Why Did You Become a Police Officer? Entry-Related Motives and Concerns of Women and Men in Policing
| Date | 01 June 2021 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0093854821993508 |
| Author | Rachael M. Rief,Samantha S. Clinkinbeard,Starr J. Solomon |
| Published date | 01 June 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
research-article2021
Why DiD you Become a Police officer?
entry-related motives and concerns of Women and
men in Policing
SAMANTHA S. CLINkINBEARD
University of Nebraska at Omaha
STARR J. SOLOMON
Kent State University
RACHAEL M. RIEF
University of Nebraska at Omaha
As police agencies in the United States suffer declining applications and struggle to recruit women, the National Institute of
Justice has identified workforce development as a priority research area. To recruit more effectively, we must understand what
attracts people to policing and what deters them. We surveyed officers in two Midwestern police departments (n = 832) about
entry motivations and concerns and examined gender differences. Serve/protect motivations were most important for men
and women, though women rated the category significantly higher. Women and non-White officers rated legacy motives
higher than did males and White officers. Women reported more concerns overall and scored higher on job demands and
acceptance concerns; officers of color also reported more acceptance concerns than White officers. The largest gender differ-
ences were associated with gender-related obstacles and stereotypes (e.g., discrimination; being taken seriously; physical
demands), indicating recruitment reform necessarily includes improving systemic issues.
Keywords: policing; gender; employment; gender differences; women
Police agencies across the United States have seen a recent drop in applications (Police
Executive Research Forum, 2019). Several forces are likely at work, ranging from declin-
ing public trust in response to viral negative officer–citizen encounters, well-publicized
attacks on officers, to increased access to college education and a competitive job market, to
disqualifier policies that have not kept pace with changing social norms around tattoos or
marijuana use (Bolten, 2016; Cook, 2015; Jones, 2015; Police Executive Research Forum,
2019; Rhodes & Tyler, 2019). Furthermore, it is too early to tell how recent crises such as the
COVID-19 pandemic and the worldwide protests surrounding the deaths of George Floyd,
authors’ Note: This work was supported by an Urban Research Grant from the College of Public Affairs
and Community Service at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Correspondence concerning this article
should be addressed to Samantha S. Clinkinbeard, School of Criminology & Criminal Justice, University of
Nebraska at Omaha, 6001 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE 68182; e-mail: sclinkinbeard@unomaha.edu.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, 2021, Vol. 48, No. 6, June 2021, 715 –733.
DOI: 10.1177/0093854821993508
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© 2021 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology
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716 CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR
Breonna Taylor, and others will affect policing, and ultimately recruitment. Although the last
decade or so has seen an increasing need for creativity in overall police recruitment, attracting
women to the field has been an undeniable problem for decades (Cordner & Cordner, 2011;
Police Executive Research Forum, 2019), compounded by a culture of hegemonic masculin-
ity, exclusionary testing procedures, absence of family-friendly policies, and lack of targeted
recruiting, among others (Cordner & Cordner, 2011; Fielding, 1994; Prokos & Padavic, 2002;
Schuck, 2014; Schulze, 2010, 2012).
When women entered the field, they were relegated to policing-adjacent positions,
assigned to “deal with” women and children (Corsianos, 2009). With broader civil rights
changes in the 1960s and 1970s, women fought their way into patrol; lawsuits and consent
decrees facilitated sharp increases of women in the 1980s and 1990s (Archbold & Schulz,
2012; Lonsway et al., 2002). After consent decrees expired, efforts crumbled and the pro-
portion of women entering policing dropped (Lonsway et al., 2002, 2003). Today, about
12.6% of sworn officers employed in U.S. agencies are women; the percentage of women
is greater in large departments and typically less in rural and small departments (Hyland &
Davis, 2019). Women of color typically represent less than 5% of the sworn officer popula-
tion (Hyland & Davis, 2019). Growth, however, has stalled since the start of the 21st cen-
tury (Cordner & Cordner, 2011; kringen, 2014).
