 39 and most were married with children. Most had obtained a high school diploma and 17 percent had a bachelor’s degree. Nearly 80 percent were head constables and constables grade II, while the remainder were inspectors and sub-inspectors. Their mean length of service was 18 years. This was an older and more senior group than the women interviewed in 1994. Concerning preferred roles, 53.8 percent of this sample of ofﬁcers in the AWPUs preferred an integrated role, 14.4 percent a modiﬁed role and 31.8 percent a traditional role. This was not signiﬁcantly different from the preferences expressed by the women in the units studied in 1994.

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As far as preferred style of police department was concerned, 33.3 percent of the current sample preferred an integrated style of department, 43.4 percent a segregated style and 23.3 percent a traditional style. These preferences were signiﬁcantly different from those expressed by the sample interviewed in 1994 (chi square value 14.2, df = 2 signiﬁcant at .001) with many more women in 2000 preferring a segregated style of department. In-depth Interviews The ﬁrst study (reported above) of the APWUs made in 1994, soon after they were established, concluded that they were serving a valuable function in allowing women constables to function effectively without having to deal with the additional pressures relating to working within a traditional male profession. The women ofﬁcers appeared to enjoy working in the units, which had opened up a career structure for them so that they could reasonably expect to reach the higher ranks. They were also beginning to acquire valuable new policing knowledge and skills. In particular, they were learning how to process cases through all stages from investigation to conviction, and many were learning counseling skills on a case-by-case basis. Pride in these achievements, growing conﬁdence in their capacities, and the feeling that they were members of a privileged elite, all contributed to high morale among the ofﬁcers and a commitment to public service. Some of the beneﬁts were still apparent during the second round of visits to the units in 2000. Responses to the standardized questionnaire showed that women in the units had considerable self-conﬁdence in their abilities as police ofﬁcers, and believed there was no reason why women could not function effectively in fully integrated roles. At the same time it was evident in the more open-ended interviews that much of the earlier high morale had begun to evaporate. This was perhaps to be expected once the novelty of the units began to dissipate and the decision was made not to allocate any of the new recruits to the units. However, longer experience of the units has revealed that they have not solved some of the intractable problems of women police, particularly in developing countries, and that they have also brought some new problems in their wake for the women ofﬁcers. These problems are discussed below. Excessive Workload In a way, the units have been the victims of their own success. They have become well known in the local area and increasing numbers of women now feel conﬁdent in approaching the units for help with their problems. In 2000, it was evident to the author that there was a noticeable increase in the work of the stations. This impression was supported by inspection of the station logs, which showed a large increase in the numbers of petitions ﬁled. The increase in the workload was exacerbated by the complexity of the cases and the women ofﬁcers’ lack of training (see below),

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which made it difﬁcult for them to make decisions about the best way to proceed. In addition, they were being called upon to perform a wider range of duties than before. Because of manpower shortages in the general units, women ofﬁcers were frequently summoned to deal with clerical and computer-related work. They were also being used increasingly in public order duties—to guard visiting political dignitaries, to escort processions and marches (“bandobust” duties), to control demonstrations, and to maintain order in temple celebrations and religious festivals. Such events occur with great frequency in Tamil Nadu. These escort and crowd control duties are tiring, resulting in the women spending many hours on their feet, sometimes late into the night or early morning. The situation in some units was made worse by the failure to replace women who leave the service with new recruits, resulting in signiﬁcant shortfalls in stafﬁng. These demands on the women police meant that they frequently could not give the necessary attention to women petitioning for help with their problems. The women police reported that, many times, they were unable to listen attentively to the petitioners because of duty calls from their superiors. Cases did not get resolved as speedily as before, and the public was increasingly dissatisﬁed with the service provided by the units. This criticism led to a drop in morale, and many women reported being burned out due to the pressure of work and its conﬂicting demands. Insufficient Training in Counseling When dealing with petitioners, the women police are in effect performing a counseling function, for which most have not been trained. They must rely instead on patience, sympathy, and what they learn on the job. In many units, support from social workers or psychologists was very limited. Moreover, the women police had not been given guidance in resolving the conﬂicting demands placed upon them in handling these cases. While petitioners expect the women police to understand and sympathize with their predicaments, the police themselves must make an objective appraisal of the case and suspend any fellow feelings they may share with the petitioner. In some instances, the women police have to explain to the petitioners that the man complained about has not behaved unreasonably. This leads petitioners to complain to the ofﬁcer’s superiors. More insidious and demoralizing is the interference from elected politicians who sometimes lean on the police to favor the accused or drop the case. Poor Promotion Prospects If the women were being rewarded by promotions, they might have been able to cope more effectively with the demands made upon them, but many were unhappy with the system for promotion. At ﬁrst, the system favored women ofﬁcers, who were often promoted earlier than their male counterparts. But this difference had eroded and many of the women recruited in 1981 and who had therefore been in

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service for nearly two decades, had achieved only one step in promotion since they started in the police service. In addition, many ofﬁcers felt the promotion system was capricious and subject to favoritism. They complained that women who were promoted seemed no more conscientious or skilled than those who were not and they said that promotions were subject to political interference. They also objected to the system of promoting ofﬁcers who excelled in extracurricular activities. For example, successful athletes who come to the attention of the central ofﬁce administration might be promoted to relieve them of tiring duties. Naturally, those women at the bottom of the hierarchy were loudest in their complaints. They said that they had to put up with harsh and unfair treatment from their immediate supervisors. They also complained about low pay, at least compared with the work they had to do. Thus, they saw themselves as working much longer hours than school teachers who earn similar amounts. Accusations of Corruption The AWPUs have had an uneasy relationship with the public at large. When ﬁrst set up, they were treated with suspicion and even ridicule. But as their function became more widely understood, they gained a measure of public acceptance and approval. The policewomen in the units began to take pride in their role and their accomplishments. However, by 2000 the reputation of the units had declined again, perhaps as more men had been punished as a result of actions taken by the units. Of greater concern was that women working in the units were widely regarded as open to bribery from men accused of wrongdoing. Many opportunities for corruption do indeed result from the prolonged and extensive contacts with individual members of the public and there had been some well-publicized cases of women ofﬁcers accepting bribes. The policewomen believed, however, that false rumors spread by jealous male colleagues had contributed to the decline in the standing of the units. Many male ofﬁcers undoubtedly resented the sheltered and apparently privileged working lives of the policewomen in the units. Jealousy and Resentment Embattled groups tend to become paranoid, a condition fed by rumor and misinformation. It was apparent that many of the policewomen in the units, including some senior ofﬁcers, had little understanding of the reasons for placing new recruits in the battalions when the AWPUs were so short staffed. Many of the new recruits also seemed not to understand the situation. When members of the two groups met in work or social settings, they tended to pass incorrect information to one another about their perceived deﬁciencies. This had resulted in much unnecessary antagonism towards the administration.

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Reconciling the Demands of Work and Family The household duties of women in traditional societies have changed little despite the growth in the number of women working outside the home. Most of the women in the units were married with children. Though their husbands beneﬁted from the money they brought into the home, they seemed not to share in household duties, which generally remained the responsibility of their wives. In western countries, working women have access to day care centers and many can afford household appliances to make their work easier. The women constables cannot afford to pay for day care or electrical equipment. They have to make private child-care arrangements and must undertake household work unaided. In rural areas, the limited water supply and lack of electricity exacerbates these difﬁculties. The following is a summary of one policewoman’s account of the work and its demands: A typical policewoman’s day starts at 3 or 4 am. Before leaving for work, she will cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner and will pack lunch for herself, her husband, and her children. She must leave home in time for a 7 am roll call. Many times, she will only get to know her duties for the day after she gets to the station. If she has to charge an accused individual, she will need to go and bring him to the station. Sometimes, the accused may live as far as ten miles away. Public transportation is very limited and the policewomen do not generally have access to ofﬁcial cars or trucks. She may therefore have to ride a bicycle for miles to ﬁnd the accused person’s home. In rural areas, women police are not taken seriously and, if she asks for directions, she may be deliberately misdirected. It can sometimes take the whole day to bring the accused to the station. The following day may require her to escort the prisoner to court, which can be as much as 100 km away. The day after, she may be in the station undertaking duties such as writing the reports or interviewing other complainants. She can be so busy that she may not even have time to eat lunch. She usually reaches home at 9 or 10 pm. This gives her no opportunity to spend time with her children. While she has one day off per week, even this brief relief from her duties can be lost if she is called into the station to help with urgent work.

Health-related Problems Many of the policewomen reported having a variety of health problems resulting from a combination of their hard working lives and poor healthcare. Few were able to undertake any regular exercise; few had enough sleep or rest; few could afford to get medical attention for health complaints. Many had also been weakened by births which, in India, frequently involve caesarian sections. One ofﬁcer summed up the various complaints voiced by many of those interviewed in the following words: We work tirelessly for the police, but our only rewards are ill health, lack of concern from our superiors, and loss of self-respect because of our mistreatment by male ofﬁcers. We often have no time to eat the meals we have brought with us to the station. On top of all

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that, our personal lives are in jeopardy. We never have time to spend with our children. They are still asleep when we leave for duty. When we get back they have gone to bed. We cannot go to any (religious) celebrations because we are always on call. Even though we are supposed to have a day off each week, we are often summoned to the station. We never have complained in any organized way, but as we grow older we want some satisfaction from our work to compensate for the sacriﬁces we have made in our personal and family lives. Many of us are thinking of taking voluntary retirement even without compensation. We work like pigs but we have no rewards!

Summary and Discussion On the face of it, it appears that ofﬁcers in the AWPUs had by 2000 become increasingly disenchanted with the units and there are several reasons why this could be so. First, some ofﬁcers said in interview that the sheer amount of work they were expected to do was physically draining. The case ﬂow in the stations, together with their law-and-order duties put them under a great deal of pressure. This pressure was exacerbated by the lack of transport and other resources to help them perform their role. Women in the lowest ranks sometimes felt exploited, overworked, and burned out. They also reported that superiors favored some ofﬁcers, and observation did indeed reveal some variations in workload. Second, some of the women constables, who were married late, had health problems, often related to repeated childbirth involving caesarean sections. Many felt they were physically unﬁt and they also complained about lack of sleep. Third, some of the women complained that their families were beginning to suffer because of the demands at the work. The household duties of many women in traditional societies have not changed and they lack access to the day care centers and labor-saving equipment available to their counterparts in the western world. Some ofﬁcers complained that they did not have enough time to spend with their children and some felt they had become incompetent mothers due to their work. Some were also under constant criticism because they did not participate fully in family gatherings and ceremonies, for example, those related to prospective marriages. One of the ofﬁcers had arranged a gathering of her relatives, the prospective bridegroom, and his family members for her daughter’s marriage proposal. She said: Due to an emergency at work I could not attend and asked my husband to go ahead with the gathering. The boy’s family rejected the proposal because they thought the girl was not traditional enough (she was not wearing proper traditional attire) and did not know how to behave in front of elders. I am now worried that my daughter may never get married. It is my fault that I failed to prepare my daughter properly for her future. I feel that if I had been present at the gathering I would have ensured that my daughter was properly dressed and behaved respectfully to the elders present.

Stories such as these were common among the women ofﬁcers.

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Fourth, the women interviewed complained about their lack of promotion and many felt that there was unequal treatment in regard to this issue. In particular, they complained that women who obtained high scores on entry tests tended to get promoted whatever their performance on the job. They complained further that they received no help in preparing for promotion exams and they resented having to work under women who were once their equals. These kinds of complaints are universal, but assume greater importance when there appear to be so few other rewards for working. Finally, the public status of the units had declined in 2000 because of corruption accusations. As a result, many women were no longer proud of working in the units. Newspapers had run many stories claiming that the women in these units were as corrupt as their male colleagues. Many were said to accept money from both the complainant and the accused to solve the problem without going to court. The women believed male ofﬁcers were behind some of these rumors, but not all of them were baseless. Some female ofﬁcers (including Inspector and Sub-Inspector ranks) had been suspended for accepting bribes. Some accepted presents given by complainants in appreciation of services rendered beyond the call of duty. For instance, there is much that an ofﬁcer can do to speed up a case, such as personally delivering a summons to the accused even when she has no transport. She may feel justiﬁed in accepting a gift under these circumstances. In other cases, the accusations of corruption seemed to be unjustiﬁed, resulting from little more than the intense activity surrounding the units. Observing this activity, people (especially male ofﬁcers) tend to think that providing service to so many people must result in many gifts being offered and accepted. Another source of unjustiﬁed accusations is that women complainants often bring with them potential witnesses, who may have to be transported, fed, and even provided with hotel accommodation. She may complain about the expense, and these complaints are sometimes interpreted as money paid to the police. Finally, witnesses whose help she has enlisted may defraud her. These witnesses, who may be important men in the complainant’s village, may offer to deal with the police on her behalf. They take money from her saying it is needed to bribe the police, but in fact they never hand any money over. These reasons could help explain why women in the units were less satisﬁed in 2000 than previously. An alternative interpretation can be made of these facts, however, more consistent with the author’s observations. This is that the units have performed a valuable role in enabling the women to develop conﬁdence in their professional abilities. Having gained this conﬁdence, many of the women are now ready to admit some deﬁciencies. In interview, some women said they needed more training in handling legal matters or procedural issues in investigating cases. They also felt a need for more training in psychological or psychiatric matters. Women interviewed in the earlier study (Natarajan, 1996a), had generally not evaluated their

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own capabilities and did not express these deﬁciencies. This represents a real change in awareness that can be attributed to wider experience in police duties. In sum, the AWPUs have assisted women police in raising their self-conﬁdence, and many now believe there is no reason why women could not function well in fully integrated roles. This could mean that all-women police units might provide an interim solution in traditional societies to the problems of integrating women into the police force. Having gained conﬁdence, however, these women are likely to develop the same career aspirations as their counterparts in western societies. Effectiveness in Dealing with Dowry Disputes (2003) Despite the problems documented in 2000, the number of AWPUs in Tamil Nadu continued to increase and by 2003 there were 188 units serving both rural and urban areas of the state. The studies in 1994 and 2000 were undertaken to describe the role of women ofﬁcers, their status, and concerns. The study reported below was more deliberately evaluative. Because the AWPUs were established in large measure to deal with dowry-related violence, the study sought to document the effectiveness of the units in this regard. Speciﬁcally, it focused on the process by which AWPUs act as a dispute processing system and whether intervention by women police can help reduce domestic violence (Pearson, 1997; Kressel, 1997). It sought to provide a description of the dowry disputes reported to the police; the kind of help sought by victims in attempting to resolve their problems before approaching the police; the services provided by the women police stations; the techniques used by the women police in solving disputes; the effectiveness of the services in terms of how the conﬂicts were resolved; and the satisfaction of dowry victims with the help provided by women police. Two sources of data were used in fulﬁlling the study objectives: police case records and interviews with a sample of women victims. Background Divorce is still considered to be a shameful act in India and most women avoid it at any cost. If the wife leaves her marital home she loses respect, even from her own relatives, and she ﬁnds it difﬁcult to support herself. Women prefer to stay with their husbands because they do not want to lose social and personal identity. Furthermore, few marriage-counseling centers exist in India, and many women have no knowledge of them and do not have the monetary resources to make use of them. Unlike in western nations, men and women from middle and lower class backgrounds therefore do not generally seek marriage or family counseling to deal with conﬂicts or disputes at home. In villages and small towns, family disputes are often handled by a Panchayat, which consists of a small group of respected village members who are elected to the position. This is a form of community-based alternative dispute resolution (ADR),

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culturally tailored to the needs of the village, which is considered to be inexpensive, immediate, accessible, and reliable. Only when the disputes cannot be resolved do villagers resort to the formal court system. Usually the Panchayat elders are men who are likely to support the husband and advise the woman to adjust to the situation. In recognition of these problems, a family court system was established in the mid-1980s throughout India to handle disputes relating to marriage and family affairs (the Family Courts Act, 1984). Courts are located in major cities and they have counselors who assist the parties with mediation or negotiation before any litigation process. While they serve a valuable purpose, they are few in number given the population of each state. Consequently, they are clogged with cases and waiting times are long. More seriously, many women do not have sufﬁcient monetary resources to take their disputes to court. These were some of the reasons that led the Tamil Nadu government to establish the AWPUs. Analysis of Case Records With the permission of the Tamil Nadu police, case record data were obtained from the three AWPUs in Chennai, which serve different parts of the city and which had all been in existence for a decade. (In order to secure cooperation, it was agreed that comparisons would not be made between the stations in handling of cases and outcomes.) From the station ledgers, 2,075 petitions relating to dowry cases were identiﬁed for three years, 1999–2001 (Table 6.6). Seventy of these cases did not have complete data and were eliminated from the next stage of the study, which was a detailed analysis of a systematic random sample of 474 cases (one quarter of the original sample). The detailed analysis of this sample was undertaken to provide information about (1) the nature of the petition, (2) the action taken by the police and (3) the outcome of the case. Information relating to these matters was extracted from the case record narratives and coded by the research team. Table 6.6

1999

All petitions and dowry cases at three AWPUs in Chennai, 1999–2001 Petitions

Dowry cases

3241

704

2000

3450

666

2001

3817

705

Total

10508

2075

Table 6.7 reports the nature of the petitioners’ complaints. Nearly two thirds (64 percent) of the cases involved some form of physical abuse such as slapping, choking, hitting, punching, shoving, and pushing against the wall, not resulting in

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severe enough injuries to need medical attention. In one quarter of cases, husbands repeatedly threatened the lives of their wives with weapons such as a knife, and 14 percent of cases involved severe physical injuries such as breaking of bones, cuts, and bleeding that required medical attention. Thirty percent of cases involved emotional abuse by husbands, including humiliating, insulting, degrading, destroying property, intimidating, and isolating the woman from her own family. About half of the petitioners were subjected to harassment by in-laws including constant criticism, tormenting, and nagging for not doing household chores, and about a quarter were constantly pressed to bring money from the parents. Among other complaints were constant petty quarrels instigated by the husband or his family (10 percent of cases), false accusations of adultery made against the woman (7 percent) and the husband’s misuse of alcohol (26 percent), infidelity (8 percent) and gambling (2 percent). Table 6.8 summarizes the nature of the actions taken by the police. Basic counseling was undertaken for 85 percent of the petitioners/counter-petitioners and 86 percent agreed to some sort of negotiation initiated by the women police. Table 6.7

Dowry-related petitions reported at the AWPUs in Chennai, 1999–2001 (n=474)

Petitioners complaints Physical abuse by husbands Harassment by in-laws Emotional abuse Husband’s misuse of alcohol Threat to life Pressing for money Physical injuries Petty quarrels Inﬁdelity by husband Accusations of wife’s adultery Gambling

Table 6.8

Percent yes 64 51 30 26 24 25 14 10 8 7 2

N cases 304 243 143 124 117 116 66 46 36 32 7

Actions taken in regard to dowry related petitions reported at the AWPUs in Chennai, 1999–2001 (n=474)

Actions taken Parties agreed to negotiation Parties counseled Accused did not show up Treatment recommended Transferred to another jurisdiction Missing data

Percent 86 85 11 0.4 0.4 3

Numbers 406 405 50 2 2 15

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Concerning outcomes, 25 percent of the cases were referred to family court for divorce; 10 percent sought permanent or temporary separation; and in 1.5 percent of cases a criminal charge was made (Table 6.9). About half of the petitioners agreed to stay in the relationship and were able to get back to their normal lives, but no followup records exist of these cases to make a judgment about their current status and the extent of any repeat victimization. Table 6.9

Outcomes of dowry-related petitions reported at the AWPUs in Chennai, 1999–2001 (n=474)

Nature of Outcome Reconciled Referred to family court Permanent separation Temporary separation Criminal charge Case withdrawn Missing data

Percent 51 25 9 1 1.5 11 2

Numbers 240 116 41 7 8 51 11

In sum, the dowry related case records reveal that a substantial proportion of women were physically abused, but only a minority endured serious life-threatening situations and physical injuries. Most petitioners agreed to some form of negotiation and continued to live together. About 25 percent of petitioners went on to settle the matter in the family court. In the few high-risk cases, the women police were able to take criminal action against the perpetrators. Interviews with Petitioners Sixty women victims aged 18 years and above (20 from each of the three study stations) were randomly selected for interview from the pool of 474 petitioners whose case records were summarized in the previous section. The interviews were intended to obtain both quantitative and qualitative data as follows: (1) basic demographic data not found in the case records including age, socioeconomic status and family background; (2) additional information about the nature of the problem; (3) the petitioners’ perspective on the service provided by the AWPUs and the outcome. Six women with backgrounds in psychology and social work (ﬂuent both in Tamil and English), familiar with different parts of the city, assisted the author in conducting interviews in the petitioners’ homes. Interviewers went in pairs for safety and worked as a team in conducting the interviews.

