How policewomen make communities safer | Ivonne Roman

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: SF Huang

I've been a police officer in an urban city

我在都市擔任警察

for nearly 25 years.

有將近二十五年的時間。

That's crazy, right?

很瘋狂吧？

And in that time, I've served in every rank,

那段時間，我各種階級都做過，

from police officer to police chief.

從警員到警察局長。

A few years ago, I noticed something alarming.

幾年前，我注意到了某種警訊。

Starting in 2014,

從 2014 年開始，

I started monitoring recruits

我開始密切注意那些

as they cycled through police academies in the state of New Jersey,

一批又一批的紐澤西州警校新生，

and I found that women were failing at rates between 65 and 80 percent,

我發現由於各種不同的體能測驗，

due to varying aspects of the physical fitness test.

導致女性的不及格率 高達 65% 到 80% 。

I learned that a change in policy

我發覺現今一項政策改變後，

now required recruits to pass the fitness exam

新生必須在短短十堂訓練課程內

within 10 short workout sessions.

就得要通過體能測驗。

This had the greatest impact on women.

這對女性的影響最大。

The change meant that recruits had about three weeks

這個改變意味著 新生在校的五個月期間，

out of a five-month-long academy

只有約三週的時間

to pass the fitness exam.

去通過體能測驗。

This just didn't make sense, though.

不過，這並不合理，

Police agencies and police recruits

警察機構和警校新生

had made huge investments to get those recruits into the academy.

為了讓那些新生進入警校 都做了很大的投資。

Police recruits had passed lengthy background checks,

警校新生通過了冗長的背景調查，

they had passed medical and psychological exams,

通過了醫學和心理學測驗，

they had quit their jobs.

他們辭去了工作。

And many had spent more than 2,000 dollars in fees and equipment

很多人花了超過兩千美元 在費用和設備上，

just to get kicked out within the first three weeks?

就只為了在前三週就被踢出去嗎？

The dire situation in New Jersey

在紐澤西州的慘況

led me to examine the status of women in policing

讓我開始探究在全美警政中的

across the United States.

女性情勢。

I found that women make up less than 13 percent of police officers.

我發現在警官中 女性的比例不到 13%。

A number that hasn't changed much in the past 20 years.

在過去二十年間， 這個數字沒有什麼改變。

And they make up just three percent of police chiefs as of 2013,

截至 2013 年，警察局長中 只有 3% 是女性，

the last time the data was collected.

這數字是根據目前收集的最新資料。

We know that we can improve those rates.

我們知道我們可以改善這些比例。

Other countries like Canada, Australia and the UK

其他國家，如加拿大、澳洲、英國，

have nearly twice the amount of policewomen.

女警的比例都是上述的兩倍。

And New Zealand is steadily marching towards their goal

紐西蘭正穩定地邁向他們的目標：

of recruit gender parity by 2021.

在 2021 年達成男女各半。

Other countries are actively working

其他國家都在積極投入

to increase the number of women in policing,

增加警政中的女性人數，

because they know of a vast body of research evidence,

因為他們知道，超過五十年間

spanning more than 50 years,

有大量的研究證據

detailing the advantages to women in policing.

細數了女性在警政中的益處。

From that research,

從那些研究中，

we know that policewomen are less likely to use force

我們知道女警比較不會使用武力，

or to be accused of excessive force.

或被指控過度使用武力。

We know that policewomen are less likely to be named in a lawsuit

我們知道在法律訴訟中 較少是針對女警，

or a citizen complaint.

公民投訴也一樣。

We know that the mere presence of a policewoman

我們知道光是有女警在場，

reduces the use of force among other officers.

就可降低其他員警使用武力的可能。

And we know that policewomen are met with the same rates of force

我們知道，女警會遇到武力的比率

as their male counterparts, and sometimes more,

和男警一樣高，有時還更高，

and yet they're more successful

而整體來說，女警卻能較成功地

in defusing violent or aggressive behavior overall.

化解暴力或侵略性的行為。

So there are vast advantages to women in policing,

所以女性在警政中是有非常大的助益，

and we're losing them to arbitrary fitness standards.

我們卻因為武斷的 體能標準而失去她們。

The problem is,

問題是，

the United States has nearly 18,000 police agencies --

美國有近一萬八千間警察機構——

18,000 agencies with wildly varying fitness standards.

一萬八千間警察機構間的 體能判定標準也各異。

We know that a majority of academies rely on a masculine ideal of policing

我們知道大部分的警校對於警政的 理想是很有男子氣概色彩的，

that works to decrease the number of women in policing.

造成警政中的女性人數減少。

These types of academies overemphasize physical strength,

這類警校過度強調體能，

with much less attention spent to subjects like community policing,

相對就很不注意其他科目，

如社區警政、問題解決，

problem-solving

and interpersonal communication skills.

以及人際溝通技能。

This results in training that does not mirror the realities of policing.

這導致培練沒有反應出警政的現實。

Physical agility is but a small component of police work.

身體敏捷度只是警察 工作中的一小部分。

Much of an officer's day is spent mediating interpersonal conflicts.

警員大部分的時間 是在調解人際衝突。

That's the reality of policing.

那是警政的現實。

These are my babies.

這些是我的寶貝。

And we can reduce the disparity in policing

我們能降低警政中男女的落差，

by changing exams that produce disparate outcomes.

只要能改變會造成落差的體能測驗。

The federal courts have stated that men and women

聯邦法庭指出，男性和女性

simply are not physiologically the same

就體能計畫方案來說，

for the purposes of physical fitness programs.

本來就有生理上的不同。

And that's based on science.

那是有科學根據的。

Respected institutions that law enforcement deeply respects,

在執法領域非常被敬重的機構，

like the FBI, the US Marshals Service,

如聯邦調察局、美國法警、

the DEA and even the US military --

緝毒組，甚至是美國軍方——

they rigorously test fitness programs to ensure they measure fitness

它們都會嚴格測試體能計畫方案， 以確保在測量體能時

without gender-disparate outcomes.

不會產生性別差異。

Why is that?

為什麼？

Because recruiting is expensive.

因為招募很花錢。

They want to recruit and retain qualified candidates.

他們想要招募並留住合格的候選人。

You know what else the research finds?

猜猜研究還發現了什麼？

Well-trained women are as capable as their male counterparts

在整體的體能方面， 受過良好訓練的女性

in overall fitness,

和男性一樣能幹，

but more importantly, in how they police.

但更重要的是， 在執行勤務方面亦是如此。

The law-enforcement community

執法界很明顯正經歷招募的危機。

is admittedly experiencing a recruitment crisis.

Yet, if they truly want to increase the number of applicants, they can.

但，如果他們真的想要增加 申請人的數量，是辦得到的。

We can easily recruit more women

我們可以輕鬆地招募到更多的女性

and reap all those research benefits

並獲得那些研究所發現的益處，

by training well-qualified candidates to pass validated, work-related,

只要照民權法案第七章的要求

對合格的候選人進行培訓， 使其通過受驗證、

physiologically-based fitness exams,

as required by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

和工作相關且以生理 為基礎的體能測驗。

We can increase the number of women,

我們能增加女性的人數，

we can reduce that gender disparity,

我們能減少性別不平等，

by simply changing exams that produce disparate outcomes.

只要修改那些會因性別差異 而造成落差的測驗即可。

We have the tools.

我們有工具。

We have the research, we have the science, we have the law.

我們有研究，我們 有科學，我們有法律。

This, my friends, should be a very easy fix.

朋友們，這個問題 應該是很容易修補的。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）