Liberty University, School of Business Administration
BMAL 500: D04
Dr. Elsie Cook
Abstract
In this paper, I will bring forth the obstacles women face when employed in law enforcement careers.
There are several arguments why women should not be in law enforcement, among them is the belief
that women are frail and cannot handle themselves around males. Women are weak and just should not
choose law enforcement as a profession. I will explain how women have overcome these obstacles and
made law enforcement a long lasting career.
Introduction
Women in the workplace is a common thought, mostly in a setting of an office, not where offenders
reside or there is criminal to arrest. In most work places, everyone comes to work at eight and leaves at
four. They have a lunch break and take the common fifteen-minute break in the morning and in the
afternoon. They attend the mandated sexual harassment training and learn how to report improper
behavior by a co-worker or colleague. When you look at it on paper everything seems to be working
well. There is just one problem, not all workplaces can fit in this little box. The idea of an office setting is
most likely the only setting that was thought of when designing and making the rules for the sexual
harassment laws. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.
I would like to begin by describing the job description of a corrections officer. According to Legal.com
(USLegal.com 1997-2019), the definition of a corrections officers is “an officer responsible for the
custody, safety, security, and supervision of inmates in a prison or any other correctional facility”. The
setting for this interaction is in a jail or other facility that is intended to keep people from getting out.
There is no desk, you do not have your typical lunch break. Majority of the time, your safety is directly
depended on the person you work with. The trust you have with this person must be on the level where
you know they are ready to save your life or give their life to save yours. Notice the gender nutria
wording I used there. This is because it is different when speaking as he or she. Take away the desks and
leather chairs and put up metal bars and security check points. Handcuffs and shackles now let’s try and
apply the sexual harassment rules with women in this environment. Does it fit? Can it work when the
man or woman you are working with may have to save your life? These are the questions I will try to
answer as this paper continues. I will not only look at correctional officers; I will look at the law
enforcement community, in general. I will look at the officers on the street enforcing laws in our
communities and probation and parole officer working with rehabilitated offenders, as well.
Women in Corrections
Women in corrections see a vast amount of challenges that are coming from both sides. On the
one side, you have the inmates who look at them not only as an authority figure but in some cases safety
from other inmates that might wish harm on them.
In most large facilities inmates have a hierarchy based on fear where the strongest and most violent are
on top while the weak are kept on the bottom. The correction officers do what they can to mediate this
but there are always instances and situation that arise were the correction officers may know or have
knowledge of incidents that arise. You have to remember the inmate population always out numbers
the correction officers. The only way the facility works is by a strict adherence to the rules and polices
that are in place to keep inmates under control.
If you look back to most prison riots, the root cause is correctional officers not following the rules or
protocols set in place. The correction officers maneuver and maintain control over the inmates by fair
and balanced treatment. There has to be a level of respect between correctional officers and the
inmates. Women do not receive the same level of respect from the male correctional officers as their
fellow male correctional officers. This lack of respect makes it difficult for women to have the level of
respect from inmates. Sometimes female correctional officers will try and mimic the male officers by
using a heavy style of enforcement, while this may not be optimal for getting respect from the male
inmate population, if it is done in a manner where each inmate is treated the same and no preference if
given to any one individual; then it could have the desired effect. The main issued is the interaction of
the male correctional officers with the female. These interactions are always in the presents of the
inmates. Therefore, when they are seen in an unprofessional manner or the males do not respect the
females as they should, then this can disseminate into the inmate population and cause issue for the
females doing their jobs.
Women in Corrections and Sexual Harassment
Corrections officers have to be a tight knit group when working in such conditions where their
lives could be at risk. This proves to be more difficult for women when working with men that have the
belief that woman are not well suited for such a job. Female officers might be referred to at honey,
babe, or sugar. Such an instance can result in an investigation for a sexual harassment case. The rules
used for a typical office job may not be applied to the correctional officers setting. Certain modification
might have to be put in place to achieve the outcome that is needed to resolve such an issue. Such as
fraternization between male and female correctional officers must be addressed. Any reports of
misconduct of male correctional officers towards female officers must be address and taken seriously.
Supervisors that allow harassment to continue are putting everyone at risk, as the inmate population can
use this to incite distrust and confusion among the correctional officers. Moving forward, the rules and
how to report sexual harassment needs to be posted in breakrooms and in areas where everyone can
read them and have the knowledge they need to be able to report and document such cases. Sexual
harassment might not just come from the other male correctional officers but from the inmates as well.