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Most of the petitioners lived in congested working class neighborhoods. Access to these neighborhoods was only possible by using auto-rickshaws, not by car or bus. Street names and house numbers were often not clearly marked and it proved impossible to locate the homes of ten of the original sample. This meant that ten more petitioners had to be randomly selected from the original group of 474. Because of problems with addresses, it was not practicable to send letters requesting permission for interviews. In any case, it is unlikely that the women would have comprehended the purpose of the interviews from a letter and would probably not have replied. In these circumstances it was decided they would have to be approached by the interviewers in person to seek their permission to conduct interviews. The petitioners were aware that the police might visit them in their homes to see whether there were any repeat episodes. In fact, the police did not have the resources to conduct follow-ups and considered that the study fulﬁlled this need for the women interviewed. (On receipt of a report of the present study, the Chennai City Police Commissioner has approached women’s organizations in the city for help with following up women petitioners whose cases have been closed at the AWPUs.) The petitioners’ participation in the study was entirely voluntary and they were assured of anonymity. In accordance with the rules of the author’s university IRB, verbal consent was obtained by the interviewer with a witness present. Those interviewed were told they need not answer questions that upset them and they were given contact numbers of help centers for women, so that they could seek any help they needed. (Ten of these women contacted the International Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care (PCVC), where some of the interviewers worked, for counseling and for help with employment and educational opportunities.) While some questions were asked in a standard way (see below), the interviews had to be undertaken in a culturally sensitive manner. For example, the women interviewed could not be expected to launch immediately into a discussion of intimate family matters with strangers appearing on their doorsteps. Though true anywhere, this is especially the case in India, which is still a traditional society. It was therefore necessary to develop a rapport with the interviewees, which often meant spending a considerable time in talking informally to their children and other family members in order to put them at ease. Once they had understood the purpose of the interviews, most of the women approached were open to talking about their experiences and many offered food and drink to the interview team. Many seemed glad to be involved in a research project that could assist other women who approach the AWPUs for help in dealing with their problems. In some cases, the women shared their homes with two or three other families, and these neighbors sometimes participated in the interview and provided insight into the women’s problems and how the women police intervention helped reduce the physical abuse. If the in-laws were at home and if the woman was hesitant to talk, she was invited to meet the interviewers in the neighborhood equivalent of a diner. A note had sometimes to be left with neighbors asking the women to be present next day in their homes.

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A semi-structured interview protocol with both closed and open-ended questions was used. The interviews were conducted in Tamil and the interviewers subsequently translated the replies into English. The questions did not involve delicate matters such as the women’s sexual relations with their husbands. Information about the causes of conﬂict was obtained as a narrative, which was then processed through “Folio Views,” a hypertext software program that assists in developing theoretical understanding of textual ﬁles. In essence, themes were extracted from the narratives and used in the interpretation of data. Closed-ended questions were coded and entered in SPSS for analysis. Demographics Table 6.10 summarizes the demographic data for the 60 petitioners. The average age of husbands was about 30, with wives about two years younger. Petitioners had been married for an average of seven years, and most of them had some secondary education. Information about family income could not be provided by 19 of the petitioners because their husbands were paid daily rates for laboring, and were frequently not in work. Of those who did provide information, 88 percent had family incomes below the national average (Rs. 10,964 reported by Central Statistical Organization for 2002). Most of the women were housewives (70 percent) and most had arranged marriages (80 percent). More than 50 percent were living with in-laws in a joint family system and about two thirds had children. Table 6.10

Demographic data for petitioners interviewed (n=60)

Mean age Husband’s mean age Mean years of marriage No children With children (1–3) Family income* Below national average Above national average No education Secondary school College-level Full-time housewife Family type Joint Nuclear Partial (same home, cook separately) Arranged marriage

28.4 yrs 30.2 yrs 7.3 yrs 22 percent (13) 78 percent (47) Rs 4663 93 percent (56) 7 percent (4) 15 percent (9) 68 percent (41) 17 percent (10) 70 percent (42) 55 percent (33) 42 percent (25) 3 percent (2) 80 percent (48)

*Estimated by the women (19 could provide no information about income)

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Nature of the Problem The sample was evenly divided between those suffering physical and emotional abuse and both as depicted in Figure 6.1.

Figure 6.1

Nature of problem (n=60)

From the interviews it was clear that, though the dowry was the major issue, other factors fueled the family disputes. Many of the women, especially those from nuclear families themselves, found it difﬁcult to adjust to joint family living. In joint families, the in-laws were most often the source of conﬂicts at home. They tended to magnify small mistakes made by the daughter-in-law and to criticize her for not bringing enough money from her parents. According to the women interviewed, their husbands vented frustration and anger on them, which had been fueled by the in-laws. Most reported that they had few problems with their husbands per se, who were often torn between them and their parents. In-laws harassed more than half of the 25 subjects who lived in nuclear families. They criticized their sons’ wives for not keeping the house clean and not having enough food. They also complained that they had not only lost their sons but their income as well, even though in many cases the in-laws had agreed to their son’s marriage because they wanted the dowry for their unmarried daughters.

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Many of the women interviewed said that only when the conﬂicts became too difﬁcult to manage did they go for help to their parents, who in turn involved those who helped to arrange the marriage (most often relatives). Most of the women said that their own parents provided little effective help because they did not want their daughters to be separated or divorced, because of the shame this would bring on the family, or because they were too poor to provide any material help in cases where husbands were unemployed or alcoholic. About 40 percent of the women interviewed sought help with the family Panchayat, which is similar to the village Panchayat, except that elders in the family conduct the hearing and ﬁnd solutions. Again this is also headed by men and nearly always favors the husband. Most of the women were asked to adjust to their husband and not to create a family feud. Women petitioners generally sought the help of the AWPUs only as a last resort, after they had exhausted all other resources in resolving their conﬂicts at home. They needed an inﬂuential third party to listen sympathetically to their problems and to provide help in resolving them. This is what they hoped to receive from the AWPUs. Experience of the AWPUs Most of the women (93 percent) were satisﬁed with the immediate response of the police. A large majority (88 percent) also reported that the police were helpful in listening to their problems and tried hard to resolve their disputes through many meetings with the husbands and other family members (Table 6.11). Those who were

Table 6.11

Petitioners’ perspective on the service provided by the AWPUs and the outcome (n=60)

Immediate response to the complaint Helpfulness of police Speciﬁc services received

Helpfulness of counselors

Outcome

Satisfactory—93% (56) Not satisfactory—7% (4) Very helpful—88% Family counseling—72% (43) Individual counseling—7% (4) Negotiation—68% (41) Mediation—12% (7) Court referrals—12% (7) Job referrals—7% (4) Did not make use—28% (17) Satisﬁed—68% (41) Not satisﬁed—4% (2) Reduced problems—50 % (30) Unchanged—20% (12) Aggravated—5 5% (3) Separated—17% (10) Family court—8% (5)

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critical reported that the police were overwhelmed by other cases and did not have time to be attentive to their cases. A small number of the women (7 percent) were given individual counseling, but most received family counseling (72 percent), in which family members of both the husband and wife were brought together. Sixty-eight percent of the women were pleased with the counseling they received. They recognized that their disputes needed to be discussed in front of a third party if a compromise were to be reached between the two sides of the family. Some also said that the experience of negotiation and mediation would help them in dealing with conﬂict in the future. Sixty-eight percent of the sample said that they were able to negotiate successfully with their husbands’ families and 12 percent said that mediation was successfully concluded over some serious issues. Outcomes The women interviewed generally felt that the authority and power of the police had an important effect on their husbands and their extended family members. Fifty percent reported that the physical abuse by their husbands had reduced and they believed that this was due to intervention by the women police. Only 5 percent reported that going to the police aggravated the situation and one of these women tried to commit suicide because the intervention did not change her life. For 20 percent there was no major improvement, 17 percent left their husbands, and 8 percent went to family court for divorce after the preliminary discussions and negotiation at the women police stations. The 50 percent of women whose problems were reduced were signiﬁcantly older, had been married longer and were more likely to have children. Why these cases were more successful is not clear, but perhaps these women were more committed to making their marriages work and were more likely to follow positive suggestions from the police. Altogether, most of the women interviewed had positive opinions about the women police. Their main complaints concerned authoritarianism and crude language used during the resolution process—but they preferred women ofﬁcers to men in dealing with their family problems. They also said that they had more hope of a solution going to the AWPUs than to a women’s organization. This may reﬂect the fact that low income and less educated families approach the police more often than the middle and upper classes who would be more likely to seek the help of women’s organizations or go directly to the courts for settlement. In many ways, the AWPUs act as a surrogate village “Panchayat”, with the important difference that women police are in charge of resolving the dispute and they often serve as advocates for the women. Furthermore, where the violence is serious, women police can use their authority to take criminal action on legal grounds. Women ofﬁcers reported in informal interviews that many victims do not

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want criminal action taken against their husbands. When the police threaten to do this, the women usually withdraw their petitions. However, the use of dispute resolution techniques by the women police is still quite new and some improvements are needed. First, the complexity of the cases and the women ofﬁcers’ lack of formal training in counseling skills mean that it is difﬁcult for them to make decisions about the best way to proceed. When dealing with petitioners, the women police are in effect performing an interviewing and counseling function, for which very few have been trained. They must rely instead on what they learn through experience. Second, their workload is increasing and they are being called upon to perform a wider range of duties than before. Consequently, they often cannot give the necessary time to women petitioning for help with their problems. Third, they have not been trained to take careful notes and record detailed information about the cases that they are handling. Dealing with a petition might take several weeks and they cannot remember all the details about complainants when they return from other duties. Lastly, they sometimes ﬁnd it difﬁcult to act more like social workers than police and as a result they tend to be too authoritarian in their dealings with petitioners, many of whom are unsophisticated and timid. A training program developed with the author’s help to deal with some of these problems—speciﬁcally lack of dispute resolution and record keeping skills—is described in the Annex. Conclusions In the 1960s, the US and UK had introduced women police bureaus to deal with women and children. The women in these bureaus enjoyed their work which they considered was as important as law enforcement. In the wake of the equal opportunity movement in the 1970s, policewomen began to see the women’s bureaus as a source of segregation and these were soon abolished. The establishment of the AWPUs will undoubtedly therefore be viewed as a retrograde step from a western perspective. However, the empirical evidence from the Tamil Nadu experience of these units shows that they are a viable way for police to improve the reporting of crimes against women, as well as to provide a meaningful career for women police. Though the units were introduced as a stop-gap measure to help deal with dowry-related violence, the numbers of these units has steadily increased. They are gradually gaining public acceptance and recognition, and judged by the interviews with petitioners reported above, they are undertaking valuable work in dealing with domestic disputes. Furthermore, these units are being established in many “traditional” societies or societies in “transition.” Many Asian nations such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, and the Philippines are creating women’s desks, women cells, women stations, women bureaus and women units in order to open up opportunities for women to serve in the police as well as to deal with the increased number of domestic violence cases now being reported. Following Brazil, it also seems that other Latin American countries

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are introducing women police stations. All this leads to an interesting question. Are these women police stations a permanent feature of women policing or are they severing a merely interim purpose? This question will be pursued in Chapter 8. Meanwhile in Chapter 7, the experience is examined of the cohort of women ofﬁcers recruited in Tamil Nadu in 1997, as a result of new labor laws mandating that 33 percent of all new recruits to the police force should be women. Annex: Computer-assisted Training in Dispute Resolution and Record Keeping Despite the apparent success of the AWPUs in dealing with dowry victims, the research described in this chapter has documented that the women police had certain training needs. Speciﬁcally, they had: 1. Insufficient training in dispute resolution: the women ofﬁcers in the AWPUs had received too little training in resolving domestic disputes and in dealing with serious violence. It was also noticed that women police were solving the cases by using their personal knowledge of the “Panchayat” system. They lacked professional understanding of dispute resolution techniques and how they were used. 2. Insufficient training in interviewing and counseling: when dealing with petitioners, women police are in effect performing a social work interviewing and counseling function, for which most have not been trained. They must rely instead on patience, sympathy and what they learn on the job. In many units, support from social workers or psychologists is very limited. 3. Insufficient training in record keeping and data management: records on the number of women seeking assistance from the units and the problems that they bring with them are poorly maintained. Station logs are hand-written in bound notebooks and are not up-to-date. Only when superiors make inspection visits are records produced. The fact that complaints are ﬁled in a haphazard manner makes it difﬁcult for inspection teams to make any appraisal of the work of the units. Given the huge volume of petitioners, training was also needed in the systematic recording of information, such as demographics of complainants, the nature and extent of the problems, and so on. These training deﬁciencies were exacerbated by an excessive workload and shortage of staff, made worse by the complexity of the cases which made it difﬁcult for the women to make decisions about the best way to proceed. In addition, they were being called upon to perform a wider range of duties than before. These demands on the women police meant that they frequently could not give the necessary attention to women petitioning for help with their problems. Furthermore, they could not keep all the petitioners information in memory when they came back from other duties.

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In sum, it was clear that training for women police ofﬁcers was needed in (1) dispute resolution, (2) interview techniques, and (3) data entry and data management. It was hoped that meeting these needs would help the women ofﬁcers to handle their cases efﬁciently and execute their duties effectively. It was also recognized that women ofﬁcers, especially those in the lower ranks, cannot leave their stations for a semester term to attend the training sessions that are conducted in the state capital. In the midst of their other duties, they also cannot attend regular college courses that are geared to dispute resolution and data management In 2002, the UK Home Ofﬁce awarded a competitive grant, The Queen’s Award for Innovation in Police Training and Development,2 to the Tamil Nadu police for a pilot project to provide a web-based e-training program in dispute resolution (DR), interviewing, and record keeping for ofﬁcers in the AWPUs in Tamil Nadu. This project trained 30 ofﬁcers in three selected AWPUs located in metropolitan cities. Training in Dispute Resolution Domestic disputes are an inevitable result of the human condition—what is crucial is how these are resolved. In most such cases, litigation would be too drastic and dispute resolution techniques can provide a helpful alternative. Simple processes like negotiation or mediation can help married couples and other family members to deal with conﬂicts successfully by working through solutions themselves and by learning how to deal with difﬁcult issues in their lives. Studies have found that mediation can help promote dialogue when people are in conﬂict, and can produce higher compliance rates with the agreements reached than litigation (Kressel and Pruitt, 1989; Gerencser and Kelly, 1994; Perry, 1994; Umbreit, 1995; Picard, 1998). The use of dispute resolution techniques has been expanding in many areas in western countries. In particular, mediation is considered useful in dealing with interfamilial disputes, but there is a disagreement about its use in cases of domestic violence (Rifkin, 1984, 1989; Thoennes and Pearson, 1995, Gerencser, 1995). It has its proponents in this role (Marthaler, 1989; Salem and Milne, 1995) but other experts argue that mediation is not appropriate for use in domestic violence cases because of the disparity in power between the perpetrator and the victim (Lerman, 1984; Fischer, Vidmar and René Stemple 1993; Kolb, 1993; Maxwell, 1999). Many women’s advocates believe that mediation is unfair and dangerous for women victims of domestic violence. It is contended that most batterers will not negotiate in

2 The Queens Award for Innovation in Police Training and Development is a competition designed to reward innovation in the ﬁeld of training and development for all those working in police services throughout the Commonwealth. The award is made every two years. In 2002, proposals were invited from serving members of police forces (including the special constabulary and civilian support staff) and police authority members and staff in the UK and other Commonwealth countries, for projects to be implemented either nationally or locally.

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good faith and that they operate on the premise that they are entitled to use violence to get their way. These arguments are in fact called into question by the experience of dealing with dowry disputes in Tamil Nadu through all women police units (AWPUs). The AWPUs were established primarily to deal with family violence and dowry disputes. By bringing petitioners together in a dialogue with the perpetrators (husbands and in many instances the in-laws) the police have the opportunity to evaluate the safety needs of the women victims and can also refer the parties to treatment and professional counseling if needed (Gerencser, 1995). Further, they can get more information about past episodes so as to make a more informed diagnosis of the seriousness of the violence. Allowing the parties to communicate with each other can interrupt the cycle of violence (Corcoran and Melamed, 1990) and the police can also empower women victims economically by referring them to job training and educational counseling. The training provided for the group of women ofﬁcers from the AWPUS was based on a western model of dispute resolution, but it was tailored to the nature of disputes in the Indian culture. It included six modules: (1) Introduction to domestic/ family violence; (2) Introduction to dispute resolution techniques; (3) Basics of negotiation; (4) Basics of mediation; (5) Basics of arbitration; (6) Counseling approach to interviewing. Module 1: an introduction to domestic violence was needed as a prelude section for understanding the dynamics of domestic violence in India and elsewhere. Though some women ofﬁcers have considerable experience in handling severe violence cases, most have little theoretical knowledge of domestic violence. Greater depth of theoretical knowledge was needed in order to better serve the families who seek the help of police, and also to know when to act in order to prevent serious incidents of domestic violence. The module covered the following topics: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Meaning of private and public violence Differences between domestic disputes and violence Impact of domestic violence Nature and type of family/domestic violence Behavior patterns of abusers Characteristics of women victims of domestic violence.

