I’m Still in the Blue Family: Gender and Professional Identity Construction in Police Officers

Abstract

With an increase in gender equality policies and gender balance targets within traditionally male professions, organisations such as the police service are experiencing changing demographics. How these shifts influence the construction of professional identity is unclear. Drawing on focus group data, this study aimed to explore identity construction of police officers across gender using a thematic analysis method. Two themes related to identity construction were found to be common to both male and female police officers: 'Working within a blue family' and 'Being a copper is a job for life'. However, the way in which these themes were articulated differed between male and female officers, with male officers experiencing more difficulty than female officers in terms of positioning their identity within the evolving police culture. The findings from this study have implications for gender policies in the workforce as they suggest that men may experience more difficulty that women in adjusting to a gender diverse workforce, and that professional identity within traditionally male professions is more complex and nuanced than what was previously assumed.

Gender, Police Culture, and Structured Ambivalence: Navigating ‘Fit' with the Brotherhood, Boys’ Club, and Sisterhood

“…Much of the research available on policing has utilized the narrative of the ‘family’–e.g., “Blue Family” ( du Pleissis et al, 2020 ) and “Brotherhood” ( Campeau, 2019 )–to refer to a ‘sense of belonging and service as a family’ that distinguishes policing from other realms of work ( du Pleissis et al, 2020 , p. 5). This is also the case with the women we spoke with.…”

“…Brotherhood is a prominent narrative in policing likening it to familial bonds (see du Pleissis et al, 2020 ). And, like many families, the Brother hood is rife with gender dynamics that shape experiences and inequities.…”

Promoting the police: A thematic analysis of the New Zealand Police recruitment campaigns and the construction of officers’ identities

“…This latest revelation appears to challenge prevailing views of the police force as monolithic and negative (Cordner, 2017; Reiner, 2017). The inclusion of a range of people from different walks of life showed that the NZ Police demonstrate what du Plessis et al, (2021, p. 388), have concluded about other police forces globally and that is ‘…individuals may hold a common strong shared identity of a police officer, but simultaneously hold different and sometimes competing values as to what that looks like in behavioural action.’ The diversity and willingness to embrace personal identities while on the job also aligns with Cordner’s (2017, p. 21) assessment that ‘…variations in officers’ outlooks tend to be associated more strongly with the particular police organization for which they work than with their personal characteristics.’…”

Policing and the Courts

“…The police force is a 'masculine frontier' and working as a police officer is an occupation that confers masculine identity (Aiello, 2014). Being a police officer is understood as an enduring identity (du Plessis et al, 2021). From a historical perspective, Barrie and Broomhall (2012) argue that policing offers a case study in how masculinity has been constructed and applied over the last three hundred years.…”