Police Criminality: Nature and Extent of Crimes Committed by Female Police Officers

• Author: Francis D. Boateng,Ming-Li Hsieh,Daniel K. Pryce
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/10986111211044070
• Published date: 01 December 2022
• Date: 01 December 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Police Criminality:

Nature and Extent of

Crimes Committed by

Female Police Officers

Francis D. Boateng

1

,

Ming-Li Hsieh

2

, and

Daniel K. Pryce

3

Abstract

Given the recent attention focusing on “bad apples” in police departments across the

country, police behaviors have been the subject of considerable controversy and

protest. Still, research indicates that rates of officially reported police crime are

relatively low. In addition, crimes committed by female officers are largely under-

studied in this male-dominated workplace. Therefore, the current study explores the

attributes associated with police crime committed by female officers using national

arrest data. Results obtained from a multilevel model demonstrate the influences of

individual- and agency-level variables in explaining female officers’ criminality. Findings

reveal that while on-duty female officers are more likely to commit economically

motivated and drug-related crimes, off-duty officers are more likely to engage in

violent and alcohol-related crimes. Moreover, contextual factors such as types of

agency and numbers of sworn officers predicted female officers’ criminality. Current

findings highlight the importance of policies that would directly address female

criminality in law enforcement.

1

Department of Criminal Justice and Legal Studies, The University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi,

United States

2

Criminal Justice Program, Department of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Eau

Claire, Wisconsin, United States

3

Department of Sociology & Criminal Justice, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, United States

Corresponding Author:

Francis D. Boateng, Department of Criminal Justice and Legal Studies, University of Mississippi, University

Park, MS 38677, United States.

Email: fboateng@olemiss.edu

Police Quarterly

!The Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/10986111211044070

journals.sagepub.com/home/pqx

2022, Vol. 25(4) 415–442

416 Police Quarterly 25(4)

Keywords

police crime, police misconduct, police deviance, female officers, criminality

Introduction

The employment of policewomen in modern law enforcement has long been

endorsed as “an invaluable asset,” and for over fifty years it has been recom-

mended that the role of female officers be broadened and expanded to model

their male counterparts without limited duets (The President’s Commission on

Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice [PCLEA], 1967, p. 125).

While female officers in the early 1900s were initially restricted to staff functions

and work with juveniles within police agencies (PCLEA, 1967), there are now

male and female partnerships in everyday policing as well as in management and

leadership. In fact, the number of female officers had doubled from about

2 percent in the 1970s (Martin, 1980) to around 12.6 percent according to

recent data (Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI], 2020). Despite these gains,

a more representative growth in the number of females in policing has lagged

and women remain largely underrepresented in this male-dominated occupa-

tion. Nonetheless, the contemporary female police force has been recognized

as reinforcing the positive aspects of community policing (Kimberly, 2000;

Todak, 2017; Waugh, Ede, & Alley, 1998).

Prior studies document the benefits of women in policing. Generally, female

officers are found to improve the quality of responses to violence against

women, reduce sex discrimination and harassment issues within organizations,

and catalyze positive policy recalibrations in police culture (Kimberly, 2000). In

terms of police performance, female officers are less likely to use force or exces-

sive force (Hoffman & Hickey, 2005; Rabe-Hemp, 2008; Schuck & Rabe-Hemp,

2005, 2016; Waugh et al., 1998), are more successful in deescalating violent and

aggressive situations (Schuck & Rabe-Hemp, 2005), and are less likely to receive

complaints or be involved in lawsuits (Schuck & Rabe-Hemp, 2016; Waugh

et al., 1998).

In other research, it has been argued that in the development of job models

(see Feldberg & Glenn, 1979) for the socialization and professionalization of

employees within the police organization, male and female officers’ behaviors

demonstrate no significant differences in job performance and, in fact, are very

similar. For instance, female officers are seen as equally competent as their male

counterparts (Kimberly, 2000), and both male and female officers utilize similar

levels of force (Paoline & Terrill, 2004) and unarmed physical force (Hoffman &

Hickey, 2005). Furthermore, from a feminist perspective, when women adopt

and associate with more traditional male roles and statuses in an androcentric

field, they would experience a masculinizing of their behaviors, and perhaps, in