Modules 2–5: the purpose of these modules was to provide information about various forms of disputes and the importance of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods in dealing with family-related disputes. The modules deal in detail with theoretical concepts, the styles and methods of ADR, and major issues arising in the use of ADR techniques. Resolving disputes between related individuals is usually a difﬁcult task because family relations encompass a range of issues, which affect directly or indirectly every member of the family unit. In general, problems are related to the formation

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of marriage relationships, marriage dissolution, custody of children, termination of parental rights, domestic violence, adoptions, foster care, family privacy, and problems of adolescences and so on. Resolving family disputes requires patience, understanding of the root causes of the problem, and knowledge of the individuals involved. Understanding the theoretical concepts of ADR with special reference to dealing with family disputes for women police is crucial to enhance the skills of women police in handling the family dispute cases effectively. Most family disputes brought to the AWPUs are resolved through negotiation, the primary conﬂict resolution device, underlying all other non-binding ADR processes. When the petitioner and the counter-petitioner are brought together to the station to resolve the issues, the ofﬁcer in charge can allow them to talk in a separate room and ask them to come up with a solution that is amicable to both. This will make the parties talk privately in the premises of an authority. Particularly in smaller towns, this process works well. It is quick, inexpensive, private and less complicated than many other dispute resolution processes. Mediation, on the other hand, involves a third party, who tries to focus on the “interests” that could help bring the disputants together. For example, in a family dispute between a husband and wife, if both parties have an interest in the welfare of the children it is possible to focus on the children as a means for ﬁnding a solution. If mediation fails, the next stop for resolving the dispute is the formal court system. Since most people will try to avoid going to court, mediation is often successful. It is not advisable to use either negotiation or mediation in situations where one side has power over the other; where one party feels intimidated and frightened; or when one party has been physically harmed and faces the risk of future abuse and physical harm. Attempting to use negotiation or mediation in these situations could expose the weaker party to serious risk of harm. Module 6 consisted of an introduction to the counseling approach to interviewing. It covered: • • • • • • • •

the rationale and objectives of counseling major ingredients of counseling theoretical approaches to counseling and helping methods of counseling and helping basic counselling skills counselling tasks and necessary conditions for counseling ethical issues characteristics of a counselor

Understanding the basics of counseling can provide police ofﬁcers with the tools for dealing effectively with women petitioners in emotional distress. The counseling approach helps petitioners and counter-petitioners express their thoughts and feelings and resolve their disputes amicably. It also helps women police to identify the cases where professional counseling is required. Though the immediate goal of counseling

Tamil Nadu All Women Police Units—An Assessment

Figure 6.2

113

Processing of domestic dispute and domestic violence cases at AWPUs in Tamil Nadu, India (the IAS model)

Source: Natarajan (2006)

is to provide relief and a safe environment for the petitioner, the long-range goal is to enable her to cope with the difﬁcult problems that may grow out of minor disputes and to assist her in decision-making about her own life. Though the basics of counselling were covered on the on-line training, it was thought important to supplement this information with classroom instruction so that adequate attention could be given to the nature of the personal skills needed

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Women Police in a Changing Society

in counseling. Classroom lectures covered the following topics: introduction to the basics of counselling; understanding human behavior and development needs; selfawareness and self-esteem, attitudes and personality requirements of a counsellor, skills in interviewing and listening; stress, anger, and time management; marital and family counseling; networking; introduction to dispute resolution, negotiation, case studies and role playing, and mediation; and dilemmas in using dispute resolution techniques in police work. Training in Problem-solving Approach to Dealing with Domestic Violence The ofﬁcers are also trained to use a problem solving approach by adopting multiple roles such as counselors, problem solvers and law enforcement ofﬁcers in dealing with domestic violence cases (Natarajan, 2006c). To set alongside this training, Natarajan (2006c) has developed a problem-solving model (the IAS model—see Figure 6.2) as a way to organize multiple approaches in identifying, analyzing, and resolving domestic violence problems as part of the training program. This model emphasizes a proactive approach on victim safety and the need to develop ongoing partnerships with local victim advocacy organizations. Based on this model, a “translation friendly” template was created which can be used as a guide in following a set of sequential steps in dealing with domestic dispute and domestic violence cases. A Problem Solving Model for Family Disputes When a petitioner arrives at the station, women police should use a counseling approach to interview the petitioners rather than a traditional authoritative approach. Women who approach the stations are emotionally distressed and they need to be comforted on their ﬁrst appearance there. Most often they want the women police to intervene and warn their husbands, so that their husbands will stop harassing them. They want an authority ﬁgure to intervene and advise the man to behave properly. Also, most families in India are afraid of going to court, and taking their problem to the police rather than to court would seem a better way. Further, many victims believe that warnings by the police have a deterrent effect on the husband and his family. To ensure the well-being of petitioners, women police need to address a petition systematically and handle it professionally. The following model should help them to do this. First, women police need to orient themselves appropriately in handling such matters. In AWPUs, ofﬁcers are often stressed out with other policing assignments on a given day and often become impatient and irritable. If they are under pressure it is hard to focus properly on abused women. Hence, they need to prepare themselves to handle effectively such delicate and important family matters. There are three stages involved in taking care of these cases:

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1. Planning/preparation 2. Processing 3. Persuasion/following up Stage 1: Planning The planning stage requires women police to improve their own self-esteem and self-image. In a sense, women police are intermediaries creating harmony in the lives of men and women. This requires women police (who are generally very sympathetic to women’s problems) to dedicate their time and energy in developing creative, culturally sensitive solutions to suit the needs of each case. Women police need to put their personal opinions on one side and learn to see the facts, to recognize the intensity of the harm inﬂicted on the woman petitioner, and prepare to act as a neutral party. Stage 2: Processing and the IAS model Figure 6.2 depicts the IAS model that women police should follow in processing a petition of family dispute or violence. The problem analysis involves three phases: 1. Identifying the problem 2. Analyzing the problem 3. Solving the problem Phase 1: Identifying the problem At this stage women police must gather the information needed for investigating a petition that arrives at the station. They should adopt a counseling approach, intended to help the petitioner to make an autonomous decision in solving his/her problems. This is a relationship-building process, whereby the women petitioners would come to trust the women police and disclose information so that women police can make appropriate inquiries and suggest alternative solutions. The objective of a counseling approach is to make the petitioner, who may be confused, afraid, anxious, depressed, insecure, and helpless, into a conﬁdent, peaceful, happy, safe, empowered, free, and calm person. The following are the sequential stages of the process: 1. Petition intake: this is the ﬁrst contact between the woman petitioner and the police. Being polite and offering a seat to the petitioner will help her to feel at ease and therefore more likely to open up to the police. Under a formal counseling approach, this would be called the “relating stage.” 2. Preliminary interview of the petitioner: at this “understanding stage,” the petitioner describes the problem and seeks the help of the police. Women police need to listen to the facts carefully and to show empathy, but they

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should not give an undertaking that they will solve the problem in the petitioner’s favor. To keep the proceedings businesslike, they might say to the petitioner that she has approximately 20 minutes to tell her story. This will allow the petitioner to bring out the salient points to the women police, which will allow them to manage their time in performing their duties. At the same time, women police need to listen carefully and use body language to show they are doing this. Women police should be sure to: • give full attention to the petitioner (that is, not taking phone calls and talking to others in the station); • adopt a relaxed and open attitude; • lean slightly forward; • use appropriate gaze and eye contact; • convey appropriate facial expressions; • use good gestures; to pat/touch sparingly; • be sensitive to personal space.

3.

4. 5.

6.

7.

Women police need to understand the position of the woman from her internal frame of mind. They need to question the petitioner quietly to bring out all the salient points of the problem. This helps the police to discover whether the dispute centers on a single factor or multiple factors. It is important to remember that women victims of violence come to police only after exhausting other avenues. Probing the woman petitioner in a quiet and ﬁrm way will help her play her part in addressing the problem effectively. This is called the “changing stage” under the counseling approach. Interview of counter-petitioner and others, such as in-laws and the petitioner’s parents: after the preliminary one-on-one interview with the woman petitioner, women police can then interview the counter-petitioner and others. Enter data in the computerized database (that is, the “contact sheet”). Use the contact sheet to establish the extent of the problem: The contact sheet is intended to assist women police to understand the extent of the problem and develop an action plan. For example, if the contact sheet records a danger score of less than 3, women police can ﬁx the dates for a second and third meeting with the petitioner if necessary. This will establish a clear time-line in the petitioner’s mind (see Table 6.12). If the contact sheet reports a danger score of 3 and above, the women police must take immediate action in arranging alternate stay for the abused woman by contacting appropriate NGOs. This will provide temporary relief and safety for the woman and permit police to take further action against the perpetrator/abuser. Women police should also inquire whether the woman petitioner has any psychiatric/clinical and medical history that could be contributing to her problems. Knowing this will help in ﬁnding solutions.

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Phase 2: Analyzing the Problem By this stage women police should have enough data to analyze the problem. Analysis involves the following stages: 1. Prepare data for analysis: women police need to check whether the contact sheet is ﬁlled properly. After this, they need to take a printout of the petition and begin analysis. 2. Tease out the major points or issues: from the interview data, women police should be able to understand the magnitude and the nature of the problem and arrive at a danger score for the seriousness of the problem. 3. Preparation for tentative options (negotiation, mediation, and FIR): if the petition involves less/medium violence, women police need to prepare themselves for negotiation and mediation to resolve the disputes of the parties petitioned. They should arrange a date for the petitioner and counterpetitioner and others to visit the station. Each station should develop a registry of station meeting dates that is similar to procedures of assigning court dates. Phase 3: Solving the Problem With the analysis complete, women police should be able to ﬁnd ways to resolve the petition at hand. The skills they need are listed below: 1. Simple counseling skills: if diagnosed as petty quarrels between the husband and wife, simple counseling would help. 2. Negotiation techniques: if the dispute focuses on one issue, women police may want to use negotiation techniques to help the disputants discuss the matter between themselves—on the station premises. For example, the husband and wife might blame each other, but they might also admit their own faults during the interview. In many instances, this communication muddle is the result of not talking to one another before. In such domestic disputes, the parties may love each other, but need someone else to help them solve their problems. This is why negotiation techniques are appropriate here. They will not only help to solve the immediate dispute, but they will help the couples get to know each other and make them understand their own shortcomings. This will help them resolve their own problems in the future without seeking assistance from the police. 3. Mediation skills: if the dispute involves many issues and one party is blaming the other without taking any personal responsibility, women police need to take the role of mediator in resolving the dispute. At this stage, women police need to follow the rules of mediation (which have been learned earlier) If the women police suspect any clinical/psychiatric and serious sex-related marital problems, which are not within their scope to deal with, they should enlist the

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help of professional counseling centers, psychiatrists or medical specialists. In many cases women police should be able to diagnose the problem, which can then be referred to other appropriate institutions for action. Also, women police can sometimes refer the case to the family court for legal action to resolve the dispute. 5. Law enforcement skills: if serious violence is involved, women police should take criminal action against the counter-petitioner(s). In many instances, the women petitioners do not want criminal action to be taken by the police, but want them to give a warning to the abusing party (usually the husband). Research has found that women police intervention can reduce physical violence at home. The abusers know that their wives have support from the police and are aware of the consequences of criminal action. Whatever the case, if there is a threat to the petitioner’s life, the women police must ﬁle an FIR and take criminal action. If the abused woman wishes to withdraw her petition against her husband, the police can do nothing at that point. They can only give her advice and ask her to take precautions against violence. Stage 3: Follow-up Once the police resolve the petition, they need to conduct a follow-up of the case. Though it is their job to reopen a case that is closed, with the best interests of the petitioners in mind, women police can do the following: 1. Ask the petitioner and the counter-petitioner to report to the station every month; 2. Ask the petitioner to seek help if there is any ill treatment after the intervention; 3. Delegate follow-up to local NGOs. Training in Database Management The volume of cases of domestic disputes and domestic violence reported to the AWPUs has steadily increased, but record-keeping has not improved to keep pace with this expansion of work. Women ofﬁcers do not record important details about the petitions or the information they obtain about the case in preliminary interviews with the petitioner and the accused. They only record the following information by hand in large ledgers: the date, petition number, name and address, and a few lines about the outcome—usually one of three categories consisting of case withdrawn, agreed to settle at family court, and ﬁled FIR (which means commencement of criminal investigation). No other information will be recorded about the case, such as the educational level of the petitioner, living conditions, nature of the quarrels, seriousness of the violence, risk factors involved, what exactly the petitioner wants, the assessment of the enquiry ofﬁcer, the kind of referral services needed, etc.

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To meet the need for better record-keeping, a database known as the “contact sheet” was developed to record detailed information from interviews pertaining to the petitioner, the counter-petitioner/s and the witnesses. This database was designed to allow the women police ofﬁcers to identify high-risk cases and to take the necessary steps without delay. The danger score sheet involves 15 questions involving the risk associated with the victim and her children—low, moderate or high (see Table 6.12). When the case is diagnosed as high risk, the system ﬂashes a signal for immediate action. The database also includes a list of referrals and a crime investigation guide. Provisions have also been made in the database for the woman ofﬁcer to document every action that was taken in the petition/case and to track the case from inquiry to the ﬁnal stages. In sum, a computer-assisted interview schedule was devised and ofﬁcers were taught how to maintain an electronic database that will help identify the risk of serious injury and enable them to act quickly to ensure the woman’s safety (Natarajan, 2003). The database was the ﬁrst one to be developed in India to help in dealing with domestic violence and domestic disputes. The software developed for the database could be adapted to provide a digitised database for the entire Tamil Nadu police force, which has around 1,200 police departments. Such a database would be of enormous help to the police at large in compiling statistics for measuring and allocating police resources in an effective way. Evaluation of the Training The training began in December, 2002 and ended in September, 2003; the evaluation started with pre-testing in December, 2002 and ended in August, 2003. The evaluation plan consisted of two parts: (1) process evaluation (was the project implemented properly?) and (2) impact evaluation (did it achieve its objectives?) Since pilot programs require careful recording of both qualitative and quantitative data relating to the processes and impact made, data were collected using a variety of methods: 1. Interviews with the women ofﬁcer trainees and petitioners 2. Observations of women ofﬁcers handling cases 3. Test scores, hours spent in the use of computers in learning and in entering data 4. Reviews of contact sheets, training modules and the classroom sessions provided by external sources, including faculty from university social work departments and lawyers who provided training in interviewing and dispute resolution (DR) techniques 5. Observation of the utility of the database created for entering the interview data 6. Interviews with the petitioners and counter-petitioners.

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In August, 2003, after the 30 ofﬁcers completed the classroom training, the author visited each of the three units for two days and observed trainees dealing with their cases. Many changes were noted: 1. Trainees were more welcoming to petitioners and counter-petitioners. 2. They showed more empathy to women petitioners and made greater efforts to make them feel conﬁdent. 3. They were able to use their judgment in choosing the particular DR technique suitable for a particular case. 4. They did not give assurances to petitioners that they would resolve the case in their favor. 5. They had learned to ration their time for each case and were better able to cut long sessions spent in mediation. They also more frequently dealt politely with counter-petitioners. 6. Many of the ofﬁcers memorized the steps in dealing with cases from the guidelines that they were given in the classroom session. 7. Many thought that they could see a change in themselves after training. Almost all ofﬁcers said they had learned to become more patient and control their anger. Women police ofﬁcers now take a 15-minute break when they come back from outdoor duties, before they interview a petitioner. 8. After training, more ofﬁcers were able to accept that they did not always treat victims and counter-petitioners properly. However, some ofﬁcers were still rude and unsophisticated in their dealings with both groups. During the site visits at the three units, a total of 27 petition inquiries were observed. These petitioners were interviewed by the consultant and her assistant and asked whether the women police had been helpful in listening to their complaint. Both they and counter-petitioners said that they were treated in a cordial manner, which made them feel more comfortable in explaining their problem. Both groups also praised the counseling approach of the ofﬁcers and the professional way of handling their disputes. Petitioners that visited the police station a second time reported that, because the police were handling the situation sensitively, their spouses were not angry with them for taking a private matter to the police. The petitioners were conﬁdent that when they come to the units they would get their problems solved. In many instances, petitioners traveled to these particular units because they had heard about their success in resolving disputes.

Tamil Nadu All Women Police Units—An Assessment

Table 6.12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15

121

Danger score sheet

Has the abuser physically injured you in the past? Has the abuser physically injured you in this incident? Has the severity or frequency of violence increased in the last two weeks? Has the abuser ever physically injured your children in the past? Has the abuser physically injured your children now? Has the abuser ever sexually abused any of your children? Has he ever threatened to kill you in the past? Is the abuser threatening to kill you now? Is the abuser threatening to commit suicide now? Have you attempted to commit suicide or kill your children in the past? If “yes” to question 10, was it within the last 6 months / 6 months—1 year / 1 year—2 years / more than 2 years Are you planning to commit suicide and/or kill your children now? Has there been severe sexual violence in the last two weeks? (e.g. forced sex or anything bizarre about the sexual activities, if so make a note) Has there been a substantial increase in the consumption of alcohol by the abuser in the last month? Has there been a substantial increase in the consumption of drugs by the abuser in the last month?

Source: Radhakrishnan, Prasanna and Natarajan (in press).

Yes Yes Yes

No No No

Yes

No

Yes Yes

No No

Yes Yes Yes Yes

No No No No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

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Chapter 7

Women Police in the Battalions As a result of rapid social change, Indian women in the 1990s made unprecedented demands for equal status with men and, in particular, for equal access to rewarding work and careers. As a result, new equal opportunity legislation was introduced by the government requiring that 33 percent of those recruited for government jobs, including the police, must be women. Male ofﬁcers in Tamil Nadu responded to this new situation by threatening strike action unless the women recruited were assigned to the same work and conditions as male ofﬁcers, widely perceived as being more onerous than in the AWPUs. This resulted in court rulings requiring that the cohort of women ofﬁcers recruited in 1997 be assigned to regular police battalions, to undergo training alongside men, preparatory to assuming the full range of police duties. No longer could women recruits undergo training at the police training college for six months prior to being posted to general police units. Instead, like male ofﬁcers, at the conclusion of their six months’ training they are now assigned to armed reserve/ battalions for six years, before being appointed to general police stations. In 1997, therefore, women police in Tamil Nadu fell into two distinct groups: • •

those recruited prior to 1997 who were deployed in AWPUs and in general police units those recruited in 1997 who, as a result of the equal opportunity legislation, were placed in regular police battalions.

Unfortunately, the court rulings were issued only after the 1997 women recruits were enlisted and were still undergoing their six month’s training in the police college. Many of these women had been attracted to policing because of a very popular movie, “Vijayashanthi IPS”, which portrayed the heroine as a chivalrous yet tough cop. They identiﬁed with the heroine and wanted to protect their “sisters” from victimization. They imagined that after their initial period of six months’ training they would be assigned to the AWPUs where they could begin their work to help women victims. Instead, before their training was complete, they learned that they were to be assigned to the battalions, just like the male recruits. Not unnaturally, these changed expectations led to considerable dismay among the women recruited and the study reported in this chapter of the 1997 recruits was designed to chart their experience in the battalions. It was undertaken in August, 2000 with the permission of the Tamil Nadu government and with the assistance of the Tamil Nadu police. The author visited six police battalions where those

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recruited in 1997 were assigned and she administered a standard questionnaire to 104 women ofﬁcers. The questionnaire was originally developed by Jones (1986) for use in England and it was used in earlier studies reported in this book. It covers a wide range of information about the respondents’ interests in police work, role preferences, and career goals. Responses to the survey by the 1997 recruits were compared to those reported in earlier chapters by the women in the AWPUs in 2000 and to the samples of police women surveyed in 1988 in Tamil Nadu and New Jersey. In addition, the author conducted unstructured interviews with sub-samples of 55 new recruits. The interviews covered the women’s daily activities, work problems and job satisfaction, family problems, and gender-related physical problems. This information was supplemented by informal interviews with senior police administrators and direct observation by the author of the women's working environment. The survey was completed voluntarily and anonymously while on duty, in the author’s presence. To ensure cooperation, the names of those interviewed were not recorded, nor the battalions to which they belonged. The author was assisted by criminology graduates from the University of Madras in undertaking interviews and administering the questionnaire. Informal discussions with the ofﬁcers provided the author with insights into their lives and additional context for interpreting the results of interviews and questionnaire responses. The average age of the 1997 recruits interviewed for this study was just under 25, about 15 percent had university degrees, and 40 percent were married (see Table 7.1). All were still entry-grade constables. They had been in the force for about three years. (Except for educational status, there were no signiﬁcant differences between the sample that completed the questionnaire and the sub-sample that was interviewed.) Table 7.1

Demographic characteristics of the 1997 recruits Questionnaire sample (n=104) percent

Interview sample (n=55) percent

24.7

24.6

Married

42

40

Single

58

60

High school

51.6

83.6

Bachelor’s degree

38.4

12.7

Master’s degree

10.1

3.7

Age (Years) Mean age Marital status

Educational status

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125

The Questionnaire Survey of 1997 Recruits By August, 2000, women ofﬁcers who were recruited in 1997 had been exposed to “integrated policing” in which men and women police ofﬁcers work on the same tasks. They were also familiar with the work of the AWPUs and they had been raised in a society that had come to embrace equal opportunity for women in all walks of life. It might therefore be expected that they would have a different perspective on policing from the ofﬁcers studied in 1988, and ofﬁcers deployed in AWPUs in 1994 and 2000. This section compares the responses of the four groups and the women ofﬁcers in New Jersey in 1988. Signiﬁcant differences existed between the 1997 recruits and women ofﬁcers in the AWPUs in preferred roles (chi square value 20.8, df = 2, signiﬁcant at .0001) Just over three quarters (76.1 percent) of the women in battalion (1997 recruits) preferred an integrated role and the corresponding percentages for the AWPUs were 53.8 percent. A far greater proportion of 1997 recruits (76.1 percent) than the women police questioned in 1988 (30.2 percent) preferred an integrated role (chi square value 25.5, df = 2, signiﬁcant at 0.001). Of the New Jersey (US) sample, 93 percent preferred an integrated role, 3 percent preferred a modiﬁed role and 4 percent a traditional role. The proportion preferring an integrated role is considerably higher than for the 1997 recruits in India. These differences (which are highly signiﬁcant at beyond the 0.001 level) are clearly not due to age; though the New Jersey sample is considerably older than the new recruits, many more of the sample still prefer an integrated role and integrated style of department (see Table 7.2). The results show that the new recruits are more in favor of integration than the ofﬁcers in AWPUs, but a preference for integrated roles is signiﬁcantly correlated with age and length of service (the correlation coefﬁcient is 0.142). Therefore this difference in preferred roles could be due partly to the fact that the new recruits are so much younger. In interviews, many of them expressed a belief that men and women ofﬁcers should be doing the same duties, for the same pay and conditions of service. Their notably more “feminist” attitudes could be the result of not yet having had to confront the realities of combining work and family responsibilities (58 percent of the new recruits were still single). In addition, they only had experience of working alongside men (presumably without too many problems) and there is a natural tendency to prefer what you know. However, the more assertive feminism of the new recruits could also be the product of the considerable social changes that have taken place in India in recent years. Reﬂecting the progressive modernization of the Indian police, these recruits had undergone largely the same training regime as men, with few concessions to their gender. They were being expected to perform largely the same duties as men. They were also exposed to many more examples of women in supervisory positions. It is little surprise that many more of them would feel that women could be fully integrated into policing and need not be segregated in special units. In any case, as mentioned above, the new recruits are of a different generation. Because of the sweeping social changes