This behavior cannot be tolerated. The level of respect given to female officers must be held to a high
level in order to be effective. As Melissa Mann stated “The reality is that women excel in both the
correctional and patrol setting and bring tools and advantages to the job that their male counterparts
cannot”. (Mann, 2016, par. 5).
Men in general do not see a woman as someone of authority. Historically, women have been second
class and in need of men to protect them. A woman in a correctional officer’s position completely
contradicts this as the woman is not only in a position of authority but in a protector position.
Women in Patrol
Now to discuss the patrol aspect of the job. Generally speaking, enforcement and corrections are
not the same. Patrol is the enforcement side of the law. Corrections is the second part where the
person is being rehabilitated to rejoin the community. A patrol officer has a plethora of things to worry
about versus the correction officers. The corrections officers have a controlled environment which, most
times is in void of regular items that could be used as a weapon. Items like knives, screwdrivers,
hammers, and other common items can all be used as a weapon. Corrections officers train for situations
that occur in the jail or prison so they are familiar with the setting. Most times the corrections officers
know the inmates they are dealing with and have some type of rapport with them. In contrast, the
enforcement officers, when responding to a call, do not get to train in the area they are being called.
They may have never been to a particular house and do not have information about any threats or
weapons that may be within. This brings an added level of danger to each call they go on. Now that I
have explained, let me discuss officer presence. “Officer Presence is the professionalism, uniform, and
utility belt of the law enforcement officer and the marked vehicle he or she arrives in.” (Wikipedia,
2020). The officer presence is in the use of force continuum and is used as such. Having a woman in
uniform to arrive at a call for service where there might be two men fighting; other male officers might
perceive this female officer as having a disadvantage over male officers due to her gender. The suspects
that are fighting at the time may not acknowledge her. This is when officer presence is most important.
The way she stands, talks, and moves when she exits the patrol vehicle all give clues to observers and the
suspect as to her training and over all capability. Contrast to correction officers, they may have never
met the enforcement officer. The perceived differences are an issue that women have to overcome as
part of the job. They may not be an aspect of the job that men have built into it, so much as society as a
whole has made preconceptions about women.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention show the average for adults aged 20 and over
shows men at 69 inches and females at 63 inches. The average weight for the same adult show the men
at 197.8 pounds and women at 170.5 pounds (CDC). I understand the argument that a woman can do
anything a man can do. When you are fighting for your life or to save the life of another, size does
matter. When you are in a fight, you want every advantage you can have to win the fight. The way a
female officer is treated and regarded on the street versus a male officer differs significantly. In some
cases, the female officer might have an advantage with being able to speak with a subject and get more
information than a male officer. In other cases, male officers might have success. However, in incidents
where a female officer has to use deadly force on a suspect, the same might not be true for a male
officer. Louisiana Revised Statute 14:20 Justifiable Homicide says, “that if you believe your life in in
danger and the only way to save it is to kill the intruder or assailant, then it is justified.” In the court of
opinion, it would be easier for a female officer to convince a jury that she believed her life was in danger
and the only thing she could do was shoot the suspect. The question remains, would it be just as easy
for a male officer to convince the same jury that his actions were justified under the same situation. This
question might be hard to answer depending on who you ask. I believe that a female of smaller stature
would win this case versus a man of average body size.
As with the correction officers, the enforcement officer must form a bond with their partners due
to the high risk that comes with the job. Having someone work with you that does not feel woman
should be in the job to begin with, can make the job much more difficult and dangerous. The respect of
your colleagues is a must in this job, as so much depends on how you and your partners can
communicate when dealing with a situation that might turn deadly. One wrong move or word can make
a situation worse and potentially life threating. You want to be sure your co-workers have your back and
they are comfortable with you knowing that you can handle whatever situation you encounter. Having a
female officer on scene at a domestic call can be very advantageous to the officers who are dealing with,
in most cases, and couple which is a man and a woman. If there are only male officers on scene, then
the female might not want to talk or tell a male officer what happened, not only due to her being scared
of the male that she is with, but just her general mistrust for men. This is when having a female officer
would be an advantage as she might be able to have the female victim open up and talk to her and tell
her what took place. This is even more important when a sexual crime is suspected. The female victim
will feel more comfortable speaking to another female when having to describe the crime to a male.
