To decrease police brutality, we need more women.
We need more women who are police officers, to be exact. Of 900,000 currently sworn police officers, only 12% are female. That's worse than the female representation in technical positions at some of Silicon Valley's giants. The difference is that women are clamoring to equate the field there, but nobody talks about the underrepresentation in law enforcement. The other difference is that less women in tech does not correlate with more deaths in our streets.
So why are women not joining community policing? Why is the gender representation in police forces worse than those found in the armed forces? The reason is the way that policing has been portrayed and continues to be portrayed.
We are sold the idea that police work must be violent, when in fact the best policing does not include death, crashes, or lawsuits.
It is in preventative care and community health that police officers can do the most good. Women are dissuaded because police work is too violent, or they might be physically incapable of doing the job, or because the gender divide might in fact affect their chances for rank advancement, see "brass ceiling." Women seek to defuse altercations, while some men who might be drawn to the profession due to their aggressive tendencies escalate and force a stalemate. Here are some reasons why we desperately need women police officers:- Police brutality isn’t going away unless something changes. For more proposed solutions check out Shaun King's list:
- Pioneer. Every woman who joins would be a pioneer in the field.
- Redefining the position and breaking stereotypes. We need to redefine what policing means and looks like.
- Easing the way for others. Women have been police officers for a long time and have faced unique circumstances for discrimination or harassment in the workplace. Increasing the number of women can alleviate these cultural issues within departments and pave the way for future female officers.
- Caring for the community. According to a 2011 case study on women's police stations or units, their mere existence increased reporting and conviction rates in cases of crimes against women. Also less of this: A female cop is not as revolutionary as a female president, but it is damn important that we encourage everyone to join every field.
Diversification of views and methods is what brings progress and change.
This isn't a pro or anti police piece. This writing is an acknowledgment that #BlackLivesMatter, that women's reporting matters, that safer policing for the community means less aggressive responses and a stronger bond of trust between our amazing sworn defendants and the public.