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occurring in India, they have been brought up with quite different expectations from those raised in the 1960s and 1970s. In particular, they expect to have many of the same opportunities formerly open only to men. It is only to be expected that the different social climate and the changes in the role of women will color their attitudes to their jobs and their future work prospects. While it is apparent that more women now being recruited to the police in India favor full integration, they are still some way behind their counterparts in the United States. This may not be surprising given that US policewomen are more likely to express a preference for full integration than those in any other western nation (Heidensohn, 1992). In fact, the new recruits in India are closer in their role preferences to women ofﬁcers in Europe. According to Brown (2000), 58 percent of Welsh women ofﬁcers, 77 percent of Scottish women ofﬁcers, and 62 percent of English women ofﬁcers preferred an integrated role. Direct comparisons with the new recruits are difﬁcult because of differences in age and year of interview, and because of possible variations in the wording of questions. Nevertheless, it appears that new recruits in India do not differ much from women ofﬁcers in Europe in their role preferences—even if they still lag behind American women ofﬁcers in their desire to be fully integrated into the police force. Table 7.2

Preferred role of female police officers in Tamil Nadu 1988 India (n=183)

2000 AWPU (n=140)

1997 Recruits (n=104)

1988 US (n=196)

a. Police women should perform all same duties as policemen (Integrated role)

30.2%

53.8%

76.3%

92.8%

b. Policewomen should perform similar duties to policemen except where violence is anticipated (Modiﬁed role)

24.2%

14.4%

15.8%

3.1%

45.6% c. Policewomen should not do the same work as policemen, but should specialize in duties such as female offenders and victims, juveniles, and missing children (Traditional role)

31.8%

7.9%

4.1%

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127

Detailed interviews were conducted with 55 new recruits, after they completed the questionnaires. These ofﬁcers felt comfortable with the research project and volunteered to sit with us further to talk more freely about their jobs. At ﬁrst they seemed upbeat and proud to be in the police force, but when asked about their life in the battalions they started to pour out their problems. They were required to reside in barracks when on duty and were subject to being transported to any part of the state without notice to help deal with emergency situations. They had little privacy in the barracks and may have to share bed space with others. Much of their daily routine consisted of military-style parades and physical exercise. These conditions are harsh, particularly for women, and when combined with disappointed expectations resulting from the court order, it is not surprising that the women expressed considerable dissatisfaction with some aspects of their lives and work. Problems of Communal Living The requirement to reside in the barracks when on active duty was very burdensome to most of the new recruits. The unmarried women were homesick and missed seeing their parents and families, particularly at celebrations. Young mothers missed their children and suffered considerable inconvenience and guilt in having others look after them. Married women missed their husbands, and because some of the husbands were jealous and resentful, some women had the added burden of coping with these feelings when they returned home. Many of the new recruits complained about the dormitory-style living arrangements in the battalions. The barracks provided little privacy for women. They sometimes had to sleep in rows, side-by-side with male police. This is particularly upsetting for women from the villages or more traditional homes, where the daily lives of women tend to be spent apart from the company of men outside their immediate families. Conﬂict between Marriage and Career Some of the new recruits were concerned about their future ability to meet the demands of work and family. These concerns were expressed not just by those already married, but also by some of the single women who were hoping to be married (and most of them were). These single women worried that they would have difﬁculty ﬁnding suitable marriage partners given the demands of their work. Some also feared that their morals would be questioned because of having spent so much time in barracks in close quarters with male ofﬁcers. Disenchantment with Policing Quite a few of the new recruits applied to join the police after seeing movies and television programs about women police, portrayed in a romantic or heroic light. To these idealistic young women, the policewomen in the movies epitomized the

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Women Police in a Changing Society

modern, liberated female taking her rightful place in society, doing exciting and challenging work, and making a vital contribution to social welfare. Inevitably, the reality of their work in the police had been a considerable let-down. Many of the new recruits saw little point in spending long, boring hours on the parade ground. They complained about having to stand around for hours in the same place during crowd control at religious processions or political rallies. They complained that members of the public made fun of them when they were engaged in trafﬁc or “bandobust” duties. They disliked being treated as an armed reserve, ready to be dispatched at a moment’s notice to some remote area to maintain law and order. They disliked the inadequate arrangements for women during these postings and they particularly disliked being dropped off to ﬁnd their own way home, often late at night, at the conclusion of these duties. Excessive Physical Demands Many of the new recruits found the physical demands of a quasi-military regime, with regular parades and forced marches, difﬁcult to meet. Many seemed not to be strong and some were of small physique. Carrying kit and riﬂe for long hours was exhausting for these women. They were also drained of energy by the constant physical training that all new police ofﬁcers in the battalions must undergo. Some of the married women reported that they had experienced miscarriages as a result of these exertions. Many times while on escort or crowd control duty, these women faced acute discomfort because of the lack of toilet facilities. They sometimes became sick with urinary infections and constipation because they were unable to relieve themselves. These problems were especially marked when they were menstruating. Hostility from Male Ofﬁcers A constant refrain in the literature on women police is that the single largest barrier to increasing the number of women in policing is the attitudes and behavior of male colleagues (see Chapter 2). Studies in many countries consistently ﬁnd that discrimination and sexual harassment are pervasive in police departments and that supervisors not only tolerate such practices, but also are frequently among the perpetrators. Not surprisingly, this sample of women ofﬁcers made the same complaints. They reported having to face constant criticism from male supervisors and hostility from their male counterparts. They were criticized for being timid, lazy, physically incapable, and so forth. They said that male supervisors often used bad language in addressing them, and that they were never recognized for doing well. Almost all the new recruits interviewed were tired of this ill treatment and discrimination. They all expressed a longing for some respect and encouragement.

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Sexual Harassment Many of the women reported that sexual harassment was a daily fact of life in the battalions. For example, ofﬁcers in armed reserve are called upon for law and order duty as and when needed and they can be deputed suddenly without any prior notice. On these missions they often had to sleep in the same barracks as the men, which offended their culture. Many women ofﬁcers said they had to conceal this situation from their family to avoid any difﬁculties in marriage proposals or suspicion of adultery. They also mentioned that they were not prepared for such arrangements. The women were apprehensive about reporting any misbehavior by their male colleagues to their superiors because they felt they might lose their jobs. They said that those performing sexual favors for supervisors could escape many of the hardships in the program, while those refusing sexual demands were given unpleasant duties to perform. One recruit said: “Many of us are at a disadvantage when supervisors want to have sexual relations because we are away from our homes and lack the support of our parents and relations.” And then with a smile: “The only way to survive in this police world is to be fair complexioned and plump.” The Administration’s Response Many of the complaints made by this cohort of women ofﬁcers—relating particularly to sex discrimination and lack of respect, and to the difﬁculty of combining work and home—are heard from women ofﬁcers the world over, particularly in developing countries (Chapter 2) and solutions to the problems have been discussed widely (Martin, 1980, 1990, 1991 and 1999; Jones, 1986; Aleem, 1989; Coffey, Brown and Savage, 1992; Brown and Fielding, 1993; Belknap and Kastens, 1993; Novell, Hills and Murrin 1993; Schultz, 1993, 1995; Shelley, 1993; Walker, 1993; Kniveton, 1994; Morash and Haarr, 1995; LeBeuf, 1996; Leger, 1997; Breci, 1997; Appier, 1998; International Association of Chief of Police, 1998; Prenzler, 1998b; Wertsch, 1998; European Network for Policewomen, 1994; Brown, Hazenberg, and Ormiston, 1999; Horne, 1999; Brown and Heidensohn, 2000; National Center for Women and Policing, 2001). None of the solutions are easy, though most commentators believe that the problems will gradually ameliorate with an increase in the number of women ofﬁcers and as police forces gain experience in employing women. This process could take many years, perhaps generations, to occur because the percentage of women ofﬁcers in most forces is still low. In addition to these usual difﬁculties (which are compounded by various cultural factors in developing countries), the new recruits are enduring the physical and emotional hardships of a life in the armed reserve. Women are even less suited to this life than men. In fact, the new recruits entered the force with the very different expectation of being posted to the AWPUs after six months of basic training. Instead, they had to endure six years of battalion life, before being posted to the ordinary

130

Women Police in a Changing Society

(male-dominated) police stations. It is not surprising that many reported being depressed and that some have even committed suicide. Many of the new recruits did not understand why they were placed in the battalions and why they had to work alongside men, while the all women police ofﬁcers have separate units for themselves. The administration had not adequately explained the court rulings relating to equal treatment of men and women ofﬁcers, the history behind the rulings, and the beneﬁts of equal treatment with men. In any case, many of the women believed that they should be treated differently from men because of differences in physique. Few of them, particularly those coming from the villages, understood that differential treatment can result in hostility from male ofﬁcers and discrimination in matters of career and advancement. These facts needed to be discussed with them. Indeed, it must be said that the court ruling caused many problems for the police administration, which suddenly had to ﬁnd ways of accommodating the new recruits in the battalions. Discussions with the battalion training directors revealed that they were ill-prepared to integrate the new recruits into the regime. While the administration has shown sensitivity in dealing with some of the most distressed recruits on a caseby-case basis, it did not do enough, quickly enough, to make battalion life easier to bear. It learned quite quickly that the new recruits could not be expected to meet the same physical standards as men and that the training in physical ﬁtness was not suited to their physiques. However, it has been slow to design speciﬁc duties for women ofﬁcers, more suited to their physical capabilities. Once the dissatisfaction became public, the administration appointed a senior woman ofﬁcer to address the complaints of the new recruits. It also made efforts to accommodate the women in separate housing and allowed them to choose more ﬂattering uniforms (though they had to pay for these from their own pockets). The police administration has recently taken important steps to integrate women ofﬁcers into the police force by establishing a “women’s police battalion”, with a strength of 1078 ofﬁcers of all ranks; more radically, this battalion includes two companies of Women Commandos (Tamil Nadu Government Policy Note, 2004). The women commandos have attracted considerable media interest (see Annex). Unstructured interviews with 30 women ofﬁcers in the all women battalion in Avadi, Chennai, undertaken in January 2007 by the author, reveal that they are now aware of their six years’ term in the battalion and armed force. Almost all of these women ofﬁcers wish to be posted to the AWPUs. One of them said “working in (the AWPUs) is challenging and interesting and we cannot wait to help women victims of violence. Though the training in riﬂe shooting, running, and doing parade are interesting, we believe dealing with family violence is more suitable for us.” Summary and Conclusions The principal ﬁndings from the study reported in this chapter were as follows:

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131

1. Many more of those recruited in 1997 want to be fully integrated than women interviewed in 1988 and the ofﬁcers in the AWPUs. This may partly be due to their youth, but their experience to date has given them conﬁdence that they can perform a full range of duties. They also come from a generation of Indian women who expect equal treatment with men. Even so, a signiﬁcant minority of the new recruits perceived distinct disadvantages to a fully integrated role for women. 2. Despite the trend towards fuller integration, the aspirations of the 1997 recruits lag far behind those of their counterparts in the United States, interviewed in 1988. On the other hand, they do not seem very different from the preferences of policewomen in Europe. 3. Many of the speciﬁc difﬁculties encountered by this cohort result from the recent court rulings mandating that new female recruits be treated in the same way and be made subject to the same conditions of employment as male recruits. At one stroke, this raised a large question mark over the future of the AWPUs and blighted the early years of service of the new recruits, who were unexpectedly required to endure a paramilitary regime they found deeply uncongenial. Unfortunately, the difﬁculties were exacerbated by poor communication between the women ofﬁcers and their mostly male superiors. 4. More recently, the government and the top administration of the Tamil Nadu police have taken steps to address the problems experienced by the new recruits. In particular, they have established an all women’s battalion and a corps of Women Commandos. In conclusion, it is clear that the Tamil Nadu police will have to come to terms with the reality of having substantial proportions of women entering the force under equal opportunity standards. The growing emancipation of women in Indian society is likely to mean that recruits will be less docile than in the past and will demand that the police environment become more hospitable to them. The same changes in society will also mean that the police will become increasingly dependent on women ofﬁcers to deal with the inevitable growth in complaints from female victims. Taken together, it is difﬁcult to see how the quasi-military style of policing in Tamil Nadu can be sustained in the face of these changes. It is more likely that policing in the state, as in many other parts of the world, will have to become more community-oriented in its basic approach. Women ofﬁcers are likely to welcome this change of orientation since it places a premium on interpersonal and communication skills; skills in which women tend to excel (Belknap, 1996; Vishnoi, 1999; Bhardwaj, 1999; Brown and Heidensohn, 2000; National Center for Women and Policing 2000; Boni and Circelli, 2002). But this vision of the future should not distract administrators from acting now to ensure that the present cohorts of women ofﬁcers can make their full contribution to policing in Tamil Nadu, while at the same time enjoying satisfactory and rewarding careers.

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Women Police in a Changing Society

Annex: Press Reports on the Women Commandoes 1. Shivakumar (2003) reports that these women commandos are dressed in black dungarees, 20 women commandos leap from a vaulting height of 30 feet; from a moving winch, they shoot bang on target. And, they blindfold themselves and wield weapons with ease. They complete the complicated task of weapon tactics in three minutes ﬂat. Three weapons pistol, a 9-mm carbine and an AK 47 are reassembled, each in one minute. Ready to ﬁre.

2. A BBC correspondent reported that: The training programme has given an opportunity for the women personnel to prove that they are equal to or even better than their male counterparts. The rigorous training, which was completed on a trial basis, has set the agenda for the formation of an exclusive woman commando battalion.

The training included a three-day relay race from Madras to Cape Comorin, India’s southernmost point—a distance of 700 kilometres (440 miles). That meant going without sleep for 72 hours. Most of the women come from humble backgrounds, many from remote rural areas, and these were utterly new activities for them. ‘They were very determined and focused’; ‘It’s brought their self-esteem and selfconﬁdence to new levels.’ The women commandos will work mainly alongside their male colleagues and will escort the toughest criminals or suspects, both male and female, from prisons to courts, and also be assigned to protect VIPs. The male commandos stay on an entirely separate campus – the men and women mix at work but not socially. . 3. According to Kandaswamy (2004), In 2002, 50 women age 21 to 35 from the Tamil Nadu special police force expressed the desire to undergo commando training. Their request accepted, 21 were short-listed and underwent an arduous 12-week training course. Encouraged by this, 120 more policewomen were trained, to form the ﬁrst all-women police commando company. These women commandos followed the commando curriculum and were trained on par with men in horse riding, rowing, long distance running, swimming, driving, weapon handling and shooting, and unarmed combat.

Most of the policewomen come from rural backgrounds, and commando training is a new world. G. Manimozhi, age 29, from Tiruvarur district, conﬁdes, ‘I joined the police against my father’s wishes. Growing up in our village, I was always told what women can and cannot do. This has given me a new level of self-conﬁdence. I know now a woman can handle any situation.’ There’s an economic incentive, too. S. Valarmathi, age 28, from a village in Tirunelveli district, admits, ‘Being a commando means an increase in salary, almost double what I would earn as a regular

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constable. This helps my family.’ Jansi, a 21-year-old commando from Trichy district, says, ‘The training was tough, but once I mastered it, the feeling was unbelievable.’ Jansi won the gold medal in the 2004 shooting competition for state police, beating policemen and male commandos. In addition to basic physical training, ﬁreﬁghting and martial arts, women commandos learn horseback riding, driving, swimming, sand running, unarmed combat, parasailing, rowing, wall-scaling and rock climbing. They receive specialized training in handling AK-47s, light machine guns, and bomb detection and disposal, as well as in dealing with hostage situations. Their academic training includes such topics as psychology, terrorism and guerrilla tactics; gendersensitizing programs are emphasized, plus counseling and investigative techniques. The training concludes with a 440-mile, three-day footrace—and no sleep for 72 hours. While police commandos are similar to SWAT teams used in special operations, they can also be deployed swiftly as part of the reserve police force, along with defense forces, in counterterrorist operations. . 4. The Hindu, a national newspaper, reported in July (2005) that: As part of the community-policing programme, the North Chennai police have launched a novel programme of teaching simple self-defense techniques to the college students, who face problems from the eve-teasers while they commute to the college and while returning home after college. Three women commandos from the City Police and three men including a Karate master conduct the classes for the students for three days to empower girls to ﬁght against the crimes inﬂicted on them. It is also interesting to note that culture prone self-defense mechanisms were taught including elbow attack, throat attack, rib attack, wrist attack, collarbone attack. The girls can adopt elbow attack, when they face problems from boys while traveling in a bus and the collarbone attack is aimed to secure themselves from chain-snatching offenders [chain snatching is one of the crimes against women in India]. Further, they are taught to use their ‘dupatta’ [scarf] which can be used for locking the hands and neck together to overpower the offender.

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PART IV WOMEN POLICING IN A CHANGING SOCIETY

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Chapter 8

Reconciling the Needs of the Police, Women Ofﬁcers, and Tamil Nadu The recent history of women in the Tamil Nadu police is characterized by a series of bold experiments to meet the needs of the women ofﬁcers and the society they serve. As in many other countries, women ofﬁcers in Tamil Nadu were originally assigned a peripheral “token” role in policing, usually to assist male ofﬁcers with clerical duties. This was the position until the 1970s when they were given a more direct role in dealing with women and children, either as victims or offenders. In the 1990s, however, the situation began to change because the police were being asked to take a more active role in assisting women victims of violence. An important barrier to taking this more active role was that women in traditional societies are reluctant to report their victimization to police (Human Rights Watch Report, 1998, Natarajan, 2006c). In particular: • •

• •

They are hesitant to talk to a male police ofﬁcer about their private problems. They believe that male ofﬁcers will not be sympathetic because there is a general tendency for men to support one another and male ofﬁcers are also more likely to believe the man’s story. They believe male ofﬁcers do not understand women’s psychology and the suffering resulting from domestic violence. They fear that male ofﬁcers will take sexual advantage of them.

