Chapter 13 - Women and Work in the Criminal Justice System - Key Terms

Key terms from Stacy L Mallicoat's Women and Crime: The Essentials

Baldwin, Lola

One of the first policewoman in America, being sworn in on April 1, 1908.

Blankenship, Betty

One of the first two female officers doing patrol duties in a radio car, alongside Elizabeth Coffal Robinson.

Burnout

A state of severe physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion caused by prolonged or unmanaged stress.

Civil Rights Bill of 1964

Outlawed systemic discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Coffal, Liz

One of the first two female officers doing patrol duties in a radio car, alongside Betty Blackenship.

Community policing

A law enforcement philosophy that focuses on building active, collaborative relationships between police officers and the local citizens they serve.

Gendered assignment

The social processes and structures that dictate and enforce specific behavioral expectations, tasks, and positions across gender lines.

Good ol’ boy network

An informal, relationship-based system in which influential individuals—historically a tight-knit group of men with similar backgrounds—use their connections to help each other secure jobs, business contracts, or political favors, often bypassing formal, merit-based hiring processes.

Griffin v. Michigan Department of Corrections

Ruled that the MDOC violated the 1964 Civil Rights Act by preventing female officers from working in housing and residential units of male. maximum security prisons, which could limit them from career advancement opportunities.

Grummett v. Rushen

Ruled that cross-gender pat downs of male inmates by female officers and routine observations of male inmates while showering or dressing do not violate the 4th amendment.

Jordan v. Gardner

Ruled that cross-gender pat downs on female inmates violates the 8th amendment against cruel and unusual punishment, mostly due to the prevalence of sexual abuse.

Light duty

A temporary reassignment for officers or staff recovering from an illness, injury, or medical condition. It allows employees to stay on the job with modified, less physically or mentally strenuous tasks that accommodate their specific medical restrictions.

Male inmate preference

How incarcerated men adjust to the prison environment, their interactions with correctional staff, and how they navigate the informal social hierarchies of the prison system.

Masculine culture

Emphasizes competition, assertiveness, material success, and distinct gender roles.

Owens, Marie

Believed to be the first female officer in the United States, first female officer in the Chicago Police Officer. She was a sergeant who worked enforcing child labor and welfare laws.

POLICEwomen or policeWOMEN

A core concept regarding how women balance their identities as police officers along with societal gender norms.

Wells, Alice Stebbins

The first female police officer in the LAPD.