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Gender
Gap in Police Brutality Lawsuits : Men Cost More
Gender Balance in Law Enforcement Urged
With police abuse cases grabbing headlines nationwide, a new study released by
the Feminist Majority Foundation and the National Center for Women & Policing
documents huge gender differences in the cost of police brutality and
misconduct as a result of civil liability lawsuits. The study shows male officers
in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) are involved in excessive
force and misconduct lawsuits at rates substantially higher than their
female counterparts.
"The gender gap in police brutality lawsuits is striking. The City of Los Angeles
paid out $63.4 million between 1990-1999 in lawsuits involving male officers
for use of excessive force, sexual assault, and domestic violence. By
contrast, $2.8 million was paid out on female officers for excessive force lawsuits
- and not one female officer was named as a defendant in a sexual assault
or domestic violence case," said Katherine Spillar, national coordinator
of the Feminist Majority Foundation.
"Male officer payouts in cases of brutality and misconduct exceeded female officer
payouts by a ratio of 23:1," continued Spillar. "Moreover, male officers disproportionately accounted for the lawsuit payouts
involving killings and assault and
battery." Male officer payouts for killings exceeded female
officer payouts by a ratio of 43:1 and for assault and battery male officer
payouts exceeded female officer payouts by a ratio of 32:1. Over the same
period, male officers serving in a patrol capacity outnumbered women LAPD
officers by a much lower ratio of 4:1.
"We know that women do the job of policing equally as well as men,
responding to similar calls and
encountering similar dangers," said Penny Harrington, director
of the National Center for Women & Policing and former chief of police
of Portland, Oregon. "But more importantly for public officials in Los Angeles
- and across the country - this new study shows that increasing women on
the force holds the key for substantially decreasing police violence and its
cost to taxpayers," continued Harrington.
"Additionally, our research revealed other types of costly male police officer
violence," said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation.
"Our study uncovered $10.4 million in payouts in lawsuits involving
male officers for sexual assault, sexual molestation, and domestic violence,"
continued Smeal.
Noting that domestic violence calls are the single largest category of calls made
to police departments, Smeal observed, "The real cost when male officers commit
domestic violence and sexual assault is even greater than the $10.4 million
paid out - both in financial and human terms. Failure by police to properly
respond to crimes of violence against women has high consequences for
women in the community."
The new study confirms earlier research both in the United States and internationally
that shows women police officers rely less on physical force and
more on verbal skills in handling altercations than male police officers. As
a result, women police officers are less likely to become involved in problems
with excessive force and are better at defusing potentially violent confrontations
with citizens.
The report comes as the Los Angeles City Council is debating a series of reform
measures put forward by the US Department of Justice in the wake of the
unfolding LAPD Rampart Division police misconduct and brutality scandal. In
response to the scandal, the Feminist Majority Foundation and the National Center
for Women & Policing have called on the Department of Justice and Los Angeles
city officials to incorporate gender balance hiring requirements in the
negotiated consent decree.
"Hiring equal numbers of women in the LAPD would go further toward reducing
police brutality and misconduct
than anything else the Department could do," said
Spillar. "More than nine years ago, the Christopher Commission report recommended
hiring more women to reduce police brutality, and the Los Angeles City
Council directed the LAPD to gender balance its academy classes," continued
Spillar. "Unfortunately, the LAPD has dragged its heels, squandering
an opportunity to hire significantly more women during the recent period of expansion. The consequences have now come home to
roost."
Nationwide, women are severely underrepresented on police departments - averaging
only 14.3% of police officers across the country. "The numbers of women in law enforcement are kept artificially low by
widespread discriminatory hiring
and selection practices," explained Harrington. "Not only is this unfair to women who are seeking law enforcement
careers, but our study shows that
depriving women jobs in policing is costly to taxpayers and results
in more police brutality."
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Editors' Note: Interviews can be scheduled with Eleanor Smeal, Katherine Spillar,
and Chief Penny Harrington. A full copy of the new report "Gender Differences
in the Cost of Police Brutality & Misconduct: A Content Analysis of
LAPD Civil Liability Cases 1990-1999" is available on the web at: www.feminist.org,
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