Proceedings of the 31st International Academic Conference, London

A STUDY ON ACTIVE REPRESENTATION BY FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS THROUGH THE THEORY OF REPRESENTATIVE BUREAUCRACY

SUN HYOUNG KIM

Abstract:

Increasing diversity in society is being expressed by demands for diversity at the government level, and the representative bureaucracy theory provides the theoretical ground. The representative bureaucracy argument that important social background variables including gender should be well-reflected in the bureaucracy rests on the belief that numerical representation will lead to active representation of interests of the represented group. But this also acts as the core argument for criticizing representative bureaucracy. Recent research moved away from conceptual discussion and began to move in the direction of analyzing actual influences changes in the demographic composition of the bureaucracy have on policy decision and implementation. Namely, the premise that passive representation translates into active representation is not taken for granted any more. Also, discussions to demonstrate the premise and search for conditions affecting active representation are actively underway Among these discussions, discussions about representation in police departments focus on variables including region, gender, and hiring process. There is still numerical disproportion between two sexes and sex has direct importance to active representation. By empirical analysis of women’s representation in police departments, this study diagnoses the situation and analyzes the factors. After considering the concept, types, measurement methods, and influencing factors of representation in previous research, it analyzes the data from 14 local police departments during 2010-2014. Firstly, Korean female police officers are providing active representation, which suggests that more female officers benefit not only themselves but also women and other minorities. That’s why the police recruitment system needs to be changed to hiring more female officers. Secondly, they suggest that active representation is not automatically achieved by numerical expansion. It is assumed that women’s position is improving and the role female officers play is becoming more important in society. In this increasingly appalling modern society, especially among women, fear of gender crimes is widespread. Under these circumstances, female officers are expected to play a bigger role through sympathy with other women and have a higher social responsibility. These changes surrounding police departments will have positive effects on active representation by female officers. The study aims to provide a way forward based on the findings so that police departments can pursue diversity through influxes of female officers and make positive changes in organizational performance and culture.

Keywords: Representative Bureaucracy, Police Administration, Gender Policy

DOI: 10.20472/IAC.2017.031.023

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