I recently reviewed a catalogue of products tailored for police personnel and was shocked to see an "action figure" of a police officer whose beefy proportions were matched only by the ferocity of his K-9 partner's fangs. Both human and dog had a murderous look in their eyes that would strike fear in any citizen's heart.

I suppose the figure was intended to sit on a desk or bookshelf, but I think it represents so much of what is wrong with the image of contemporary policing -- a stereotype that I will refer to as the "warrior image." It also underscores the need for a new style of policing and a new type of officer that is more in line with community-oriented ideals.

Every day, newspapers in this country document a litany of seemingly intractable problems within policing. Excessive force. Corruption. Abuse of authority. Racial profiling. The list goes on, and I know because I subscribe to a listserv that sends me all of the day's articles on policing. I've come to think of the listserv as: "Dumb Things Some Cop Did Yesterday."

At the same time, an article appears virtually every day decrying the current crisis in police recruitment that leaves police agencies desperate to find and keep good people. Unfortunately, few acknowledge the connection between the two problems, as symbolized by the frightening action figure. That is, both problems stem in part from an outdated and dangerous image of policing as a he-man occupation where the primary requirements for success are a thick neck and a taste for physical violence.

Forward thinking police agencies are beginning to rethink this image and its many damaging effects. In an era of community-oriented policing, many police executives and community leaders realize that the warrior image has had a devastating impact on recruiting the right kind of officer. As long as the warrior image remains, policing will draw the wrong kind of applicant, reward the wrong kind of behavior, and fail to provide the kind of services that communities increasingly demand.

If you were to ask most citizens about their image of a police officer, it might resemble the beefed-up action figure. This is lamentable, because it means that those who apply for police officer positions are attracted by the authoritarian and aggressive stereotype. Worse, it means that men and women who are not drawn to such a stereotype will not apply for the positions, even though they might be fabulously successful officers. Of course, this problem is particularly detrimental for women, and it is one of the reasons why women constitute only about 10% of sworn personnel in this country. Given the current crisis in recruiting qualified personnel, we simply cannot continue to turn off potential applicants based on an outdated and inaccurate image of policing.

The same image of policing also contributes to problems of excessive force, corruption, and other forms of misconduct, by fueling a climate that tolerates brutality, enforces the code of silence, and punishes those who seek to challenge the "brotherhood." As the Rampart scandal within the Los Angeles Police Department illustrates, police officers can operate like gang members when they are provided with a warrior image, cut loose from any meaningful supervision, and allowed virtually unlimited powers to enforce the law. In such a war of "us versus them," everyone loses, especially the communities that officers have sworn to protect and serve.

Finally, the warrior image of policing epitomizes the paramilitary style that communities nationwide are rejecting in favor a more community-oriented approach. As the payouts for excessive force and other forms of police misconduct escalate, communities are seeking an alternative style of law enforcement that is based on partnership, trust, and community-based problem solving.

The good news is not only that the image of policing can be changed, but also that progressive departments around the country are beginning to make headway. Even better, there is a concrete blueprint for doing so, that highlights the critical role that women play in transforming a police agency from warrior mode to a community orientation.

"Recruiting and Retaining Women: A Self Assessment Guide for Law Enforcement" is a comprehensive manual that was developed by the National Center for Women & Policing and funded by the Bureau of Justice Administration. It is designed to assist police agencies in the process of self examination and reform -- in order to attract and keep qualified women. With hundreds of pages of concrete suggestions, the manual is a roadmap for dismantling the warrior image and replacing it with organizational policies and procedures that are consistent with community-oriented ideals.

The Role of Women in Community Policing

So why do women play such a central role in transforming an agency from warrior mode to community policing? For one, because women generally think and act more like community-oriented officers. Research reveals that women officers are on average more supportive of community policing ideas and that they are less cynical in their attitudes toward the public.

Research also indicates that women officers rely less on physical force and more on communication skills to successfully perform their jobs. Women and men are equally likely to use routine levels of force during their patrol duties, but women are less likely to discharge their firearms and they are much less likely to engage in excessive force.² For example, one recent study of the Los Angeles Police Department revealed that during a 10-year period when male officers outnumbered female officers on patrol at a ratio of 4:1, the ratio of dollars spent on excessive force payouts for male versus female officers was around 19:1.

For all of these reasons, recruiting and retaining women should be a key component of any agency's transformation from the warrior image to community-oriented policing. The first step in that effort should be to order a copy of the Self Assessment Guide from the National Criminal Justice Reference Service. With manual in hand, police and community leaders must then conduct a comprehensive self examination of their own agency, beginning with the job description for police officer, and including policies and procedures for: recruitment, selection, training, retention, performance evaluation, assignments and promotion, discipline, and rewards and recognition. When police and community leaders rethink the warrior image and replace it with community-oriented policing, they can envision a transformed agency that operates on the ideals of community service, partnership, and creative problem solving. Then perhaps the action figure I saw advertised will be removed from the catalogue due to a lack of sales.