ABSTRACT
This paper examined the deployment practice in one large provincial British police force to determine if there was evidence for systematic gender bias in the tasks assigned to men and women uniformed constables. The officers' experience and the appropriateness of different skills were taken into account with respect to specific deployments.
The sample comprised 32 policemen and 31 policewomen who had equivalent years of service and 32 sergeants who constitute first line management having responsibility for deployments.
Findings indicate that physical presence was amongst the least often cited skill deemed appropriate when dealing with a range of deployment tasks. Men and women officers had similar skills profiles but did differ on several dimensions. There was evidence to suggest some gender bias in that officers of one gender tended to be more often deployed in circumstances where the appropriate skills were not gender specific. The direction of the bias was more likely to operate against women. Reference is made to possible explanations for apparent bias.
