Police Officer Numbers Rise: Addressing Gender Imbalance
On average, one in four police today is a woman. However, there are major differences between the positions.
More and more women are being hired in police officers, but the profession will remain male -dominated for a long time.
Senior constable Mervi Äänilä Works at the Pori Police Station in the control and alarm sector.
The Äänilä has been a police officer for ten years and during that time there have been more women in his office in the Southwest Finland Police Department.
– Nowadays, when it comes to changing, I see colleagues in the dressing room, and I’m no longer in my loneliness, the older constable laughs.
There are 546 more police officials in Finland than ten years ago, and 638 women in office than then.
With the number of men’s number of men, the number of women’s police has increased by almost 53 % since 2016.
Although there are more women in police posts than before, women still have less than a quarter of the police forces.
Uniforms of the gender
At the beginning of the millennium, the police were campaigning heavily to get more diversity in the official.
At that time, police officers with an immigrant background were needed in the industry.
However, under the latest EU Data Protection Regulations and the National Data Protection Act, which supplements it, the police are not entitled to process information on the ethnic background of their officials.
– It is good that the official is diversified. The main thing, however, is to find the right people for the right tasks, Äänilä sums up.
According to him, it is an advantage when looking at more issues. Gender certainly affects people’s way of thinking, but more effects on life experience, upbringing, growth environment and education
– And there is no harm in these things.
Senior constable Äänilä feels that he is not treated in any way because of his gender.
For his own personal strength, he names a smile to help meet people.
-The police are in the official outfit and the treatment is shaped accordingly.
The most important thing on the field is that you can trust the scout buddy and work well in good cooperation.
Of course, femininity can be useful in some acute situations, Äärelä thinks.
– Sexual offenses and domestic violence situations are such that the female police may open a little better.
Variation in office
The proportion of women in police officials varies from place to office.
The most women, or 29 %, are at the Western Uusimaa Police Department. The smallest proportion of women is at the Police Polytechnic, 11.5 %.
At the beginning of the millennium, about 19 per cent of women’s enthusiasts. Nearly half, or 48 per cent of police studies in 2019, were women.