Pink Policing: Gendered Differences in Behavior in Masculine Environments

• In Event: Diversity and Bureaucratic Behavior

Abstract

Recent scholarship has examined the role that interactions with the police play in shaping American political participation and feelings of trust and legitimacy, with researchers often examining the role that race plays in shaping these interactions. While these findings have important implications for policing and American democracy, to date no research has examined the role that office gender does (or does not) play in shaping the nature of citizen interactions with the police. At present, the literature does not offer clear expectations for the role of officer gender in police activities. Some argue that female officers bring a unique perspective and experience with them to the force which will ultimately shape how they carry out their duties. Others however argue that agency norms and bureaucratic culture will so strongly socialize officers into agency norms and practices that gender will play no role in how officers carry out their duties. To test these competing expectations, we use data from millions of traffic stops to examine differences in police behavior based on officer gender. Results from our statistical analyses provide several striking findings. First, we find that women are significantly less likely than male officers to conduct a search after conducting a traffic stop. Second, while women are less likely to conduct searches, we find that the “hit rates” of female officers are higher than those of their male counterparts, suggesting that when women do decide to conduct a search that search is more likely to be fruitful or justified. Finally, we find that the net amount of contraband confiscated by women officers is not significantly different from the amount confiscated by male officers, suggesting that there is not a tradeoff between women’s policing style and overall levels of effectiveness. Moreover, given the well documented negative effects that police interactions can have on civic engagement and trust in government the feminine style of policing we identify in this piece has important implications for American Democracy.

Authors

• Katelyn E. Stauffer, University of South Carolina

• Kelsey Shoub, University of South Carolina

• Miyeon Song, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Newark