The solution adopted by the Tamil Nadu police was to establish the all women police units (AWPUs) on the grounds that a woman’s “gentle touch” (Heidensohn, 1992) was needed to undertake gender-speciﬁc police tasks. These units succeeded in improving the reporting of violence against women, but they also created the opportunity for women police to develop an important role of their own. When assigned to general police stations, women police were assisting male police ofﬁcers in clerical duties rather than in “policing” functions. The AWPUs gave women ofﬁcers the opportunity to learn a wide range of policing skills and improved their conﬁdence in performing various police tasks. With the establishment of the AWPUs, they were able to demonstrate their competence (in Susan Martin’s phrase) as “policewomen.” For many of these women, escaping from a male-dominated environment provided the impetus for personal growth and cultivated a sense of professionalism. Working

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Women Police in a Changing Society

in the AWPUs meant that they were surrounded by supportive colleagues and it also freed them from sexual harassment at work. Indeed, they found that their relations with male ofﬁcers and supervisors generally improved and their work was more likely to be appreciated. This was because the men disliked dealing with women’s problems and had little difﬁculty in conceding that women ofﬁcers were more suited to this work. Despite some allegations of corruption and complaints of insensitivity, the work undertaken by the women ofﬁcers in the AWPUs in helping women victims was generally appreciated by the public and the image of women police was improved. As a result, more young women from the lower and lower middle classes began to seek employment in policing, at the same time as new labor laws were passed requiring a 33 percent quota for women in government jobs. These two factors together resulted in many more women police being recruited in 1997. They were allocated to perform a variety of policing tasks in larger numbers than ever before, and their work came to be valued both by the government and the police force. However, the mandating of equal opportunity standards had some unfortunate results for women ofﬁcers. In particular, new recruits were no longer allocated to the AWPUs, but were placed in the police battalions alongside male recruits. Many of these new recruits from traditional family backgrounds were unprepared for life in the battalions. In particular, they found it difﬁcult to endure the physical hardships and the male dominated paramilitary regime. This resulted in much dissatisfaction among the new recruits which harmed subsequent recruitment. The government was forced to respond to this situation by establishing all women police battalions to help retain these women recently recruited and to continue to attract more women to the police force. In a more recent move, the Tamil Nadu government has now established “women commando” units within the all women battalion. These will likely further increase the visibility of women police among the public and help to improve recruitment. Gender Segregation in Policing By establishing the AWPUs and the all women battalion and commandos, the Tamil Nadu police force has clearly embarked on a policy of gender segregation of its workforce. This ﬂies in the face of the almost universal expectation that women ofﬁcers would gradually be integrated into the mainstream of policing, becoming indistinguishable in their role and duties from male ofﬁcers. The most signiﬁcant step towards gender segregation was the establishment of the AWPUs because these were intended to perform an important social function (aiding women victims of violence). By contrast, the all women battalion and commandos were established for internal policy reasons—to deal with dissatisfaction among large numbers of young women recruited as a result of equal opportunity legislation.

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While the AWPUs halted progress to full integration, they did provide a solution to some of the problems facing women ofﬁcers in less developed societies (Thomas, 1994; Nelson, 1996; Natarajan, 1996a), including harassment and lack of respect from male counterparts and supervisors. In the new setting, among supportive colleagues, women police were given ample opportunities to enhance their policing skills and it appears that their removal from male domination has both provided an impetus for personal growth and cultivated a sense of professionalism in dealing with speciﬁc police tasks. Furthermore, there is little doubt that the AWPUs are performing the social function for which they were established and that they have helped thousands of women victims across the state. The success of the AWPUs in Tamil Nadu raises an important general question about women policing in traditional societies: could gender segregation result in more meaningful careers for women ofﬁcers in these societies? These women might have the same aspirations for meaningful and rewarding careers as do women anywhere, but they may not wish to integrate fully into the man’s working world. They may prefer a work environment structured to their own concerns and priorities. Rather than trying to get men to change, they might prefer to develop their own parallel working arrangements free of the inﬂuence of men. Hence, the AWPUs fulﬁll an important need in traditional cultures. They help not only to preserve valuable aspects of these cultures, but also to develop a sense of individuality and conﬁdence among women ofﬁcers. In addition, they help to gain recognition and appreciation of women’s unique contribution to policing. This “equal but different” model of women in policing might not be welcomed by hard-line feminists, but it should not be rejected on doctrinaire grounds if it serves important needs. As mentioned previously, AWPUs have been established in other Indian states, but to see if the model has broader validity, the next two sections examine the record of all women stations in other countries, especially Brazil and Pakistan. Women Police Stations in Brazil In 1985, the state government of Sao Paulo, Brazil, introduced its ﬁrst women police station (that is, just ﬁve years after the ﬁrst all women stations were introduced in India) and, in 2003, there were 339 women police stations throughout Brazil, with at least one station in every state. The stations in Brazil (known as DDM, or delegacia de defesa da mulher) were introduced because “the traditional institutional response to grievances of violence against women was inadequate and even discriminatory. Police, almost always men, routinely ignored and rarely prosecuted cases of physical and sexual abuse of women and often blamed and harassed the victims” (Nelson, 2002, p. 197). At ﬁrst, the central government took considerable interest in the stations and, according to Nelson (2002), women’s organizations also played an important part in deﬁning DDM policies and procedures. Thus, women ofﬁcers in charge of the

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DDMs were required to attend intensive seminars run by members of the women’s movement on gender relations and the speciﬁcities of violence against women. However, as the stations lost their novelty, they quickly fell exclusively under state direction. Activists, community groups, and non-proﬁts were soon cut off from the DDMs and the specialized training itself was eliminated. Without these sources of external support, Nelson believes that the DDMs’ performance will deteriorate because DDM ofﬁcers are no more “naturally” compassionate and responsive to their sisters’ needs than men (Nelson, 2002, p. 207). In fact, Nelson claims that: “The large majority of reported cases are simply archived and forgotten” (Nelson, 2002, p. 205) and that The capacity of the DDMs to fulﬁll many of their original objectives is necessarily limited by their problematic position within the police bureaucracy—problematic because the DDMs were created in resistance to the very male-dominated criminal justice system in which they themselves are located. In order to exist and proliferate, they must succeed at the basic police duties with which they are charged. Yet they must also, in a sense, fail, or otherwise pose a threat to the legitimacy of the police bureaucracy. That is, they must perform their bureaucratic function while concealing the feminist premises upon which they were founded (p. 206).

A more recent study by Santos assesses the DDMs more favorably than Nelson’s feminist critique and claims that the stations have promoted signiﬁcant changes in women’s lives over the past 19 years: “These stations have largely contributed to the construction of gendered citizenship, a form of citizenship that recognizes the social differences and inequalities between men and women granting equality before the law as well as full access to political, economic and civil citizenship rights” (Santos, 2005: p. 178). An examination of the complaints revealed that conjugal violence constitutes the majority of the cases processed in women’s police stations in Brazil. However, in contrast with the feminist discourse on the criminalization of gender violence and the established legal function of the women police stations to prosecute perpetrators, complainants do not necessarily seek criminalization of their abusers … Rather than seeking criminalization, they attempt to use the force and authority of the police, not law enforcement, to “scare” their abusers and gain some power to renegotiate their conjugal contract and to end violence in the home and in the community. But they also undermine the power of the women’s police stations in order to protect their community and their family from police violence (Santos, 2005, p. 185).

The growing number of women police stations has also empowered policewomen as distinct gendered actors within the police department (Santos, 2005, p. 182). In effect, according to Santos, the DDMs have created a job market for women in the police force, expanded victims’ rights of access to justice, and encouraged battered women to report their hidden violence at home. For example, in 2002 in Sao Paulo

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alone, 356,667 complaints of violence against women have been registered (in 1994 there were 54,472 incidents of violence). The fact that eight other Latin American countries (Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Peru, and Uruguay) are also now introducing women police stations (Santos, 2004) suggests that Santos’ favorable assessment of the DDMs is more widely shared than Nelson’s critique. Women Police Stations in Pakistan The success of the AWPUs in Tamil Nadu owes much to the support given to them by a female chief minister. The women police stations in Pakistan were also dependent on the support of a powerful woman—Benazir Bhutto, who was Prime Minister of that country for two periods in the 1990s. During her second term, she decided to establish a number of these stations throughout the country. While speaking at the inauguration ceremony for the ﬁrst station in the city of Rawalpindi, she said she had decided to establish them to guarantee provision of human rights to women. She expanded on her reasons in an interview with the French magazine Elle (see Annex to this chapter) in which she also hinted at some of the difﬁculties she experienced, as in her own words: “Politically the Party, Parliamentary group and cabinet was unanimous in setting up women’s police stations. However, we faced obstacles from the bureaucracy which was slow in allocating the ﬁnances, in drawing up the structure, in recruiting the women and in training them.” The politics of Pakistan have been extraordinarily volatile, especially surrounding the Bhuttos (Benazir Bhutto’s father was removed from ofﬁce in 1977 when Prime Minister and subsequently hanged on a murder charge), and Benazir Bhutto’s tenure as Prime Minister was ended on both occasions on charges of corruption.1 Her removal undoubtedly would have resulted in government support for the women’s police stations being withdrawn, which may help to explain why a recent Master’s thesis study (Taj, 2004)2 found that two of the stations established in the North-West Frontier Province (in Peshawar and Abbottabad) were functioning as little more than lock-ups for women offenders. Taj reports that not a single case of a woman victim seeking assistance had been registered in the station at Peshawar in the nine years it had existed. About 500 cases have been registered at the station in Abbottabad during the same period, but in August, 2002 it was ordered to stop registering any more complaints. Taj also found that most of the staff were untrained and some were even illiterate. They had no transport or telephones and, in Peshawar, the “policewomen were not even allowed to leave the doorstep of their women police station without the permission of the senior male police ofﬁcers. (Taj, 2004, p. 13). She concludes

1 Her bid for reelection in 2007 ended with her assassination. 2

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that women ofﬁcers were exploited and disparaged by male ofﬁcers and that they also had little public support. It is clear from Taj’s study (2004) that these two stations fall far short of the support and resources needed to operate properly as women’s police stations, at least on the Tamil Nadu model. The fact that they were created by Benazir Bhutto, a politician who has fallen out of favor, and that Pakistan is a Muslim state with a very conservative view of the place of women in society, has undoubtedly contributed to this situation. It is therefore not surprising that she found very little support for their expansion or even continuation among the many people she interviewed. For example, one liberal male ofﬁcer she interviewed said: I think most of our female staff is honest and intelligent. But they have little opportunity to integrate in the police force as long as they are in the women police station. They could work much better if they are posted along with their male colleagues in various police stations. I believe this is the best way to integrate the policewomen in the police force (Taj, 2004, p. 97).

Even the human rights activists she interviewed were not in favor of continuing the experiment, apparently because they saw the women’s stations as reinforcing segregation of women and discrimination against them. The following are two of the quotes she reproduces from two very prominent activists, the ﬁrst from a woman and the second from a man: The establishment of women police stations is not an appropriate state response to address the issue of human rights violation of women … We don’t need separate women police stations but trained policewomen in every police station of the country. (Taj, 2004, p. xx). In Pakistan, lives of women are impaired by two main problems: segregation and discrimination … Women police stations have reinforced the notion of segregation and discrimination. These police stations can not make women’s access to justice easier … Better to abolish them completely and recruit and integrate more women in the police force (Taj, 2004, p. 97).

Women Police Stations and Traditional Cultures The AWPUs in Tamil Nadu have successfully provided women ofﬁcers with a clear and distinct role, in which they can develop professionally and become competent and conﬁdent police ofﬁcers. They are also fulﬁlling an important social function in achieving justice for large numbers of women victims of violence who would not otherwise have been helped. It has also been argued in this book that the AWPUs carry many beneﬁts for the police service as a whole. They have served to attract many more capable ofﬁcers into the police force, they have projected a more caring, service-oriented image of policing, and they represent the ﬁrst step towards shedding a militaristic model of policing that is inappropriate for a rapidly modernizing

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society. The research is a little conﬂicting, but it also appears that all women stations in Brazil (and perhaps South America at large) are bringing similar beneﬁts. These countries are if anything slightly more socially and economically developed than India. In Pakistan, however, the all women stations have not been successful. This could be due to their establishment by a controversial politician (Benazir Bhutto) who was not long enough in ofﬁce to ensure that they prospered. It could also be due to the fact that the Muslim culture of the country is predominantly hostile to women’s emancipation. Any gains that women have made tend to be short-lived or conﬁned to the more powerful and sophisticated sections of society. This suggests that all women stations might only succeed when there is a broad desire in a traditional country to move to greater gender equality and justice, and a broad recognition that this is a requirement for the society’s further development in a global world. As Braithwaite has argued, the goal of equality in development means not only equality of access and participation, but also of the beneﬁts of development. “Women and men should be equally active as participants and should have their needs and interests equally well met. Even more pro-actively, development could play a role in reducing disparities between women and men. This implies not only equality in development but also equality through development” (Braithwaite, 1998, pp. 10–11). Without this will and this recognition, women policing is likely to remain conﬁned in the straightjacket of a help and support role for male ofﬁcers. On the other hand, the all women stations offer a route to gender equality in policing, while at the same time helping to preserve the unique contribution to policing that women can make, as well as enabling these women to fulﬁll family and societal obligations. Conclusions In the past decade, societal changes have improved the position of women in India and attitudes to the role of women have changed both within and outside the family. Many women are now employed outside the home and are becoming independent in making decisions about marriage, family, and career. They have generally become more forceful in their demands for equality. It is now more widely accepted that women can work and their income is needed to support a family. This attitude change is also apparent in rural parts of India. Many more parents are now motivated to educate their children, including female children, and are persistent in pursuit of government jobs. Many bridegrooms and their families now prefer brides with government jobs. Access to television, magazines, and newspapers is more widespread than ever before even to low class rural people in India. Young women are now raised to think they are of equal ability to men and that their future career path is on a par with men. So it is not surprising that large numbers of women are now choosing to become police ofﬁcers. Tamil Nadu now employs a higher percentage of women ofﬁcers (10.5 percent) than any other Indian state. The changes that have been made there in the

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recruitment and deployment of women ofﬁcers have occurred without direct input from feminist groups, but women police have been supported strongly by a woman chief minister who responded to their needs and helped raise their proﬁle in the maledominated force. Since the 1990s, it was the government and the police force itself that recognized the need to integrate women more fully into the police and to make better use of their unique skills and abilities—a change that was reinforced by the enactment of new labor laws mandating the recruitment of a much higher proportion of women ofﬁcers. The Tamil Nadu model of integration of women recognizes women’s identity and tries to meet their cultural expectations in the police force. This leads to a diversiﬁed policing culture in which both men and women citizens are beneﬁted and both men and women ofﬁcers can retain their gender identity. This model of women policing could well serve other countries that are similar to India. However, to meet its commitment to hiring more women and deploying them increasingly to gender-speciﬁc tasks, the Tamil Nadu force will have to invest considerable resources in preparing the women recruits for their work and will have to develop sustainable policies and procedures to ensure that they can make their unique and considerable contribution to the policing of the state. The chapter concludes by enumerating the longer term policies that the Tamil Nadu police management should develop in furthering these aims, but there is a more urgent need to deal with the low morale among the women presently employed. Police administrators are aware of the problems and have taken some steps to deal with them, principally by appointing a woman (who presumably would be more alert to the needs of female ofﬁcers) to be in charge of personnel administration for the department as a whole. More could be done, however, to improve morale by encouraging contacts between the women police and three groups outside the Tamil Nadu police: 1. Senior women IPS3 ofﬁcers. These IPS ofﬁcers are of high rank and generally high prestige. Constables meet them during training, but seldom see them afterwards. They miss the friendly advice about grievances and the “pep talks” these senior ofﬁcers could provide. Lack of contact with these role models also reinforces the feeling of being marooned in a largely man’s world. 2. Women’s advocacy groups. In other parts of the world, feminist groups do take an interest in women police (National Center for Women and Policing, 1998; Schulz, 1998), but to date there has been little sign of this in Tamil Nadu (though admittedly these groups might have more pressing needs). 3. Women police associations. Women police in the United States, the UK, Europe, and Australia have formed national network systems to promote a “buddy” system that supports and encourages women in their police career. The International Association of Women Police (IWPA) has been in existence since 1956 to strengthen, unite and raise the proﬁles of women in criminal 3 The Indian Police Service is federally administered and its ofﬁcers occupy the senior ranks in the state police forces.

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justice internationally and is committed to professional development, training, recognition, mentoring, networking, and peer support. In 2001, IWPA had 2,400 members from more than 45 countries worldwide, including Australia, Canada, Russia, Nepal, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States and others from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean Islands, Europe, the Middle East, the Paciﬁc Islands, Central and South America. In 1998, IWPA created the “Adopt a Member Program” that was designed to provide police women in countries outside of North America, who have limited salaries, an opportunity to enjoy the beneﬁts of IWPA membership. IWPA members sponsor or “adopt” an ofﬁcer by paying their dues and corresponding with them. The Australasian Council of Women and Policing was formed in 1997 with the aim of making policing organizations more attractive, rewarding employers of women, and ensuring that policing services they provide meet the needs of women in the community. There have been ﬁve major conferences to date hosted by the council to recognize the needs of women police and to recognize outstanding achievements of women in traditional societies. Actions such as these should help women police to develop wider support networks, but they are only one small part of the policies that the Tamil Nadu police force must be committed to in the longer term if it is to continue to attract women recruits and to make the best possible use of them in furthering its mission. These longer term policies include: • • • • •

• • • • •

•

Nurturing gender consciousness adapted to the local culture Safeguarding women’s rights as professionals in the police force Increasing women’s participation in and exposure to the highest levels of achievement in the various policing tasks that interest women ofﬁcers Expecting male ofﬁcers to treat their female colleagues with respect Bringing together academicians and police practitioners to ascertain and develop new ways of incorporating gender sensitivity in the police training curriculum. Increasing administrative support to sustain the development of women ofﬁcers’ role in the police force Providing appropriate training for women ofﬁcers to enable them to undertake policing duties Helping women ofﬁcers to meet their family as well as their policing duties. Expressing a sense of commitment to citizens’ safety and protection that needs to be shared by both men and women ofﬁcers. Increasing civic discourse among community members by providing opportunities and experiences that inspire and facilitate citizen police partnership on issues related to cultural and natural heritage Serving as a community policing model for other states and regions of the world.

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Annex: Script of An Interview with Prime Minister B. Bhutto Interview by Guylaine Idoux of the French magazine Elle, September 13, 1997 Pakistan’s People Party News Q. 1. When did you decide to implement the women police stations? Bhutto: When I was re-elected Prime Minister in October 1993, I decided that the state had a responsibility to take measures for the protection of women. Our press had been publishing stories of how women had been stripped and humiliated to punish their men folk or had been burnt or hit by the male members of their families. The women’s police stations, staffed by women, was to give conﬁdence to women to come forward and report cases of rape, assault and maltreatment without embarrassment. We also saw the women’s police stations as an avenue of opening up employment for women in Pakistan. Q. 2. Was it a measure you had already observed in any other country? Bhutto: I had not seen a women’s police station in any other country. It was an idea which grew in my mind while meeting women and questioning them about why they silently faced humiliation. I found they felt doubly punished when they had to live an ordeal and repeat it in front of men. Men tended to stick with men and did not appear to take what women had to say as seriously as the situation warranted. I felt women would empathize with women and that crimes would not go unregistered and be properly investigated. Q. 3. What were the reasons for their implementation? Bhutto: The reason for their implementation was the social taboos where women believed that if they talked about being raped, beaten up, abused, robbed they were bringing shame upon their family. Thus women never had the backing to go public with their miserable situation. Q. 4. Was it complicated to implement this measure? Why? Bhutto: Politically the Party, Parliamentary group and cabinet was unanimous in setting up women’s police stations. However, we faced obstacles from the bureaucracy which was slow in allocating the ﬁnances, in drawing up the structure in recruiting the women and in training them. Q. 5. Did you face any opposition while implementing these police stations? Bhutto: We did not face much opposition towards the idea because of the general impression in the country that women did not have a fair deal.

Reconciling the Needs of the Police, Women Ofﬁcers, and Tamil Nadu

Q. 6. Today, do you think that these police stations have improved women rights? Bhutto: The women’s police stations certainly sent a signal that as we approached a new century, women’s issues and the plight of women would get greater attention in Pakistan. Q. 7. Were any measures taken concerning trials involving women? Bhutto: I believe trials did take place. For example at the Islamabad Police Station alone 475 complaints were received during 1994–97 for various crimes against women.

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Chapter 9

Prescriptions for Twenty-ﬁrst Century Women Policing: Theory, Research, and Policy If women ofﬁcers in western societies such as the UK and the US are underrepresented and underutilized, the situation is far worse in traditional societies where women often constitute less than 5 percent of the police force, and where they are deployed largely in auxiliary duties. As reported in Chapter 2, most studies on women policing are based on western nations and little is known about women police elsewhere, but according to Falvin and Bennett’s (2001) study of police work in the Caribbean, gender models used in developed countries do not necessarily apply in developing nations. This ﬁnal chapter provides a theoretical model of the integration of women policing in traditional societies. It is based on Brown’s model discussed in Chapter 1, but it attempts to take fuller account of the social conditions and policing styles that impact integration. The chapter concludes with a discussion of implications for policy and research relating to improving and strengthening women policing, especially in developing countries. The detailed case study of Tamil Nadu reported in Chapters 6–8 provides a benchmark comparison for many other traditional societies. It also helps to identify ways in which a career in policing can be made more attractive to women, and police organizations everywhere can make proper use of women’s unique and valuable role in policing. Theoretical Implications There are few pointers from research about what must be done to improve the integration of women police in traditional societies where gender roles are ascribed rather than achieved. This section develops a model of integration (see Figure 9.1) designed to assist this thinking. It combines ﬁndings from the Tamil Nadu case study with existing generic explanations of women policing to provide a framework for explaining the development of women policing in Tamil Nadu. At the same time, the framework should assist thinking about the process of integration in other countries, traditional or not. It takes account of changes in society at large (speciﬁcally in economic conditions and gender roles) and associated changes in policing models that impact the deployment of women ofﬁcers. In this section the components of the model are ﬁrst discussed before proceeding to a discussion of the more general concept of “gendered policing” which, it is argued,

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will provide a more satisfactory role for women ofﬁcers and a more comprehensive police service to both men and women in the community.

