THE IMPLICATIONS OF CHANGING EDUCATION AND GENDER INPUTS FOR POLICE DECISION-MAKING AND SUPERVISORY ROLES

This article reports the results of a survey of 43 Queensland police o fficers, half in supervisory roles and half immediately prior to induc tion. The purpose of the survey was to identify gender and educational differences between groups, and to identify arty effect that these di fferences may have had on attitudes toward decision-making within the sample. The results were compared to a similar survey of American poli ce chiefs. Attitudes toward decision-making were found to be similar a mong all groups with the exception of the perception of the ability to implement change. This was found to be significantly higher among wom en and those with a tertiary education. It was also suggested that fem ale officers have the potential to excel in police managerial position s due to higher education levels, but they are currently seriously und er-represented in supervisory and managerial positions.