Police officers, use of force and firearms. A quantitative approach to compare the experiences and perceptions of men and women
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14409/dys.2024.58.e0125Keywords:
police, gender, fire gun, forceAbstract
The present article aims to undertake a quantitative approach to the experiences and perceptions that police officers have regarding the use of force and firearms in the Province of Santa Fe, Argentina. The data source is a police census conducted in the year 2020, to which 19,120 police officers responded, constituting an unprecedented study in Latin America. Some of the main findings of this study reflect a strong convergence between female and male police officers regarding the use of force and firearms. Both groups equally share the view that the use of firearms is important for police work, and they have a similar positive assessment of how Santa Fe’s police uses force and firearms and how they respect the rights of citizens. However, in most indicators related to police practices and experiences, it is possible to identify differences between both groups: female police officers make slightly less use of force and are slightly less affected by its negative consequences.