Trying to get a female victim to tell a male officer of these things, might be worse for the victim and not
help the overall situation. When there is a female suspect it is also better to have a female officer. This
is due to the fact that female officers can search female suspect to a better degree than male officers
can. This is true no matter if you are searching for a potential weapon or illegal narcotics. This is when
training really can build on the teams moral. Working together with the male and female officers is a
must as they can build off of each other to accomplish the goal.
If there is a situation where sexual harassment is reported by a female officer, caution is advised.
Allegation can spread and generally bring down moral. Supervisors must be vigilant and take every
report seriously. If you have male officers referring to female officers as pet names and demining them
than the public will not respect them. As a woman I know the pet names might not bother me but when
it is done in the public’s eye then it takes away from my officer presence. This type of behavior cannot
be tolerated by women or by supervisors. As a department, professionalism is the goal. Clean crisp
uniforms and an officer presence that onlookers perceive that they can handle any situation that arises.
The public looks to the police as there only safety in the night when crime is out there. As with the
corrections officers, there need to be up to date training of acceptable behavior and on sexual
harassment. The information has to post in areas where it is easy to find. Officers that want to report
incident need to have the information they need to be able to report situation in a manner so they can
be dealt with accordingly. Other male officers that witness this type of behavior must also be able to
stand up and say something. Female officers cannot be the only ones that report this type of behavior,
anyone that witnesses it must be able to report it to a supervisor without worry that they might have
repercussions.
Women in Probation & Parole
Probation and Parole Officers are a cross between corrections officer and patrol officers. These men and
women provide services to the offenders that have been rehabilitated and have served their time from
the crimes they committed. Women in these settings, in my opinion, do deal with as many obstacles as
woman in corrections and patrol. This is because the setting work takes place is in an office environment
where they are mostly paper pushers. They enforce orders of the court and monitor the offender to be
sure they are following the orders of the judge or parole board. Many of the Offender they deal with are
wanting to do better, they just need guidance to make the right choices. Now don’t get me wrong, the
job of a probation & parole officer is dangerous, when making home visits and such; but not to the
extent of a patrol officer that in unfamiliar with their environment and does not know who or what they
are being called to deal with.
Conclusion
Women in the workplace is a misnomer. I have discussed the differences of a typical workplace
versus the workplace of corrections officer, enforcement officers and probation & parole. In a job where
your life is on the line, respect is even more important. As a country, I can see we have made strides in
the right direction to have women fill any position they want. But, it is a long road before we get to a
point where men and women can be on equal playing fields. When we get there, this might never
happen as men and women will be equal not only in the sense that they are the same but in the sense
that they both have their own advantages and disadvantages. This might be the common ground that
men and women have to come together as a people, and work out the things discussed in this paper. In
my community, I can say there are a significant amount of women in the corrections field, probation and
parole field, as well as in the enforcement field. I do not know them all but I can say the ones I do know
get the job done. In some cases, they get it done better than their male counter parts. Yes, we have
come a long way for women’s rights but I want to see us going a lot further.
References
USLegal inc – Corrections Officer Law and Legal Definition Retrieved
from https://definitions.uslegal.com/c/corrections-officer/
Mann, Melissa (2016, August 16). Women in corrections face a number of obstacles. Retrieved
from https://www.correctionsone.com/women-in-corrections/articles/women-in-corrections-face-a-
number-of-obstacles-h36HYnkGxjEdO1SW/
Fryar Cheryl, Kruszon-Moran, Deanna, Sc.M., Gu, Qiuping, Ogden, Cynthia; Mean Body Weight, Height,
Waist Circumference, and Body Mass Index Among Adults: United States, 1999–2000 Through 2015–
2016. Retrieved from CDC MEAN BODY WEGHT, HEIGHT, WAIST CIRCUMFREENCE, AND BODY MASS
INDEX AMONG ADULTS : UNITED STATES, 1999- 2000
FROM https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr122-508.pdf
Kroeger, Otto; Thuesen, Janet; Rutledge, Hile. Type Talk at Work textbook. Dell Publishing, New York
(2002) Reprint
Kinicki, Angelo; Fugate, Mel. Organizational Behavior textbook. McGraw-Hill Education, New York (2018)
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