Female Officers in Use-of-Force Encounters: An Examination of Potential Correlates
| Author | Hunter M. Boehme,Christi Metcalfe,Robert J. Kaminski |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/10986111211053842 |
| Published date | 01 December 2022 |
| Date | 01 December 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Police Quarterly
2022, Vol. 25(4) 497–534
© The Author(s) 2022
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/10986111211053842
journals.sagepub.com/home/pqx
Female Officers in
Use-of-Force Encounters: An
Examination of Potential
Correlates
Hunter M. Boehme
1
, Christi Metcalfe
2
, and
Robert J. Kaminski
2
Abstract
With the changing landscape of women in policing, the representation of female police
officers has increased. However, there is limited understanding of how these en-
counters vary with the presence of a female officer. The present study utilized data
from three large, geographically diverse police agencies to evaluate situational, officer,
and suspect characteristics of use-of-force incidents that are associated with the
presence and involvement of a female officer. Analyses examining both multiple officer/
suspect and single officer/suspect incidents indicate many situational similarities be-
tween incidents with at least one female officer present or involved and incidents with
no female officers. However, the probability of female officer presence/involvement
increases for incidents involving display of a taser, officer injuries, greater racial di-
versity among the officers, and female suspects. Additional findings and research
implications are discussed.
Keywords
female police officers, use of force, officer/suspect injury
1
Department of Criminal Justice, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC, USA
2
Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
Corresponding Author:
Hunter M. Boehme, Department of Criminal Justice, North Carolina Central University, 1801 Fayetteville
Street, Durham, NC 27707, USA.
Email: hboehme@nccu.edu
Introduction
Women first entered the policing profession in the early 1900s and saw steady increases
in numbers until reaching a recent plateau at roughly 13% of America’s police force
(Clary, 2020;Deller & Deller, 2019). When women first entered the policing pro-
fession, they were relegated to the role of social workers with clerical and familial
duties (Price, 1996;Schulz, 1989). In this role, they traditionally handled cases in-
volving female victims and offenders, juveniles, and missing persons (Deller & Deller,
2019;Garcia, 2003). While female officers continue to face struggles integrating into a
male-dominated occupation (see Archbold & Schulz, 2008;Rabe-Hemp, C. E, 2008),
they are now assigned to the same roles as male officers, including competing for
specialized units, such as Special Weapons and Tactics (Archbold & Schulz, 2012;
Dahle, 2015). The progress made by women within the policing profession contributes
to increased involvement in use-of-force incidents.
Use-of-force incidents are dynamic and complex encounters between police offi-
cer(s) and citizens (Rojek et al., 2012). The threat and ability to use force is argued to be
one of the most defining aspects in the role of police (Bittner, 1970;Lawton, 2007).
With female officers called to situations that may require force, scholars suggest it is
likely that their presence and/or involvement alters the dynamics of these encounters
(Muir, 1977;Rabe-Hemp, C. E, 2008). Empirical research regarding the relationship
between female officer presence or involvement and the characteristics of use-of-force
situations remains limited (see Hoffman & Hickey, 2005). Among existing studies,
officer sex is often insignificantly or weakly related to the regularity and types of force
used (for a review see Klahm & Tillyer, 2010). However, there is a substantial degree of
variability in these studies in terms of measurement, omitted variable bias, and lack
of inclusion of relevant contextual characteristics (Klahm & Tillyer, 2010). Also, most
of these studies have limited access to officer-level information for force-related in-
cidents. Instead, they rely on aggregate-level measures of the number or percentage of
the department that is female in establishing a relationship between officer sex and
force-related outcomes (e.g., Deller & Deller, 2019;Ferdik et al., 2014;Kaminski,
2002,2004;Lott, 2000;Southwick, 1998). Of the studies with officer-level infor-
mation, most do not consider the distinction between female officers being present at
the scene with other officers during the force incident versus direct involvement of a
female officer who responds alone.
Of particular importance, though, this research largely focuses on the relationship
between officer sex and whether force is used, with some drawing attention to certain
force-related outcomes, such as types of force, office r-involved assaults, and officer or
suspect injuries. While the types of force and injury are relevant to consider in relation
to female officer presence, officer sex can be associated with additional circumstances
of the force incident itself, such that force situations may look different when female
officers are present or involved. In this way, prior work in the area does not fully
consider the extensive number of situational and incident-specific characteristics of
498 Police Quarterly 25(4)
force situations that may vary with the inclusion of a female officer at the scene (Lott,
2000;Southwick, 1998).
A consideration of this kind is relevant for at least two reasons. Time Magazine and
CNN published articles that suggested the answer to America’s policing problems (in
the context of shootings of unarmed Black men) was simple: to hire more female p olice
officers. Both articles stated that female officers rarely use excessive force and are more
likely to apply non-physical solutions to potentially violent police-citizen encounters
(Fantz & Tolan, 2020;Newton-Small, 2016). There is a continuing scholarly debate as
to the truth of these claims, and existing research remains mixed regarding the extent to
which use-of-force encounters change—for better or worse—when a female officer is
present at the encounter or directly involved. Second, if, in fact, there are contextual
elements of use-of-force encounters that differ when female officers are present or
involved, as theoretically expected, the policy response should not necessarily center
just on hiring more female officers, but rather on assessing where these differences lie
as a means of informing changes needed in training and role allocation that can improve
police responses (Porter & Prenzler, 2017). A comprehensive examination of the
various factors of force incidents—beyond the types of force and injury—that differ, or
do not differ, with female officer presence or involvement will serve to better inform
police administrators.
Accordingly, the present study utilizes incident-level data from three large police
departments in different geographic locations throughout the United States to inves-
tigate associations among various characteristics of use-of-force encounters and both
female officer presence in multiple officer incidents and involvement in single officer
incidents. Each of these departments gathered detailed information related to the
situation, officers, and suspects. Similar to some prior studies (see review in Klahm &
Tillyer, 2010), we explore the association between female officer presence/
involvement, types of force used, officer injuries, and suspect injuries. However, as
a means of more broadly studying the relationship between multiple aspects of use-of-
force incidents and officer sex, we also consider the relationship between other sit-
uational, officer, and suspect factors and female officer presence/involvement, which
are often not considered in prior studies.
1
The inclusion of these factors allows us to
consider whether there may be differential role allocation of female officers to certain
service calls, and/or whether female officers are more likely to be called when certain
suspects are involved (e.g., female and minority suspects). We begin with an overview
of relevant theoretical frameworks that suggest force situations may be handled dif-
ferently with the inclusion of female officers. We then discuss the two separate bodies
of empirical literature that examine female officer presence in use-of-force encounters
versus direct involvement of female officers in these incidents.
Expectations of Female Officers in Use-of-Force Encounters
From a theoretical standpoint, use-of-force situations are expected to differ when
female officers are present. The situational (or sociological) perspective considers
Boehme et al. 499
To continue reading
Request your trial