We argue that a starting point for recruiting is to understand what motivated the current
workforce to join. Furthermore, given the continued underrepresentation of women, and the
benefits they can bring to the force, it is important to explore the extent to which there may be
gender differences in entry motivations. In this article, we explore entry motivations, includ-
ing gender differences, in a sample of current police officers. This approach provides insight
into the perceptions of individuals that actively pursued the career. Although we are not the
first to explore motivations (e.g., Lester, 1983; Raganella & White, 2004; M. D. White et al.,
2010), persistent struggles with police recruitment demand continued work in this area. We
expand the work on police entry with a systematic focus on concerns that surround career
entry, a growing area of importance (e.g., Cambareri & kuhns, 2018; Lord & Friday, 2003;
Rossler et al., 2020). We asked officers to identify what attracted them to policing at the start
of their careers and what they remember being nervous about. A better understanding of the
entry motives and concerns of current officers can inform general recruitment strategies and
understanding gender variations can inform targeted approaches. Finally, a focus on entry-
related concerns may highlight systemic issues that are keeping many women out of the field.
literature revieW
PoliciNg motives aND geNDer
A few researchers have explored motives for entering policing and variation by gender
(Lester, 1983; Raganella & White, 2004; Tarng & Hsieh, 2001; M. D. White et al., 2010).
Lester (1983) was among the first to explore motivations for joining the force utilizing two
samples. The first sample consisted of males, who reported helping others, job security,
companionship with coworkers, enforcing the laws, and fighting crime as top motivations.
Factor analysis identified themes of pay/security, service, and power/status. In a replication
sample that was approximately 20% female, men and women cited similar reasons for join-
ing, but small gender differences emerged. Women rated service higher, power/status lower,
and pay/security similar to men (Lester, 1983).
Clinkinbeard et al. / ENTRy MOTIVES AND CONCERNS IN POLICING 717
Raganella and White (2004) surveyed New york police department recruits in 2001
using a modified version of Lester’s (1983) measure. The top motives (helping people and
job security) were the same as those reported by Lester. There were slight differences in
rank order by gender, but the most important (helping people) and least important (salary)
were the same for men and women. As with Lester’s study, women reported helping peo-
ple higher than did men, although it was still important to both; companionship and lack
of alternatives were more important for males (Raganella & White, 2004). Six years after
the first study, M. D. White and colleagues (2010) surveyed the same population (i.e.,
NyPD recruits from 2001) asking them to rate their motivations. Again, they found few
gender differences.
Additional research has both reinforced initial findings (e.g., helping others as top moti-
vation) and highlighted other motives as important, particularly for women (e.g., adventure/
excitement, witnessing, or interacting with female officers; Ridgeway et al., 2008; Seklecki
& Paynich, 2007; Todak, 2017). yet, the policing motives and gender picture is not com-
plete. We need information from all stages of the career life cycle (i.e., precareer women;
those that left the academy; women that quit in the first couple years; and others that
remained for several). Research thus far has been limited by small, single-agency, or single-
gender samples, restricting comparisons. Finally, some of the motives that have been illu-
minated in qualitative work (e.g., Todak, 2017) have yet to be explored on a larger scale.
PoteNtial coNcerNs aND geNDer
An emerging area regarding recruitment is concerns about career entry (Cambareri &
kuhns, 2018; Lord & Friday, 2003; Rossler et al., 2020; Todak, 2017). Literature on moti-
vation emphasizes that behavior is inspired by two sides of the motivational coin: (a)
hopes and expectations and (b) fears or concerns1 (Markus & Nurius, 1986). Concerns
about future goals can balance expectations and help propel behavior toward them by
informing strategies for achievement (Clinkinbeard & Zohra, 2011; Oyserman & Saltz,
1993). At the same time, strong fears can paralyze or motivate alternative actions (Lerner
& keltner, 2001).
The motivational literature not only recognizes the importance of concerns or fears for
motivation but also recognizes that some gender differences exist. Most important to this
study is that women tend to report more fears than men and put more stock in those fears
(Greene & DeBacker, 2004; knox et al., 2000). Furthermore, women are more sensitive to
messages in the sociocultural context (e.g., stereotypes; Greene & DeBacker, 2004;
kemmelmeier & Oyserman, 2001). This is of particular note in policing where decades of
...
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