POLICE INTEGRITY LOST

A research study on crime by policewomen forthcoming in the journal Police Practice and Research has been prepublished and is available online. The article, An Exploration of Crime by Policewomen, is co-authored by Phil Stinson of Bowling Green State University, Natalie Todak of Arizona State University, and Mary Dodge of the University of Colorado Denver. Findings of the study indicate differences exist between crimes committed by policemen and policewomen, as well as by policewomen and women in general. Crime by policewomen is most often profit-motivated. Policewomen had fewer years of service and lower ranks, committed less violent crimes, and were more likely to receive suspensions for off-duty crimes compared to their male peers.

The December 2012 episode of the Police Integrity Lost podcast is Crime by Policewomen: Is it Different than Crime by Policemen? It is available exclusively on iTunes. In this episode, Phil Stinson and Natalie Todak discuss their recent research study that explored criminal conduct by policewomen at various nonfederal law enforcement agencies across the United States. The information is increasingly relevant as departments hire more female officers, especially if their crimes are different than crimes by male officers. Using the Google News search engine and Google Alerts, the research team identified 105 cases depicting arrests of policewomen and a content analysis was performed. Findings reveal that female police crime is most often profit-motivated. Compared to arrested male officers, policewomen had fewer years of service and lower ranks, committed less violent crimes, and were more likely to receive suspensions for off-duty crimes. The findings suggest that differences exist between crimes committed by male and female officers. Phil Stinson is on the faculty at Bowling Green State University, and Natalie Todak is a doctoral student at Arizona State University.