Marisa Silvestri

Women and crime

When Susan Smith lost her two boys, her saga captivated the hearts of America. Now that she has been indicted for their murder, she has been demonized by the public. How does the fact that she is a woman influence the venom people now feel towards her crime? In Women and Crime, Frances M. Heidensohn shows that although women commit fewer crimes than men, the punishments women receive are often harsher than mens. The author highlights the crucial role of the media and popular culture and the complex, often stereotyped images of deviant women, as well as the ways in which social control is exercised over women in the family, society, and work. With a new introduction and a new final chapter, the second edition of Frances M. Heidensohns classic text of feminist criminology also features a fully up-to-date and integrated bibliography.

“Doing” Police Leadership: Enter the “New Smart Macho”

In recent years, women and leaders have increasingly been identified as key players in the project of achieving organizational change in policing. This article provides a conceptual bridge between these emerging discourses through an exploration of way in which women in police leadership are carrying out their roles. Findings from interviews carried out with senior policewomen suggest that they are adopting different approaches to leadership than those traditionally associated with the police organization. Their leadership styles and ways of working have much in common with what has become known as “transformational” leadership. This style of leadership has been identified and endorsed across the police organization as crucial to effecting any real change. Despite this recognition, the article argues that there is little evidence to suggest that police leadership styles are changing. On the contrary, the police organization continues to cling firmly to a style characterized more by transaction than transformation.

Gender and police leadership: time for a paradigm shift?

Despite a number of initiatives aimed at improving the representation and progression of women in the police service in England and Wales, the number of women in leadership ranks remains low. At the same time, concern over the quality of police leadership has been at the forefront of much public debate in recent years. This article focuses on recent proposals to reform the way in which senior officers are recruited through a discussion of the appointment of non-sworn/‘outsider’ officers through the adoption of direct and multiple entry models of recruitment as outlined by the Winsor Review (2012, Independent review of police officer and staff remuneration and conditions. Part 2. http://review.police.uk/part-two-report/). Hailed as an opportunity to secure an alternative face to police leadership, we reflect on the growing disquiet over police leaders and leadership and consider the possibilities of such a reform agenda for the representation and progression of women in policing. We propose that although a multipoint system of entry for specialisation or leadership roles may offer a number of opportunities to a service in crisis, such a reform agenda may ultimately serve to threaten and further undermine womens participation and status in policing as ‘outsiders’.

Visions of the future: the role of senior policewomen as agents of change

Despite the plethora of research in policing, the majority of studies have focused almost exclusively on the lowest levels of the organisation and have paid little attention to gender issues. Very little is known about those involved in management and leadership in policing, even less is known about the ways in which management and leadership in the police organisation are gendered. As women move forwards and upwards in organisations, the tension between organisations and leadership as mediated by gender has become an increasingly topical area of study. This paper aims to explore and draw together some of the concerns with leadership and gender which are being raised during debates about new directions, functions and structures within organisations, and applies them to the police organisation. It proposes that empirical work be carried out to ascertain the role that senior policewomen play in organisational change, that is, to bring into focus the extent to which women in leadership positions in policing are and can become agents of change.

Disrupting the “Heroic” Male Within Policing: A Case of Direct Entry:

This article drives forward a more critical insight into the position of women within policing. In focusing on women as police leaders, it problematizes taken for granted representations of gender and proposes an alternative reading of their experiences. Drawing on theoretical work on gendered organizations, the article argues that greater attention needs to be paid to the cultural and structural conditions that enable the “heroic male” to emerge as the “ideal” police leader. It also considers the recent introduction of Direct Entry for senior officers in England and Wales as a disruptive tool to the gendered order within policing.

Accountability of policing

Composed of 11 chapters from an impressive line-up of established and well-respected scholars in the field, Lister and Rowe’s (2015) edited collection on the Accountability of policing is a much we...