Culture, Race, Gender, and Ethnicity – Women in Law Enforcement

CJ246 Human Relations in a Diverse Society

Unit 8 Assignment

Culture, Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

Women in Law Enforcement

When you think about the roles that men and women have in the working field many would assume men are the workers while women stay at home to tend to the household duties and taking care of the children. A lot has changed with that assumption in fact there are many women who are the hard workers while men stay home. I think that changed because women were tired of being told they can take care of their families financially like men can. Rather then sticking to the normality of the past they have chosen to go out and prove all wrong by becoming women that work hard for the government. Women work in major factories, industries, corporations and so on. Women have experienced so much, and I strongly feel like the use of independence and strength that comes from having to prove themselves in a man dominated work environment such as the criminal justice field. I also want to take a moment to also talk about how there an increase of women has been how have become victims of the criminal justice field. I think that when women fall victim to this field the change their outlook on life and want to be better and do better, and I am sorry to say this, but more women use these experiences to change their life around, where as men tend to follow the cycle.

Over time there has been a major change in how women are treated within the criminal justice system. Although law enforcement is still male dominated, that’s slowly changing because of the interest women have with working in this field. Unfortunately, there are still men that find it repulsive that women work within the system and they fight to have them not there but being strong and independent plays a huge role in keeping women within the field. Women are adding a more complex and proactive form of policing. When it comes to finding new ways to advance the law enforcement field, they police forces are trying to find new ways to act aggressively when needed but still be able to think strategically when needed, and this is why women are a great change within the force. Another strong area of policing that women add more too then man is the community policing. Within different communities, communication is extremely important, and building relationships is a proactive approach to limit crimes and create resolutions to conflict. Women are sophisticated and approach problems much differently then man, they can offer and different approach to policing and this is one of the issues men have with women who join the police force.

I truly believe that women working in the criminal justice field or any type of law enforcement agency. Men in law enforcement are aggressive and tend to turn off the emotions and just do the job. Women on the other hand give a different point of view and can sympathize differently with individuals. I myself have been in several situations where police officers have been involved. These interactions have made me aware of how different men in the field are compared to women. I can remember a situation where my two brothers and I were reuniting after being separated in the foster care system, and it was clear to me that they choose a bad crowd to be apart of. One day I was visiting them as they were hanging out with friends and all o a sudden police officers showed up to arrest then. I was shocked scared and curious as to what was going on because although they were my brothers, I really didn’t know who they were. During the interaction my brothers were rude and loud and freaking out at the male police officers and here I was sitting there wondering if I was going to jail to. I can remember hearing the officers talk about the drugs that they have busted my brothers for. The whole situation was so aggressive. I was so scared, and I think that these male officers figured that out with the number of tears I was crying so they called a women officer to help me. When she sat down, she calmly explained to me everything that was going on, and I explained to here that we all just met. This situation made me see the difference in how male and female officers interact. A male officer can be so load and aggressive when speaking and handling a criminal where as women officers give off a sense of warmth and calmness to them, although they can be firm and nerve wrecking because they are still officers there are many times where you can be less anxious and can feel the change to be heard.

Reference Page

Why Women Are a Good Fit For Criminal Justice Careers. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://online.king.edu/news/why-women-are-a-good-fit-for-criminal-justice-careers/

Writers, S. (2019, September 23). Criminal Justice Careers 2019. Retrieved from https://www.criminaljusticedegreeschools.com/criminal-justice-careers/