The presence of a female officer is not significantly associated with the likelihood of a suspect resisting arrest or assaulting a police team in a southern Brazilian state: results from a case-control study

Purpose. The paper investigates how the presence of a female police officer relates to the exposure to suspect resistance in a LATAM country. Design/methodology/approach. We adopted a case-control design, using a random sample of 1,716 official reports of a Brazilian southern state's police department. Reports were analyzed regarding the type of resistance, presence of female officers on the scene, municipality size, and hour of the day. Purpose. The paper investigates how the presence of a female police officer relates to the exposure to suspect resistance in a LATAM country. Design/methodology/approach. We adopted a case-control design, using a random sample of 1,716 official reports of a Brazilian southern state's police department. Reports were analyzed regarding the type of resistance, presence of female officers on the scene, municipality size, and hour of the day. Findings. Our results showed that the presence of a policewoman doesn't seem to be associated with an increase in the ratio of suspect resistance during encounters. Suspects seem to resist more in small towns regardless of female presence. Practical implications. Assembling teams with female officers shouldn't be a safety concern for police leaders. Originality/value. Past studies indicate that local-level factors may affect suspect resistance. This study was the first investigation into the exposure of policewomen to resistance in a LATAM nation.