Abstract

The underrepresentation of women in policing is well documented as are efforts to understand the disparity. Some of these efforts have examined the first point newly hired women experience occupational socialization: basic law enforcement training at police academies nationwide. Largely absent from this line of research are studies of why women recruits—compared to men—fail to successfully complete basic training. To fill this empirical void, the current inquiry utilizes national-level data to examine the reasons women, compared to men, fail to complete academy basic training. Our results reveal statistically significant gendered differences in reasons for training non-completion by level of stress emphasized during training and type of academy affiliation that include voluntary withdrawal by recruits and non-voluntary withdrawal for failure to meet qualifying standards for physical fitness, firearms, and driving. The implications of these findings for police practice and research are discussed and recommendations are made.

摘要

女性在警务工作中的代表性不足以及为了解这种差异所做的努力都有据可查。其中一些努力研究了新聘女性经历职业社会化的第一点：全国警察学院的基本执法培训。这条研究线在很大程度上没有研究为什么与男性相比，女性新兵未能成功完成基本培训。为了填补这一经验空白，目前的调查利用国家级数据来检查女性与男性相比未能完成学院基础培训的原因。我们的结果揭示了在训练期间强调的压力水平和学院隶属关系的类型（包括新兵自愿退出和因未能达到体能、枪支和驾驶。讨论了这些发现对警察实践和研究的影响并提出了建议。