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Published in:
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2017 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

1. Introduction

Authors : Annie Hau-Nung Chan, Lawrence Ka-Ki Ho

Published in: Women in the Hong Kong Police Force

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK

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Abstract

This chapter introduces the framework of this book and the bodies of literature it refers to. It describes the main questions that the book aims to answer, i.e. why did women police in Hong Kong develop the way it did, and what are the implications for theories of gender, police organisational culture and colonial policing. We describe the broad trends of women in policing, and describe the two models of policewomen expansion: segregation versus integration. We outline the common problems faced by policewomen. Then we survey the literature in relation to the question of whether women could do some or all police work, and point out that the question is rarely asked of men. We describe the elective affinity between gender essentialism and police work, the gendered organisation perspective as well as heterosexism and heterosexualism as useful conceptual tools for understanding women in policing.

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next chapter The Early Years
Footnotes
1
In 2015 violent crime rate for Hong Kong is 149 per 100,000 population compared to 372 for the USA (2015 data) “Hong Kong Police Force Crime Statistics Comparison” http://​www.​police.​gov.​hk/​ppp_​en/​09_​statistics/​csc.​html
“Crime in the United States 2015” U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation https://​ucr.​fbi.​gov/​crime-in-the-u.​s/​2015/​crime-in-the-u.​s.​-2015/​offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/​violent-crime
 
2
According to the United Nations Development Programme’s in 2015 Hong Kong’s Gender Development Index is 0.964, ranked 12th amongst all the countries listed. http://​hdr.​undp.​org/​en/​composite/​GDI
 
11
At the time of writing, only the Special Duties Unit in the HKP, which is modelled after Britain’s Special Air Services (SAS), has not yet had women officers admitted, although women are not barred from applying.
 
12
Canteen culture is generally used to refer to a form of sub-culture that could be found amongst police organisations; it consists of sexist and racist discriminatory attitudes and practices.
 
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Metadata
Title
Introduction
Authors
Annie Hau-Nung Chan
Lawrence Ka-Ki Ho
Copyright Year
2017
Book
Women in the Hong Kong Police Force

Print ISBN: 978-1-349-95280-9

Electronic ISBN: 978-1-349-95281-6

Copyright Year: 2017

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95281-6_1