Police brutality has become a serious problem, and a highly debated one, throughout the United States. The situation has gotten even more out of control as police officers have become the targets of violent individuals seeking aggressive retribution. The result has been nervous and trigger-happy cops who are more likely to use brutal and deadly force in situations that normally wouldn’t warrant it.
Statistics on excessive police violence, however, indicate an interesting trend — as well as a potential solution that could reduce instances of police violence dramatically. The fact is that female police officers are significantly less likely to use excessive force. Could the solution to police violence be as simple as hiring more female officers?
A study published in January of this year by Pew Research showed that 48 percent of female cops say that they’re more successful as officers when they’re aggressive rather than courteous. Meanwhile, 58 percent of male officers said that being aggressive brought better results. Also, 33 percent of female officers agreed that some individuals can only be made to comply with the law when they use physical and hard tactics, while 58 percent of male officers agreed with this statement.
Eleven percent of female officers said that they had discharged their weapons on duty versus 30 percent of male officers. Also, fewer females claimed to have struggled physically with suspects in the line of duty. In New York, among the 55 officers who had discharged weapons in the line of duty, only 4 percent were female officers. The rest were male.
Could hiring more female officers reduce excessive use of force by New York police? Currently, there is a tremendous discrepancy in the balance between male and female cops in New York. The vast majority are men, so there’s a lot of room to hire more women — which could result in a dramatic reduction of police brutality in our state. In the meantime, New York residents who are injured as a result of excessive violence by a police officer can pursue financial justice by filing a police brutality claim.
Source: Quartz Media, “There is one sure way to reduce police brutality,” accessed March 16, 2017