Figure 9.1

Integration process of women policing in Tamil Nadu

*GPS: general police stations; AWPU: all women police units; GB: General battalion; AWB: women battalion. AWC: all women commandos. Dotted arrows reﬂect the uncertainty of outcome

Figure 9.1 is a summary of the integration process of women policing in Tamil Nadu. The country’s economic development provides better opportunities for women in the labor force, but the deep-rooted patriarchal structure of society hinders their emancipation. Tamil Nadu is a traditional society with many people residing in rural areas, and there is still a high level of sex discrimination, despite various legal rulings and afﬁrmative actions; in the long run, however, “fair treatment” of women can be expected. Policing in Tamil Nadu is also evolving—from a militaristic to a quasi-military model, and there are signs too of a greater appreciation of community policing which could have a major impact on the integration process of women in policing. Women entered an exclusively male force in 1973 and played a limited role by assisting male ofﬁcers. The introduction of the AWPUs was the ﬁrst sign that their special contribution to policing was being recognized. The legal wrangles that led to the placement of new women recruits in the general battalion, along with male recruits, created many problems for these women and the all women battalion and all women commandos were then established. Despite the high level of segregation represented by the AWB and AWCs, they have helped to attract many new female recruits to the Tamil Nadu force. Currently, depending upon their skills, women are deployed in four different sections: general police stations; AWPUs; the women battalion and women commandos. What the future holds is unclear: women

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could become completely integrated in the force as western ideas might dictate; alternatively, and possibly more likely, the Tamil Nadu force could become a more fully “gendered organization,” based upon the “equal but different” doctrine, with women ﬁlling a different, but equally valued role. Socio-economic Development and Gender Roles At a macro level, social and economic change affects every aspect of society such as the family, politics, science and technology, and criminal justice systems. These in turn, affect all aspects of our lives at a micro level including our value systems, attitudes, and beliefs. Consequently, socio-economic change has a major impact on gender roles in any given society (O’Toole and Schiffman, 1997). Gender roles are a set of behavioral norms that deﬁne gender identity, that is, a set of qualities and behaviors expected from females and males by society at large. In a gendered world, the roles of men and women conﬁrm their position in that society. What they learn and what they practice varies from culture to culture, but cultural determination of gender roles is so deeply rooted that, in most instances, it is difﬁcult for women to adapt and adjust to changing social conditions. Powerful forces in society have thus resulted in gender polarization, with males and females fulﬁlling largely separate societal functions: women bear and raise the children, and look after the household; men provide the household income through their work. Prime among the forces that have polarized gender roles is the patriarchal system that emerged 9,000 years ago with the development of agriculture (according to Fredrick Engels). It holds sway in most societies, particularly those that are as yet undeveloped, and reinforces the relationship between gender and power within a society. Meanwhile, the process of industrialization has changed many aspects of human lives—speciﬁcally in this context it has provided opportunities for women to be part of the economy. Their increased participation in the labor force has inevitably impacted the roles they play in the society. Despite this fact and despite rapid economic and technological process, the status of women in India is still low. The literacy rate for women is lower than men and so is the rate of labor force participation. Eighty percent of the population still lives in a predominantly agrarian culture. The low Gender Development Index (GDI) and Gender Empowerment Index (GEM) score for India (see Chapter 3) indicates that the country is still predominantly patriarchal. Furthermore, the workplace is still structured around a “system of patriarchy” (Ledwith and Colgan, 1996). All this helps to explain the slow progress of women towards gaining equal status in careers and work. They face particular difﬁculties in entering careers, such as policing, that are widely perceived as the special domain of men. However, globalization is placing a premium on human capital and this has meant that women’s power and contribution to the growing economy is increasingly recognized (ILO, 2000). Better education has also played a major role in raising

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The Lives of Women Inspectors In January, 2007, I met with a woman inspector from one of the districts in Tamil Nadu. She had been on duty in the state capital (a seven-hour train ride from her home) during the weekend and returned home on the Monday morning at 5.30 am. She then prepared breakfast and lunch for the family, made plans for evening tea and dinner, then left for work at 8.30 a.m. Within the three hours of her stay at home, she had to take care of the regular household chores plus making arrangements to meet family commitments, such as who should be attending relatives, marriages, and looking after sick parents and grandparents. She returned home that evening at 10 pm having been on duty all day. The ofﬁcer said that this is how she had worked ever since she joined the force 25 years ago. In order to be successful in policing, she felt she had to place the job as a priority over her family responsibilities. She said she was lucky that her husband has been very supportive and has taken care of their children while she is away. According to her, “if the husbands and in-laws do not cooperate with a career woman, then the woman’s life is hell. Though the work schedule is the same for male ofﬁcers, the social obligations prescribed for women at home make it worse and complicates the professional lives of women”. As mentioned elsewhere, many women in the constabulary come from lower class or lower middle class backgrounds, which makes their lives more difﬁcult. They have to take care of all household duties before they leave for work, because they do not know when they will return from work. They have to be good planners to ﬁll their multiple roles and still have a worthwhile career. I also spent an afternoon with another inspector in her home with her family, including her in-laws (most Indian rural families still live in extended families). I admired the way she dealt with her conservative mother-in-law, who complained to me that she was tired of seeing her daughter-in-law in uniform (because she likes to see her in saris) and tired of her returning home late at night.

women’s status and is seen as a potential booster of the ofﬁcially recorded female labor supply in developing countries (Psacharopoulos and Tzannatos, 1989). Many more women are now entering careers that were once the exclusive province of men, such as medicine, law, engineering, and the sciences. The IT industry, in particular, has opened the avenue for many more women to work at home and allows many young women to combine work and family. This is as true in India as in other rapidly developing economies. However, these changes are still in process and will take some time before equal opportunity of employment is a reality for all women. Indeed, equality is a twoedged sword that can strike women down as well as raise them up. Equality is only workable when women are actually in the same situation as are men, which is rarely

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the case. In particular, women with children will always get the sharp edge of the sword (Mason, 2001). As described earlier, most traditional societies place a premium on the family and it is women, especially those in rural settings, who are expected to perform the bulk of child-care and household duties (see Box). Many young women are also torn between traditional and modern value systems and have not resolved the conﬂict between self-fulﬁllment and societal expectations. In the case of those in the constabulary, many of them come from rural settings and they have many social and family obligations to fulﬁll. Their economic status does not permit them access to proper day care or help with managing their household duties. Nor can they always afford proper medical care for themselves, especially after giving birth. Despite all these difﬁculties, increasing numbers of women from traditional backgrounds are ﬁnding success in their work with the police. The Paramilitary Policing Model As described in Chapter 3, the Indian police force is highly centralized and police stations are given little autonomy in decision making (Raghavan, 2002, 1999). Each station is supervised by a superintendent of police who reports to the inspector generals of police. In line with the paramilitary regime, the superintendent and the other senior ofﬁcers are authoritarian in their dealings with junior ofﬁcers in their command, both male and female. These junior ofﬁcers are mostly recruited from the lower middle classes and generally have only a high school education. In order to keep their prized government jobs, both men and women submit to an oppressive and authoritarian work environment. The paramilitary model of policing, the regimented daily regime, the long hours of duty and the heavy premium placed on physical ﬁtness, all impose a greater burden on women than on men ofﬁcers. In addition, although this is changing as households become more dependent on the money they earn, women ofﬁcers still also have to endure subjugation and subordination at home. They therefore have a “double dose of domination” of men ruling their lives. This might be the reason why most women in countries such as India still prefer a traditional policing role (that expects them to do clerical duties and some auxiliary functions) or a modiﬁed role (where there is no threat of physical violence). Indian policing simply continued the organizational culture and ethos of policing established by the British in 1861, which was built on military lines. To what extent this quasi-military model is appropriate for the twenty-ﬁrst century mission of police is questionable. Police ofﬁcers are not soldiers in a war—they are peace ofﬁcers with a fundamental duty to protect human life (Benson, 2001). Meaningful reforms in the police system require a transformation of organizational structure, management practices, and supervision procedures. They also require decentralization of power, creation of a local accountability system, even a change in role and functions of the police in the society (Verma, 2003). Certainly, a paramilitary, hierarchical organizational structure

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and the associated command and control style of management are not conducive to the personal, networked, and participative style associated with women (Etter, 1996). The Community Policing Model Under the paramilitary model the primary mission of police organizations is to encounter and apprehend criminals who violate the law; in other words, the primary emphasis has been on reactive policing and restoring law and order. However, the increased crime rate and emergence of new crimes resulting from social changes have moved policing to become more proactive. Economic and technological changes have also profoundly impacted the way the police operate around the world. For example, foot patrol or bike patrol has been the prime way of patrolling neighborhoods in India. Cars were expensive and the police could not afford them (it is also much easier to patrol on foot in the narrow streets of villages and small towns). Cities have now grown and urbanization has created major highways and enhanced trafﬁc arrangements. Recently, Hyundai gave the government of Tamil Nadu 100 cars in exchange for granting permission to build a manufacturing plant. These cars were donated to the police and now the police use motor patrols, in Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu. Another example of technological change is that in almost all police districts, police ofﬁcers use cell phones round the clock for communication. However, technological and economic developments have played a smaller part in changing police operations than some radical shifts in thinking about the policing role. According to Bayley (1998), the world’s most developed model of policing is community policing, which is based on the concept that the police and citizens can work together in creative ways to solve community problems related to crime, fear of crime, social and physical disorder, and general neighborhood conditions. Trojanowicz et al. (1998) describe the ten principles of community policing as follows: 1. It is a philosophy not an organizational strategy. 2. It expects all personnel to translate the philosophy into practice. 3. It is directly linked to the community by the appointment of local community policing ofﬁcers, a “new breed of line ofﬁcer.” 4. It seeks continuous, sustained contact with citizens. 5. It enters into a new contract between police and citizens. 6. It embraces a proactive approach. 7. It explores new ways to protect and enhance lives of vulnerable citizens, including minorities. 8. It makes judicious use of technology. 9. It aspires to becoming fully integrated. 10. Its decision-making structure is decentralized and personalized.

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From this description, it can be seen that community policing shifts the focus of police work from handling random crime calls to addressing community concerns. It also helps redeﬁne the role of the ofﬁcer on the street, from crime ﬁghter to problem solver and neighborhood spokesperson. It forces a cultural transformation of the entire department, leading to decentralized organizational structure and changes in recruiting, training, the rewards system, evaluation, promotions, operations, patrolling, and almost every other activity or program of the department. Additionally, this philosophy asks ofﬁcers to break away from the bonds of incidentdriven policing to seek proactive and non-traditional resolutions to crime and disorder (Trojanowicz et al., 1998). Within this context, Susan Miller (1999) argues that feminine characteristics—such as trust, cooperation, compassion, interpersonal communication, and a non-threatening demeanor—are at the heart of successful community policing, where ofﬁcers become part of a neighborhood and must act positively as a force for change, rather than simply as protectors and enforcers. With a few exceptions (see, for example, the Box on initiatives taken in the city of Trichy) the community-oriented model of policing has largely by-passed mainstream policing in Tamil Nadu,1 but it has inﬂuenced the work of the AWPUs in several important ways. Newly introduced “hotlines” to the AWPUs help women to report domestic violence and request an immediate response. Women ofﬁcers patrol neighborhoods with high levels of reported domestic violence and investigate and prosecute these crimes. Though their prime role is to help women, they perform a general law enforcement function in the neighborhoods they patrol. This entitles them to an equal share with men in “safeguarding” the community at large. Indeed, there is considerable evidence that women ofﬁcers respond more effectively than their male counterparts to violence against women, which accounts for up to 50 percent of all calls to the police.2 A second important development in criminal justice philosophy with relevance to the role of women police ofﬁcers is restorative justice. According to Umbreit (1996, 2003), restorative justice seeks to increase the role of victims and the community in the justice process. It holds offenders directly accountable to the people they have harmed and provides a range of opportunities for dialogue, negotiation, and problem solving, which can lead to a greater sense of community safety, social harmony, and peace for all involved. Bannenberg and Rossner (2003) contend that the restoration of peace under the law demands that every effort be made to achieve a settlement of conﬂicts that protects the victim and prevents the offenders from further violence. The primary assumptions of restorative justice are that all human beings have dignity 1 In 2007, Ms Letika Saran IPS, the ﬁrst woman in India to be appointed as Police Commissioner of a metropolitan city, announced that community policing will be extended to resolve civic issues faced by the residents in most zones of Chennai. Area committees would be formed in every street where local residents could become members. Inspectors of police in each station would be required to hold meetings regularly with local residents. 2 See, for more details: .

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Community Policing Initiatives in the City of Trichy An outbreak of communal violence in the southern city of Trichy, Tamil Nadu in 1999 led to a surge of murders, chaos, and mistrust of police. To overcome these problems, the Commissioner of Police implemented community policing strategies including: • • • •

beat police ofﬁcers a complaint/suggestion box a helpline for women in distress a slum adoption program

These initiatives helped the police and public jointly address the law and order problem in the city, with a resulting 40 per cent drop in crime from 1999 to 2001. The helpline unit was located in a local AWPU and women ofﬁcers were deployed to attend to the calls for service. During my 2000 study, I observed the work of the helpline unit. From 9am to 1pm the station was packed with women petitioners and their families, four women head constables were interviewing them, the sub inspector was dealing with a helpline client, and the inspector in charge was preparing court documents for that day. The women ofﬁcers treated the petitioners and counter-petitioners and their families in a cordial manner. They worked non-stop throughout the day without a lunch break. Colleagues brought them coffee and snacks as they worked. This was community policing in action! The helpline case had to do with a husband who had abandoned his wife because she did not bring sufﬁcient dowry from her parents. The wife was supported by women from a local women’s group and the husband was summoned with his mother. For this one case, eight people were congregated in the helpline room. The ofﬁcers said that after the introduction of the helpline, the number of women reporting violence at home had substantially increased. Casual discussions with the public who sought help that day indicated that the helpline had created a positive image of the police among the public. In fact, this initiative won community policing awards from professional organizations in both the US (2001) and the UK (2002).

and worth, and that restoration—repairing the harm caused by crime and rebuilding relationships in the community—is the prime goal of the justice process. According to this philosophy, the harm resulting to individual victims from crime creates an obligation to make things right; all parties, including the victim, should be involved in the response to the crime (Ashworth, 2002; OJJDP, 1998). This process of

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restoration enables the offender to be reintegrated to the community as a productive and repaired individual (Braithwaite, 1999, 2002, 2003). It will be clear from this description that the concept of restorative justice is well suited to addressing domestic violence (Blagg, 2002; Strang and Braithwaite, 2002; Hudson, 2002; Achilles and Zehr, 2000; Presser and Gaarder, 2000) despite some criticism (Stubbs, 2002; Goel, 2005; Krieger, 2002; Hooper and Busch, 1996). For example, many married women in India and in other traditional societies who are mistreated by their husbands would like to preserve their marriages, but want their husbands to change their behavior and treat them with respect. This is why they generally ask women ofﬁcers to warn their husbands and not arrest them. Women ofﬁcers in the AWPUs do play an important role in restoring relationships and helping to solve conﬂicts between family members who approach the station for justice. In summary, the work undertaken by women police in Tamil Nadu ﬁts worldwide trends of emphasizing community policing and restorative justice. It could even be that their work will help the Tamil Nadu police to modernize. The increasing number of women ofﬁcers employed is likely to mean that a service orientation will begin to characterize a much wider range of police work in Tamil Nadu. Women generally value communication and negotiation skills more than men do, and they will seek opportunities to exercise these skills in their work. If policing changes in this direction, male ofﬁcers may begin to experience the same difﬁculties of adjustment to their roles as experienced by policewomen during the past decades. The current position of women police in Tamil Nadu therefore provides an interesting model for women police more widely in India. Opening up different avenues for women to acquire law enforcement skills, and allowing them to make more choice of roles, are in themselves remarkable changes for policing in a traditional setting. The Tamil Nadu police has set out a model (including “gendered policing”— see below) that enables women to take advantage of the opportunities that a policing career provides. The model might also hold for other traditional and economically developing societies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In Japan, increased attention is already being paid by the police to domestic violence. According to the Japan Times (2004), the National Police Agency is offering more support to victims of domestic violence by allowing them to talk with perpetrators at police stations and helping them escape from their abusers. As in Tamil Nadu, women police could play a vital role in implementing this policy change. The question remains, however, that when police operations change, what role, if any, do considerations of equality play in this process? This issue is key not only to understanding changes in Tamil Nadu, but to debates about policing overall, because whatever the structures employed (that is, integrated or separate), inequality, harassment, and marginalization of women do continue to persist. Chan’s (1997) analysis of police practice can assist understanding of these issues. She argues that police practice can be understood by looking at the interaction between speciﬁc structural conditions of police work (“the ﬁeld”) and the cultural knowledge

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accumulated by police ofﬁcers which integrates past experiences (“habitus”). This distinction is useful in thinking about the impact of altering rules and regulations or of changing the police culture. For example, the impact of new rules depends on the way in which they are interpreted by police, given their feel for the game and other aspects of their work conditions (habitus), which may or may not reinforce the legitimacy of the new rules. Chan observed that most changes in police operations that took place were in reaction to the habitus of policing rather than to changes in the ﬁeld. If this is the case, changes in the structural conditions of police work must be carefully made if gender equality between men and women is to be achieved. Integration Process of Women in Policing According to Brown, Hazenberg and Ormiston (1999) women who ﬁrst entered the police force were strong-minded pioneers who saw their role as public servants preserving the status quo. Upon entry, most took their supportive roles for granted and sought “softly softly” accommodation with male colleagues, but others perceived their treatment as discrimination and tried to pursue a more radical reformist agenda. In order to cope with discriminatory practices, women ofﬁcers have adopted two positions (Hochschild, 1973): “defeminization,” or mimicking masculinity to ﬁt in with the male culture, and “deprofessionalization,” or acceptance of subordinate status. Thus, these two groups are deﬁned by a “male cop culture” or by a “female cop culture” that emphasizes feminine attributes in dealing with some police functions and some crimes, such as domestic violence. Based on her observations in England, Brown (1997) developed a model of women’s integration into the police, which has six distinct sequential stages: “entry,” “separate restricted development,” “integration,” “take-off,” “reform,” and “tip-over” (see Chapter 1). This model builds upon concepts developed by Heidensohn (1992), which include “an unsuitable job for a woman” (perceptions of policing); “equal opportunities” (the sustained presence of women in the police force); the “gentle touch” (emergence of a female cop culture); and “desperate remedy” (various crises that created a role for women in police). Application of Brown’s Model to Tamil Nadu Table 9.1 shows the ﬁve groups into which women ofﬁcers in Tamil Nadu have fallen. It also shows the characteristics of each of these groups in terms of police environments and duties. One of the three groups recruited after 1997, allocated to the general battalion, seems to have entered the police at the “integration” stage of Brown’s model; all the other groups are at the separated restricted development stage (Figure 9.1). Thus, the integration process in Tamil Nadu has not been as straightforward as that portrayed in Brown’s model (see Figure 1.2, Chapter 1). Though the equal opportunities legislation and the consequent reaction of male ofﬁcers set the stage for “integration,” (as predicted by Brown’s model), cultural

