Attitudes of Abused Women toward Male and Female Police Officers

A total of 103 women from three Detroit-area shelter homes were interviewed about their perceptions of the police response to family violence. Ninety women reported that they had had contact with police officers as the result of a family disturbance. Seventy percent of the women reported that the police had been at least a little helpful in their cases. There were significant differences in attitudes toward policewomen and policemen. There was strong evidence that those who had had contact with policewomen viewed them differently than did women whose only contact had been with policemen. In general, contact with policewomen resulted in a more favorable evaluation of them. However, while policewomen were more able to calm a situation than the subjects had anticipated, they did not automatically take the woman's side in an argument between cohabitants.