Policing Women: The Sexual Politics of Law Enforcement and the LAPD (Critical Perspectives On The P) [Paperback]

Janis Appier (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1566395607 | ISBN-13: 978-1566395601 | Publication Date: January 12, 1998

Many of us take the presence of policewomen on patrol and in investigative roles for granted. Realistic dramas and comedies in the movies and on television show women officers performing the same duties as men on the force. This visibility tells us nothing about the hostility and controversy that have beset police women since they were first hired by police departments in the 1910's. Author Janis Appier traces the origins of women in police work, explaining how pioneer policewomen's struggles to gain secure footholds in big city police departments ironically helped to make modern policework one of the most male dominated occupations in the United States. With a new vision of non-coercive police work and crime prevention, progressive reformers exerted political and social pressure to create positions for female officers dedicated to guiding and protecting juveniles and women. Women reformers pointed to changing sexual mores among working-class female youth to emphasize the need for a new approach to policing. The policewomen who undertook the work of counseling sexually active teenage girls and their families saw themselves as helping young people achieve moral equilibrium during a period in which standards of conduct were in flux. In the Los Angeles Police Department, the first to hire women, this social work was primarily the responsibility of the City Mother's Bureau; in other major cities, policewomen's roles were similarly constructed as maternalistic. Scrutinizing case records, public statements, and departmental policies governing policewomen, Appier shows how female officers handled the complex gender politics of their work with the public and within their departments. Appier reveals that many of these pioneering policewomen succeeded in expanding the scope of policework and carving out a rewarding professional niche, despite continued attempts to oust them or limit their sphere of action. But this advancement was short-lived; within a generation a masculinized model of crime fighting took hold, and policewomen's authority eroded. Author note: Janis Appier is Assistant Professor of History at Ohio State University. She has written extensively about women and criminal justice.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book stands out in many ways. [It] is very well researched, interesting to read, and would be an excellent foundation text for a course in women's history. It would also be useful as a supplemental text in a variety of women's studies, history, and sociology courses." --National Women's Studies Association Journal "Policing Women offers new information and new interpretations that will appeal to readers in many fields: courses in law enforcement, women's studies/gender, women in criminal justice/women in crime, women's history. Well written and organized, it provides a fine discussion of national issues as a background for the origins of women in policing and the crime prevention model." --Clarice Feinman, Professor Emerita, College of New Jersey

From the Publisher

How women expanded policework and unwittingly created the conditions for more agressive policing --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 227 pages
• Publisher: Temple University Press (January 12, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566395607
• ISBN-13: 978-1566395601
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,242,553 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Face the past, and prepare for the future..., April 20, 2000

By 

Marion E. Gold "Book Author & Editorial Writer" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Policing Women: The Sexual Politics of Law Enforcement and the LAPD (Critical Perspectives On The P) (Paperback)

In facing the past, this book helps us prepare for a future where we recognize and appreciate the great strengths women bring to law enforcement. By understanding the history of women in law enforcement, we can begin to eliminate the stereotypes and encourage the entry and success of more women in this noble profession.