Table 9.1

Five groups of women police in Tamil Nadu 1

3

4

5

General Police Units All Women Police Units*

General Battalion**

Women Commandos***

All Women Battalion***

Role

Traditional

Modiﬁed

Integrated

Modiﬁed

Modiﬁed

Age

Older

Older

Young

Young

Young

Years of experience

Above 10 years

Above 10 years

Less than 10 years

Less than 5 years

Less than 5 years

Policing style

Traditional police model

Community-oriented Paramilitary

Paramilitary

Paramilitary

Police response

Reactive

Proactive

Reactive

Reactive

Reactive

Service to women victims

Marginal

Full-time

Not applicable

Not applicable

Not applicable

Sexual harassment Yes

No

Yes

No

No

Status

Equal but different

Equal

Equal but different

Equal but different

Unequal

2

*established in 1992; ** established in 1997; *** established in 2003

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demands both at the societal and police organizational levels have turned it around so that in fact the situation in Tamil Nadu has become one of separate development. It will be interesting to see if this unexpected result becomes characteristic of the integration process in traditional societies. Though some unanswered questions remain about the future of the AWPUs, the recent introduction of many more of these units means that they will be a permanent feature of women policing in Tamil Nadu for many years to come. The public has accepted the AWPUs and prefer that women deal with women’s personal matters. This social acceptance is important when considering the role of policewomen and the speed of their full integration into the whole spectrum of policing activities (Brown, Hazenberg and Ormiston, 1999). The current expectation seems to be that women who have been trained in the all women police battalion can be placed in the AWPUs after their prescribed length of service of six years in the battalion and armed reserve; the 1997 recruits trained in the general battalion have now been placed in AWPUs or in general police stations to perform police duties alongside men. It will be interesting to see how these two groups fare in the police and whether they will differ in their speed or levels of integration.3 Due to prevailing social norms and police culture/style, the full integration of women police may be more difﬁcult than once thought. Indeed, it would not be unreasonable to ask whether we should ever expect full integration or equal representation of women in the police force. Whatever the case, it seems clear that in traditional cultures progress to full integration might be slower and subject to more reversals than in western countries (Brown, Hazenberg and Ormiston, 1999). Even so, it seems safe to assume that traditional values will not forever trap women at a particular stage of integration. These values must compete with women’s own developing needs and aspirations—which may be expected to prevail. Brown contends that equal opportunity policies are crucial in changing the tolerance threshold of women as well as in changing their male counterparts’ attitudes toward women police. Her model charts a sequence involving resistance, discrimination, harassment and reform. It is important for police forces to be aware of such sequential processes so that they can anticipate problems, ﬁnd solutions to reduce them, and to ﬁnd ways to speed up the integration process both in modern and in traditional societies. Even if full integration is a chimera, Brown (1997a, p. 15) has noted that “as the number of women in the police increases and the ratio moves towards a tip-over from minority to gender balance (an anticipated 25 percent), women can play a fuller part in all aspects of policing. At such a point women may actually have a greater 3 The integrated model of policing for women has to comply with traditional “paramilitarism” (Murray, 2005) with its emphasis on patrolling, arresting offenders, and performance standards based primarily on physical strength and agility. Police now make more efforts to meet the need for victim services, but do not usually accord them much priority (Karmen, 2006).

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impact on the character and style of policing.” Using Kanter’s (1977) research, Etter (1996) states that until then women would tend to: • • • • • • • • • •

be more visible and be “on display” feel more pressure to conform, to make fewer mistakes try to become “socially invisible” and not to stand out so much ﬁnd it harder to gain “credibility” be more isolated and peripheral be more likely to be excluded from informal peer networks, and hence, limited in this source of power-through-alliances have fewer opportunities to be “sponsored” or mentored face misperceptions of their identity and role in the organization and hence develop a preference for already-established relationships be stereotyped and placed in role traps that limit effectiveness face more personal stress.

In line with such thinking, it is reasonable to conclude that (1) gender balance is the key to integration; (2) due to varied economic, social, and political conditions, variations in the path to full integration are inevitable; (3) while the paramilitary model of policing has been a hindrance to women’s representation, introduction of alternate models of policing would attract more women into policing; and (4) police managements need more actively to recruit women into policing and must provide an environment more conducive to their retention. Gendered Policing The developments in Tamil Nadu, still a traditional society, have produced a wide variety of working conditions for women ofﬁcers. This variety allows women police more scope to make use of their particular skills and interests in performing police work. They are not conﬁned within the usual male-centered model of policing. Indeed, the developments in Tamil Nadu could be seen as a series of halting steps to a new model of policing—“gendered policing,” which seeks to make the best use of women’s special skills and capabilities, while at the same time allowing them to choose their preferred roles in the police. The concept of gendered policing is consistent with Joan Acker’s (1990) theory of “gendered organization.” She argued that “we should see organizations not as gender-neutral organisms infected by the germs of workers’ gender (and sexuality and race and class) identities but as sites in which these attributes are presumed and reproduced” (Britton, 2000, p. 418). Her theory has many implications for both male and female ofﬁcers, but the discussion below focuses on the implications of gendered policing for women ofﬁcers, speciﬁcally those in traditional societies. In this context, gendered policing serves three main purposes:

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1. to better serve women victims of crime (policing their own gender); 2. to provide a stop-gap arrangement for women ofﬁcers who lack conﬁdence in working in a male-dominated occupation (empowering women ofﬁcers); 3. to utilize women personnel in building strong relations between the police and community (advancing community policing). These purposes are discussed in more detail below and the main differences between the integrated and gendered models of policing in terms of policing style and the status and self image of women ofﬁcers are summarized in Table 9.2.4 1. Policing their own gender The police service has an obligation to serve the whole community and to consider the special needs of women. In fact, many police forces hired women ofﬁcers to ﬁll the need to handle women offenders. Male ofﬁcers disliked dealing with women offenders and their attempts to do so often resulted in serious problems of inappropriate behavior. More recently, it has also been acknowledged that male ofﬁcers are not as well suited as female ofﬁcers dealing with women victims of violence. This is especially true in traditional societies; women who report their victimization to the police have been subjected to sexual exploitation and their plight has often been neglected and ignored. Women police are especially needed in these societies to protect and care for other women in obtaining justice. According to the US State Department (2002), the most pervasive violations of women’s rights involve sexual and domestic violence, which is widespread and under-reported. Women subjected to severe injuries generally seek help from two major sources: police and hospitals. These two institutions most often ought to work together in resolving health and criminal issues. In India, neither private nor public hospitals accept women for emergency treatment who have been deliberately injured unless certiﬁed by police. This is due to the legislation relating to dowry murders and suicides of women. In such a situation, women police ofﬁcers have an important role in seeking evidence from the victims of violence as well as safeguarding their rights. Stanko’s (1998) concept of “the responsible woman” who takes a greater role in her own protection from male violence might have some validity for rich, employed, educated, urban dwelling, single women in developed societies, but it does not have any real application to women from the lower economic rungs in a developing society. If such women are to obtain any help in dealing with domestic violence, it must come from other women, especially those serving in the police force. Many police stations in traditional societies are still exclusively staffed by male ofﬁcers and it would be culturally unacceptable for a woman to enter a police station 4 Table 9.2 is the summary of existing literature. Like all summary tables it runs the risk of stereotyping and overgeneralizing the differences between the two models of women policing discussed above.

Table 9.2

Comparison of integrated and gendered policing models in terms of policing style and the status and self-image of women officers

Themes

Integrated Policing

Gendered Policing

Policing Style

1. Concentrated on patrolling 2. Victim assistance as a secondary responsibility 3. Consistent with traditional policing 4. Little attention to public attitudes to police 5. Performance standards based primarily on physical strength and agility

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Diversiﬁed police response Better service for women victims Helpful in advancing community policing Improved public attitudes to police Other skills valued and rewarded

Status of Women Police

1. Men and women considered equal and do the same duties 2. Male domination 3 Under-representation of women 4. Under-utilization of women’s skills 5. Longer route to equality 6. Well suited to societies where women have equal power in all walks of life

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Men and women considered equal but do different duties Gender-neutral/balanced Improved representation of women Proper utilization of women’s skills Back door to equality Well suited to societies where women are still subordinate

Self-Image

1. Persistent dilemmas about women’s abilities breed uncertainty about policing as a career 2. Uncertainties about job security 3. Accommodates women who are already fully emancipated 4. Provides no clear direction concerning the unique contribution of women police 5. Constant need to prove themselves 6. Hard to raise voice

1. Empowers and strengthens women’s abilities and thus reinforces determination to make policing a career 2. Development of job security 3. Accommodates women of all personalities and backgrounds 4. Sends a clear signal about the special role and competencies of women police 5. Improves self-esteem 6. Helps to raise voice

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unless accompanied by a male family member. If that male family member is the perpetrator of the crime, it is highly unlikely that the woman would report the crime (Ba-Obaid and Bijleveld, 2002). Further, women arrested with their partners in a domestic violence dispute are more likely to have used violence in self-defense, which means they should be treated as victims rather than offenders (Muftic and Bouffard 2007). This is more likely to happen if the case is handled by women ofﬁcers who, in general, can provide a gateway to justice for women in the community. 2. Empowering Women Ofﬁcers While AWPUs in Tamil Nadu appear to segregate women from the mainstream of policing, this segregation has helped women ofﬁcers to gain conﬁdence in performing a wide range of police duties. The AWPUs provide an environment that allows women ofﬁcers to concentrate on their work without the constant criticism from male colleagues that has been a major obstacle to women’s progress in the police force. This “segregation” has given women ofﬁcers the opportunity to acquire policing skills in an environment conducive to learning. Having gained conﬁdence, many of the police women are now ready to move on to a more integrated style of department (Natarajan, 2001). Apart from relieving them of constant criticism from male ofﬁcers, the AWPUs help the women grow professionally for a number of other reasons. First, women in these units do not face sexual harassment from male supervisors. Harassment is an impediment to professional growth and a harassment-free environment is conducive to learning the essentials of policing. Second, the women in the units perform a full range of policing duties, concerned with processing women as victims and offenders, including investigation, collecting evidence, and processing cases through the courts. In addition, they are expected to undertake regular law and order duties outside the units, sometimes alongside male colleagues. In fact, these latter duties have come to dominate their work and many of the women have had the opportunity to evaluate their performance in comparison to that of male ofﬁcers. Many now believe they are fully capable of ﬁlling a law enforcement function and are conﬁdent in their abilities as police ofﬁcers. This conﬁdence was reﬂected in considerable job satisfaction among many of the women in AWPUs interviewed in 2000. Finally, in an atmosphere of mutual trust and support, which generally characterizes the units, a sense of responsibility is developed. Some women reported working hard to make their units look good to the outside world, and some were proud of the public service they performed (Natarajan, 2001). In sum, as a result of their experience in the AWPUs, many women ofﬁcers now believe they could function well in fully integrated roles. This means that AWPUs might provide an interim solution in traditional societies to the problems of integrating women into the police force. Having gained conﬁdence, however, these women are likely to develop the same career aspirations as their counterparts

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in western societies. The introduction of AWPUs and the training within these units ought to be considered as a successful step towards liberating and empowering women ofﬁcers. In passing, it should be noted that the AWPUs provide some of the same advantages to women ofﬁcers that are provided to young women in all women’s colleges. According to the Women’s College Coalition, research shows that students attending a women’s college enjoy the following ﬁve beneﬁts: 1. They are given the opportunity to participate more, in and out of class, due to small class sizes, which create a more positive learning experience because of greater individual attention. 2. They have measurably higher levels of self-esteem than other achieving women in coeducational institutions—nine out of ten women’s college graduates give their colleges high marks for fostering and developing selfconﬁdence. 3. They obtain greater satisfaction than their coed counterparts from their college experience academically, developmentally, and personally. 4. They are more likely to graduate, and more than twice as likely as graduates of coeducational colleges to earn doctoral degrees and to enter medical school. 5. They earn more after graduation because they choose traditionally male disciplines, like the sciences, as their academic major, in greater numbers. Women’s colleges continue to graduate women in math and the sciences at 1.5 times the rate of coed institutions. The following statement made by a woman who attended a women’s college bears out these claims: I grew to understand that being at an all women’s institution gives you the chance to explore who you are, without the distractions of a coed environment. The women here are all trying to discover what they want from life, who they want to be, and how they can ﬁnd a place for themselves within a world primarily run by men. I chose to study public relations, a business in which men are the dominant clients. Simmons [the college] has helped me develop my own special skills to handle just about anything. While everyone is the same gender here, we’re all different people. We have different personalities, different perspectives on life, and different ways of succeeding. The advantage of being at an all women’s college is that we are able to share these differences. This is an open community, where different thoughts and ideas are accepted, and where we can learn from each other. It’s through these experiences with different women, and the comfort I feel being around them, that I’ve grown into someone I know can be successful. There’s no greater feeling than being able to do what you want, say what you feel, and know that your opinion may be contradicted, but always respected. Simmons has given me the opportunity to hold positions of leadership and responsibility that, at a coed school, might otherwise be held by a male. I’ve learned what it’s like to be in a position of power and inﬂuence, and how to deal with difﬁcult situations. It’s an invaluable experience, and an important part of who

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I am. Voltaire once said, “True greatness consists of the use of a powerful understanding to enlighten oneself and others.” When I hear the term “enlightenment,” I think of an overall, encompassing transformation. Whether it has to do with a physical, emotional, or intellectual experience, I think of it as a good thing. That is what being at an all women’s college has done for me. Being at Simmons has opened my eyes to new ideas, new ways of living, and new ways to develop myself. Simmons holds the power to teach young women how to ﬁnd themselves and be successful—as women and as individuals. (Nicole LeBlanc, Simmons class of 2005, Williamstown, VT).5

As repeatedly stated in this book, the paramilitary structure of policing, coupled with the patriarchal structure of the mainstream culture, have made it very difﬁcult for women ofﬁcers to raise their collective voice, challenge existing systems and structures, and demand that their legitimate needs are met. The success of the AWPUs in Tamil Nadu is an example of a state-sponsored empowering institution that provides a platform for both women victims of violence as well as for women ofﬁcers to improve their status and exercise their rights. The increased number of AWPUs, and the increased number of women in policing in Tamil Nadu, will make it easier for women ofﬁcers to articulate their needs. This is a stepping stone towards less marginalization and greater equality. It might even be an argument for some developed nations to experiment with all female squads (though with a broader policing remit than in Tamil Nadu). 3. Advancing Community Policing The worldwide movement towards a community policing model, which places a premium on service to the community and not simply on enforcement of the law, will provide new opportunities for women to exhibit their best performance. Indeed, women tend to perceive their policing role as service while men see it as law enforcement (Martin, 1980; Fielding and Fielding, 1992; Worden, 1993; Prenzler, 1994; Peak and Glensor, 1996). Six characteristics that Americans associate with “good service” from their police include (Mastrofski, 1999): 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Attentiveness Reliability Responsive, “client-centered” service Competence Good manners Fairness

Belknap and Shelley’s (1992) list of the characteristics of women policing ﬁts well with the above features: improved relations and support from the citizens; a less aggressive style of policing which is more likely to de-escalate potentially violent 5 See, for details: .

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encounter; better responses to rape victims and battered women; lower scores on “sadism” scale measures than men; a broader outlook and a stronger creative drive than men. Other researchers have made similar observations (Dantzker and Kubin, 1998; Brown and Heidensohn, 2000; Burke and Mikkelsen, 2005). Women ofﬁcers favor a community-oriented approach to policing which is rooted in strong interpersonal and communication skills and which emphasizes conﬂict resolution over force.6 Miller (1999) argues that community policing will therefore give women ofﬁcers a more satisfying role in the police force and thus a more satisfactory career. She cautions that at the same time it is important not to perpetuate stereotypes about feminine tasks in police work in a way that would cast any doubt on women’s ability to be competent law enforcers. One way to avoid gender role stereotyping is to recast the stigmatized aspects of community policing so that they no longer have any semantic or perpetual connection to femininity or to womanly ways of doing policing. Nevertheless, in many community policing situations women do not get enough credit for their achievements, and unfair standards of evaluation are manifested in the assumptions made about gender roles and about who is working versus who is doing what comes naturally. Miller (1999) suggests that the ultimate goal may be to convince all police ofﬁcers to follow androgynous models in which they, as professionals, recognize that the ideal repertoire of skills includes a range of both masculine and feminine ones. Appier concurs and argues that women ofﬁcers working under this model have the opportunity to develop a “…new, female gendered model of police work, the crime prevention model” (Appier, 1998: p. 3). Recent changes in the recruitment of women ofﬁcers in Tamil Nadu mean that employment will no longer depend on passing the same physical tests as required for men. This reﬂects the recognition that physical strength and endurance is not required for all police work. The abilities required for admission must match the nature of the work people do in the police force. According to the European Community (1995– 2005), this gender mainstreaming involves not restricting efforts to promote equality to the implementation of speciﬁc measures to help women, but mobilizing all general policies and measures speciﬁcally for the purpose of achieving equality by actively and openly taking into account at the planning stage their possible effects on the respective situation of men and women (gender perspective). This means systematically examining measures and policies and taking into account such possible effects when deﬁning and implementing them.

This aspiration is entirely consistent with gendered policing and makes evident sense in a society diversiﬁed by gender, ethnicity, and economic status. It was eloquently expressed by Julie Berry (1996), in her presentation at the Australian Institute of Criminology Conference/First Australasian Women Police Conference, when she said:

6 See, for more details: <www.womenandpolicing.org/status.html>.

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We can make a difference, we can carve out part of the change agenda in our organizations, we can “feminize” our training and development functions, and hopefully in the process bring to our agencies a deeper appreciation of diversity. Seems to me that this is not only a noble objective but an absolutely essential awareness for our agencies’ survival into the next century.

