Sue Carter Collins

Sexual harassment and police discipline

The occurrence of sexual harassment in policing is a national problem. Indicative of the significance of this problem are the increasing numbers of sexual harassment complaints filed by female officers against their male counterparts. Less apparent is whether the harassing officers are disciplined for these acts. This article sheds light on the subject by providing an analysis of the disciplinary measures taken by the Florida Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission against law enforcement officers found guilty of sexual harassment. This article describes the role and responsibilities of the Commission, the regulatory body charged with disciplining law enforcement officers in Florida. The article concludes that, despite evidence of the pervasiveness of sexual harassment in Florida law enforcement agencies, the numbers of sexual harassment cases in which the Commission accepts jurisdiction are minimal and the discipline imposed is often insubstantial.

Aggression Levels Among Correctional Officers Reassessing Sex Differences

Questions about the abilities and appropriateness of female correctional officers working in adult men’s correctional institutions have been asked since women first entered men’s prisons. Although some scholars argue that women should not, or cannot, work effectively in such settings, others have shown that there are few differences in quality of work or productivity. Building on this line of research, the present study assesses self-reported perceptions of differences in aggressive responses to instances of inmate challenges and misbehavior. Findings indicate that there are no differences in men’s and women’s responses, and only three variables (job title, height, and having minor children) predict any differences in staff responses. In addition, although female correctional officers report a higher degree of job-related stress than do males, job stress is not related to likelihood of aggressive responses. Findings are discussed in relation to historical and contextual differences between the present study and previous research.

Medical Malpractice in Correctional Facilities: State Tort Remedies for Inappropriate and Inadequate Health Care Administered to Prisoners

This article reviews state tort remedies assessed against correctional personnel for inappropriate and/or inadequate health care administered to prisoners. It reviews medical malpractice and negligence law generally and then applies these legal precepts to jail and prison health care legal actions. Through an inductive process, the cases from various state courts are divided into four categories: administration of inadequate or inappropriate medication, performance of inappropriate medical procedures, inappropriate diagnosis of serious medical conditions, and undertreatment of serious medical problems. The article concludes by calling for more research on health care within correctional settings.

Gender attitudes and the police in Bosnia and Herzegovina: male officers’ attitudes regarding their female counterparts

Utilizing survey data collected from 127 male Bosnian police officers, this study examines the impact attitudes toward women, individual characteristics, and work experiences have on officers’ perceptions of their female colleagues. It is hypothesized that officers who hold more traditional, patriarchal attitudes toward women will view females as incapable of effectively carrying out police work, regardless of their own work experiences, or demographic characteristics. Results suggest that a majority of Bosnian policemen believe that women are equally as effective as men in all aspects of policing, however, many still cling to stereotypical views of policing and continue to view female officers negatively.

Exploring the Ties between Career Satisfaction and Education: Trait versus Situational Approaches

Many studies have considered the influence that education has on career satisfaction. This literature typically has treated education as a trait—something a person has, perhaps in varying degrees. The authors suggest that education should instead be treated as a situational factor that varies between individuals, particularly given that individuals differentially define the quality of their education. Using a sample of 151 criminal justice graduates, this paper explores how education, measured both as a trait (focusing on quantity) and a situational characteristic (focusing on perceptions of quality of the education) influences career satisfaction. Results showed that level of education did not influence career satisfaction, but the measures assessing perceived quality of education did influence satisfaction. Criminal justice graduates who rated higher on satisfaction with skill development, satisfaction with social science/criminal justice knowledge, program satisfaction, and overall satisfaction were more likely to be very satisfied with their careers than those who scored lower on these measures. Furthermore, males were more likely to be very satisfied with their careers than females. Implications focus on balancing skills and social science frameworks in criminal justice curricula and expanding future career satisfaction research to more broadly define and measure education.

Portrait in Blue: A Demographic and Behavioral Profile of Police Sexual Harassers

Abstract Extant research indicates that women who work in traditional male dominated fields are more likely to be subjected to sexual harassment by their male colleagues. Female police officers are no exception. Although there is empirical evidence that women in general may exhibit certain characteristics that make them more or less vulnerable to sexual harassment victimization, little is known about male police officers that commit these offenses. The primary purpose of this article is to enhance existing knowledge by presenting a demographic and behavioral profile of male police officers in the state of Florida who were found guilty of sexual harassment by their law enforcement employers. The article begins with a brief review of the research on sexual harassment in policing and a general description of harasser traits and characteristics, which was taken from the social psychological and interpersonal aggression literature. Following is an articulation of the studys methodology and results. The article concludes with a discussion of policy implications and recommendations for future research.