In summary, women police in Tamil Nadu have made real headway and are fortunate when compared to those in other Indian states where women still play a marginal role in policing. The creation of the AWPUs was an important step towards their gaining a more central policing role and should be seen as an “improvement,” not an “impediment,” to women’s progress in the police force. As stated elsewhere, the creation of 300 women police stations in Brazil (MacDowell, 2005) has achieved a similar result. The 20 years of research on policewomen in Tamil Nadu reported in this book conﬁrms the value of “gendered policing” in providing a police service to women, in empowering women ofﬁcers, and giving them the opportunity to play an important part in advancing community policing. It does this because it: 1. provides a career structure for women in a male-dominated profession 2. gives them conﬁdence in their own abilities to perform all line duties in the police force 3. provides a stop-gap measure to prepare women for full integration in police forces 4. provides a platform for women victims of violence to report more frequently of their violence at home 5. provides a vehicle for state-sponsored empowerment of women in traditional cultures 6. compels the police to incorporate diversity and “gender” sensitivity in personnel policies 7. encourages the police to appreciate the special skills of women in dealing with the public so as to improve “police–public relations” 8. forces the police to include women as an important element in modern policing-community policing 9. improves gender relations in the police force 10. paves the way for gender equality in the police Policy Implications Even though women police in Tamil Nadu take pride in their work and feel conﬁdent in their abilities (Natarajan, 2001), they continue to labor under many difﬁculties. Many of the complaints made by the two main cohorts of women ofﬁcers (recruited before and after 1997)—relating particularly to sex discrimination and lack of respect, and to the difﬁculty of combining work and home—are heard from women ofﬁcers the world over, particularly in developing countries. No easy solutions to these problems

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exist, though most commentators believe that they will gradually ameliorate with an increase in the number of women ofﬁcers and with greater experience of employing them. This process could take many years, perhaps generations, to occur because the percentage of women ofﬁcers in most forces is still low. Solutions to these common problems, facing all women police have been discussed widely in many existing analyses (Martin, 1980, 1990, 1991 and 1999; Jones, 1986; Aleem, 1989; Coffey et al., 1992; Brown and Fielding, 1993; Belknap and Kastens et al., 1993; Schulz, 1993a, 1995; Shelley, 1993; Walker, 1993; Kniveton, 1996; Morash and Haarr, 1995; LeBeuf, 1996; Leger, 1997; Breci, 1997; Appier, 1998; International Association of Chiefs of Police, 1998; Prenzler, 1998a, 1998b; Wertsch, 1998; European Network for Policewomen, 1999; Brown et al., 1999; Horne, 1999; Brown and Heidensohn, 2000; National Center for Women and Policing, 2001). Women ofﬁcers in traditional societies, with few ﬁnancial and social resources to support them, encounter special difﬁculties in meeting both work and family obligations. Jones (1986) argues that they will only be able to fulﬁll their proper part in policing when the following requirements are met: 1. An equal opportunity policy must be formulated to reduce discriminatory treatment of women. This would require the police to have proper guidelines for the ofﬁcers responsible for recruitment and appraisal of police ofﬁcers. Senior police ofﬁcers responsible for policy formulation and implementation must themselves be committed to ensuring equality of opportunity and treatment. 2. Management and mid-level supervisors must be trained to be aware of the effects of prejudice and discrimination. They should be trained in the rudiments of counseling so that they can help their female subordinates while conducting evaluations of their performance. These evaluations should treat women fairly in terms of their achievement, based on their individual performance on the job they are assigned to do rather than having a standardized performance rating that is traditionally male-centered. 3. The police must make provisions for meeting the special needs of women ofﬁcers, such as maternity, child-care and health beneﬁts. Provision should also be made to assist women in combining family and career, including ﬂexitime. Women ofﬁcers in traditional societies would also need special training to: • • • • •

develop self-esteem become assertive deal with frustration, anger, and stress learn professional etiquette balance personal and professional lives

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Research Implications If under-representation and under-utilization result in women being “less than equal” in the police force, what should be done to correct the situation? Research has brought some insight into the roles assigned to women ofﬁcers and the ways in which women are treated and evaluated by their male colleagues and supervisors, but we still need to learn more about these matters. The research agenda set out below is intended to provide additional information that will be relevant to Tamil Nadu and other Indian states, as well as to other countries concerned with improving the status and utilization of women in the police. A variety of kinds of research will be needed: academic and institutional research; basic and applied (including evaluation); and cross-sectional and longitudinal designs. Since much of the research to date has focused only on women, there is an overriding need in future studies to make more comparisons between men and women ofﬁcers. Treatment of Women Ofﬁcers Research undertaken on this topic in the past three decades has focused on: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

The historical background of the deployment of women in police forces Speciﬁc stereotypes of women in policing Public attitudes towards women ofﬁcers Male ofﬁcers’ attitudes towards female ofﬁcers Gender bias/discrimination Sexual harassment Performance comparisons between men and women ofﬁcers

This research has provided a valuable baseline of description, but a new program of research is now needed to assess the impact of the many societal and police organizational changes that have taken place since much of this research was completed. Topics that should be explored in this new program of research include: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Changes in the treatment of women by their male colleagues and supervisors Coping strategies of women combining family and a career Needs assessment of job-related hindrances for women in the police force Interpretation and implementation by police of laws promoting equal opportunity standards 5. Development trajectories of women’s achievements, responsibility and advancement in police forces 6. Time series analyses of the perception of men and women’s roles and their job satisfaction

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Assignment of Appropriate Roles/Duties More detailed information is needed about current duties and assignments if a more satisfying role is to be developed for women ofﬁcers. The kinds of studies needed and the topics to be covered include the following: 1. Periodic needs assessment of men and women in terms of allocation of duties, training, and social obligations 2. Skills assessment of men and women in performing police functions 3. Performance measures based on the assignment of duties 4. Examination and evaluation of gender-speciﬁc, gender-neutral, and skillsspeciﬁc assignments 5. Role of personality traits and assignment of duties to both men and women police ofﬁcers 6. Role of policing styles in the allocation of duties to ofﬁcers Recruitment and Retention Recruitment and retention problems have been explored in many previous studies. The research suggests that apart from gender bias and sexual harassment, the training and outdated job requirements have been the major reasons for the low recruitment of women in the police force. However, there are still some important gaps in knowledge. Studies that would help to ﬁll these gaps are as follows: 1. The 7th United Nations survey on criminal justice personnel indicates that, around the world, women have a much lower representation in policing than in the courts and in prosecution (Ciobanu and Natarajan, 2005). It is unclear whether this low representation is due more to the nature of the work (for example, unsocial hours and a military model of policing) or to the prevailing organizational climate (for example, gender bias and harassment). A comparative analysis of women in other male-dominated professions would shed some light on the low representation of women in policing. 2. Detailed research is needed into the ways in which women ofﬁcers in traditional societies try to meet the needs of their work in the police force and their family duties. Research is also needed on the effect of police work on the social lives and marriage prospects of single ofﬁcers. 3. Finally, more research is needed into the different ways that women are recruited into the police in developing countries in order to establish “best practice” standards. Apart from research on the speciﬁc issues discussed above, there is a general need for an expanded research agenda on women police in developing countries. The kinds of studies that ought to be undertaken include the following:

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1. More cases studies, similar to the one in this book of Tamil Nadu, are needed of women police in traditional societies. 2. Most of the cross-cultural comparisons of women in policing have been undertaken in western nations. More cross-cultural comparisons of traditional societies are needed. For example, a comparative study of women police stations in Brazil and in Tamil Nadu would help understand not only the functioning of the units but also the broader cultural implications of such units that have been abolished in the West. 3. There is a need for collaborative research between researchers from the West and from traditional societies to undertake cross-cultural examinations of many of the concepts that are discussed above. 4. The general move towards community policing demands research into the part that women play in community policing, both as providers and recipients. Research is needed on how women ofﬁcers can contribute to community policing and how they can help provide better service to women in particular. In this context, it would be valuable to discover why women constitute less than 5 percent of the force in Japan, since Japan has led the world in promoting community policing. Gendered Organization Building on Joan Acker’s theory of “gendered organization,” Britton (2000) has argued quite strongly for “the abandonment of a nominal approach to treating the gendering of occupations and professions” (p. 430). She recommends that “future research should investigate whether and in what ways occupations dominated by one sex or the other (as most occupations are) are feminized or masculinized, rather than simply assuming that this is the case” (p. 430). Following this important recommendation would help ﬂush out the concept of “gendered policing” advanced in this book. Closing Remarks Looked at objectively, it is easy to see why policing may not be a particularly attractive job for women, especially when compared to other jobs they could choose. Policing requires working at unsocial hours, often in isolated and sometimes dangerous and uncomfortable conditions. The inherent nature of the work involves controlling and sanctioning other people. It is not generally perceived as a job involving pleasant social interactions or caring for other people, but as a masculine vocation, requiring aggressiveness and physical strength. According to Walker and Katz (2002), many women are reluctant to join the police for these kinds of reasons. If the job is intrinsically less appealing to women, we must recognize that much smaller numbers of women than men will seek entry to the profession. The “mantra” of equal representation of men or

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women in policing, or any profession, does not serve either group well. Occupation must be a matter of individual choice. One cannot require men and women to want equally to enter all professions and walks of life. These issues need to be explored from the perspective of occupational psychology, and until they have been addressed in-depth and integrated into an explanation of the status of women police, the literature will remain theoretically underdeveloped and unsatisfying. Of course, none of this means that when women enter the police force they can be treated differently or discriminated against. Most women who enter the force are aware of the problems involved and they like to face challenges. These women have much to offer police forces and the constituencies they serve. They can be a positive source of change and can help to modernize policing. They need to be encouraged and given fuller support both by the police administration and the public. It must be accepted that the police force has not generally succeeded in this. It has failed to recognize that women as individuals have both natural and acquired skills that are not the same as those of men, perhaps in a misguided attempt to meet canons of “equality.” It has also failed to recognize that both men and women can contribute to the overall functioning of the police based on their expertise as well as what they like to do. Instead, women police have been judged on criteria developed for masculine roles and norms and have been expected to meet these in order to be designated the equals of men. This reinforces male domination or androcentrism and undermines the special contribution that women police ofﬁcers can make (Bem, 1993). This “gender identity” crisis needs to be resolved so that men and women can make their own special contributions to policing. Only when police forces allow women to make choices of tasks which they could perform, and provide a congenial environment in which to work, will recruitment increase and retention improve. As stated by UK Home Ofﬁce minister Bob Ainsworth: “It is absolutely essential that the police service recruits, retains and progresses women ofﬁcers, not just to ensure fair treatment but to help achieve a modern, effective police service” (British Association for Women in Policing Report, 2001). In addition to the problems of “gender identity”, women ofﬁcers in traditional societies experience problems of “cultural identity”. Though the problems of gender identity are similar to those of their western counterparts, problems of cultural identity are speciﬁc to traditional and developing countries. Women ofﬁcers must adhere to local cultural norms relating to family, religious, and social matters. This has been recognized in Tamil Nadu, and other developing countries can learn much from what Tamil Nadu has been doing to allow women police to achieve equality “through the back door” by the implementation of a “gendered policing” model. Many more women are coming forward to join the police force with aspirations to policing their own gender, which fulﬁlls their dual responsibility as a police ofﬁcer to enforce the law and as an emancipated woman to empower other women. Dynamic changes are happening where women from all age groups are becoming powerful and conﬁdent in working in a challenging workforce. Gendered policing is by default a diversiﬁed

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model of policing and provides women with status and, for traditional societies, also provides a path to equality. Unnuanced appeals by feminists for equality of treatment have had little effect in policing. Why not use gendered notions as a back door to improve the status of women police and simultaneously to provide peace and security to the citizenry, women in particular?

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Index Acker, Joan, gendered organization, theory 161, 172 Adler, Freda 24 affirmative legislation, women police 17 Africa, women police 36 all-women police stations Brazil 139–41, 168 Pakistan 141–2 traditional societies 142–3 all-women police units (AWPUs) as “back door” 5 Benazir Butto on 141, 146–7 benefits 4–5 Coimbatore 86 Kerala 64 Madras xiii, 64, 67, 86 Madurai 86 Tamil Nadu see under Tamil Nadu in traditional societies 139, 142–3 American Bar Association 6 Appier, J. 16 arranged marriages 70 Australia police agencies, gender equity 39 women police 27 public support 25fn3 AWPUs see All-Women Police Units “bandobust” duties, women police 56, 67, 94, 128 Blackburn, R.M., and J. Jarman 14 Brazil all-women police stations 139–41, 168 women police 37 “bride burnings” 54, 69 Brown, J., integrated policing model 13–14, 40, 149 diagram 15

Tamil Nadu 158–61 Bhutto, Benazir, on AWPUs 141, 146–7 Chan, J. 157–8 Chennai (formerly Madras) xv, xvii, 86, 100, 154 “closed” vs “open” societies 3–4 Coimbatore, AWPU 86 community-oriented policing 11, 40–1, 131, 154–8, 166–8 features 12 feminine characteristics 155, 166–7 principles 154–5 research requirements 172 in Trichy 156 control-dominated policing 11 features 12 critical mass concept, Kanter 10 women police 40, 41 see also “tip-over” cultural identity, women police 173 “dakshana” gift 69 developed countries, women police 34–5 developing countries patriarchy 151 women police 36–7 Tamil Nadu model 4, 157 divorce 99 domestic violence prevalence 7, 162 and restorative justice 157 dowry disputes, AWPUs 99–108 murders 55, 162 system 68–70 violence, help centers 70

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equality, and policing 157–8 Estonia, women police 35 “eve teasing” 54 family court system, India 100 family disputes, Panchayat system 99–100 gender concept, definition 14 Gender Development Index (GDI) 48, 151 Gender Empowerment Index (GEM) 48–9, 151 gender equality definition 5 and policing 157–8 gender identity, women police 173 gender roles and policing 5–11 and socio-economic change 151–3 gender segregation, policing 14, 16–17, 138–43 Tamil Nadu 138–9 gendered organization theory 161, 172 gendered policing model 14–17, 41 benefits 18, 42, 162, 164, 167–8, 173–4 integrated model, comparison 163 purpose 161–2 Germany, women police 35, 81 “glass ceiling” 13 globalization 3, 151 Heidensohn, F. 12, 39–40 India country profile 45–6 dowry murders 55, 162 system 68–70 equal opportunity legislation 123 Gender Development Index (GDI) 48, 151 Gender Empowerment Index (GEM) 48–9, 151 languages 45 literacy rate 46 police system, organization 49–51, 153 population, urban/rural residence 45 religions 46 sex ratio trends 46

women constitutional rights 47 “eve teasing” 54 family, importance of 46, 70 in governance positions 48 in labor market 47 land/property holdings, discrimination 48 literacy rate 48 status 46–9, 151 victimization 54 violence against 48, 54–5 women police 51–7 1988 study xiii job assignments 56–7 movie portrayal 123 percentages by rank 52–3 in Indian states 52 role 55–7 UN peacekeeping, Liberia 57 women police stations 55 see also Tamil Nadu integrated policing model, gendered policing, comparison 163 International Association of Women Police (IAWP) 25 Israel, women police 35 Jarman, J. 14 Jones, Sandra xiii, 38–9, 74 Kanter, R.M., critical mass concept 10 “Kanyadan” rite 69 law enforcement, definition 6fn2 Madras, AWPU xiii, 64, 67, 86 see also Chennai Madurai, AWPU 86 Martin, S.E. 4, 27, 39, 80 Mawby, R.I. 12, 86 Policing Across the World 33 models see policing models Natarajan, M. 13, 36, 37, 40 National Center for Women and Policing 7, 16, 25

Index Equality Denied 8 New York Police Department women on patrol 24 women’s bureaus 23 “open” vs “closed” societies 3–4 order maintenance, definition 6fn2 Owings, C. 23 Pakistan, all-women police stations 141–2 Papua New Guinea, women police 36 patriarchy, developing countries 151 police agencies, Australia, gender equity 39 police culture changing 157–8 and women police 28–9 police work interpersonal skills 7 nature of 28 qualities required 6, 7 policing consensus-based 12 duties 6 and gender equality 157–8 and gender roles 5–11 gender segregation 14, 16–17, 138–43 gender-sensitive 36 “good service” characteristics 166–7 as masculine job 6, 172 skills needed 7 in traditional societies 139 traditions 14 women, under representation 7 policing models community-oriented xii, 11, 12, 154–8 control-dominated 11, 12 crime-prevention 16 function 11 gendered policing 14–17, 41 benefits 18 integrated 13–14, 40, 149 diagram 15 gendered, comparison 163 Tamil Nadu 158–61 legitimacy 11 paramilitary xi–xii, 153–4

225 structure 11 and women police 12

research, on women police 5, 19, 170–2 restorative justice and domestic violence 157 purpose 155–6 and women police 155–7 sexual harassment, women police 13, 28, 41 sexual violence, against women 7fn3 Shane, P. 32 Sherman, Lewis 32 Simon, Rita 24 Slovenia, women police 35 social class, and women police 17 societal norms, and women police 14 socio-economic change, and gender roles 151–3 Southgate, P. 12, 38 stress, women police 28 Taiwan, women police 34–5 Tamil Nadu AWPUs 61, 64–8, 86–121, 159 benefits 85, 91, 108, 137–8, 139, 164 distribution 65 dowry disputes xv–xvi, 99–108, 111 actions taken 101 case records 100–2 computer-assisted training 109–20 demographics 104 nature of problem 101, 105–6 outcomes 102, 107–8 petitioners 102–4, 106 empowerment of women officers 164–5, 166 establishment of xi, xiii–xiv, 4, 37, 86, 137, 138, 150 numbers 4, 64, 85, 86, 91, 99 organization 66 public acceptance 160 studies (1988) 73–8, 81, 87 findings 74–8 questionnaire 74 sample 73–4 statistical analyses 81–3

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studies (1994) xiv, 86–91 methodology 86–7 questionnaire 87 studies (2000) xiv–xv, 91–9 in-depth interviews 93 questionnaire 92–3, 123–4 studies (2003) xv–xvi, 99–108 demographics 104 experience of AWPUs 106–7 outcomes 107–8 training evaluation 119–21 women police, capability, vs male officers 75 working methods 66–7 dowry violence, help centers 70 see also dowry disputes family disputes, problem solving model 114–19 gendered policing 18, 161–2 benefits 168 Joint Action Council for Women xii literacy rate 59 map 59 police force numbers 61 organization 4, 60–1 paramilitary model 4, 131, 150 physical requirements 62, 167 recruitment/training 62 police stations 61 policing, gender segregation 138–9 population 59 state profile 59 Tamil culture 59 women, in labor market 59 women police all women battalion 138, 159 all women commando corps xvii, 61, 68, 131, 138, 159 press reports on 132–3 “bandobust” duties 67, 94, 128 battalion life 68, 123–33, 138 career/marriage conflict 127 communal living 127 demographic characteristics 124 disenchantment with policing 127–8

dissatisfaction, administration’s attitude 130 male officer hostility 128 physical demands, excessive 128 questionnaire survey 125–9 sexual harassment 129 career commitment 74, 89–90 cases dealt with 66 corruption, accusations xv, 92, 95, 98 counseling, insufficient training 94 deployment 63–4 experience 76–7, 88 dispute resolution, computer-assisted training xvi, 110–21 domestic violence, training 114 duties example 152 scope 66–7 equal opportunity legislation 37, 68, 92, 123 groups 159 health-related problems 96–7 integration 63, 99, 125, 149–50, 158–61 interest in police tasks 76 jealousy/resentment 95 job satisfaction 98 male reaction 37, 123 as model for developing countries 4, 157 morale problems 94 remedies 144–5 numbers 73, 143 percentage 61 personal characteristics 87–8 police department style, preferences 77–8, 90 promotion prospects 94–5, 98 quotas xiv recruitment 63, 124–5 roles, preferred 77–8, 88–9, 126 studies 19 training needs 109–10 US police, comparison 78–81, 125 work/family demands, example 96, 152

Index workload, excessive 93–4, 96–7 “tip-over”, women police numbers 13, 40, 158, 160 traditional societies AWPUs 139, 142–3 policing 139 women police xi, 3, 36–7, 40, 81, 149, 169 Trichy, community-oriented policing 156 UK, women police 24–5 numbers 25 preferred roles 81 US, comparison 25 views 38 Ukraine, women police 35 UN peacekeeping, women police 57 US, women police 1988 study xiii Civil Rights Act (1972) 24, 27 command positions 9 history 22–4, 26–7 numbers 8–9, 24 on patrol, studies 30–1 Tamil Nadu, comparison 78–81, 125 UK, comparison 25 see also New York Police Department violence, women police handling 7, 30, 31, 32 see also sexual violence “weaker sex” 29 women benefits of women’s colleges 165–6 Fourth World Conference (1995) 47 into policing, integration models 12–17 in labor market 6 non-traditional jobs, avoidance of 10–11 sexual violence against 7fn3 victimization, reluctance to report 137 as “weaker sex” 29 see also under India women police affirmative legislation 17 Africa 36 Australia 27 public support 25fn3

227 Brazil 37 comparative studies 32–3, 39–40 country statistics 34 critical mass 40, 41 cultural identity 173 depression 28 developed countries 34–5 developing countries 36–7 Eastern Europe, knowledge gap 37 Estonia 35 feminist perspective 41 gender identity 173 gendered policing model 14–17, 41, 42 benefits 18, 42, 168 Germany 35, 81 “glass ceiling” 13 history 22–7 India see under India integration barriers 9–10, 27–30 models xi, 12–17, 149–50, 158 prospects 38–41 Israel 35 job satisfaction 21, 22, 92, 124, 164, 170 male officer resistance 29–30 numbers, “tip-over” point 13, 40, 158, 160 in Papua New Guinea 36 on patrol, objections to 29 perceived performance 30–2 physical tests, discrimination 30 and police culture 28–9 public attitudes 30 recruitment 7–8, 32 barriers to 9–10, 41 physical tests 30 research required 171–2 “take off” 13, 40, 158 research 5, 19, 170–2 and restorative justice 155–7 roles, changing 26–7 selected countries, representation 34 sexual harassment 13, 28, 41 skills 12, 17 Slovenia 35 and social class 17

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and societal norms 14 special needs, policy requirements 169 status, worldwide 32–7 strengths 18 stress 28 studies 21–2, 27, 30–1, 32–3, 36–40 Taiwan 34–5 Tamil Nadu see under Tamil Nadu theory 149–68

in traditional societies xi, 3, 36–7, 40, 81, 149, 169 UK see under UK Ukraine 35 in UN peacekeeping 57 US see under US in violent situations 7, 30, 31, 32 Women’s College Coalition 165 women’s colleges, benefits to women 165–6