What explains variation in representation in the public sector? Predicting the presence of female officers in U.S. College Police Departments

Abstract

Scholars and practitioners regularly call for higher levels of representation for marginalized groups in public agencies, and representative bureaucracy research commonly boasts the effects of representation on clientele perceptions and performance outcomes. Before the consequences of representation can be fully assessed, it is important to consider the mechanisms that shape the extent to which minority groups are present in an agency. We use data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Report and the U.S. Department of Education to examine what factors influence female representation in 142 College Police Departments (CPDs) within public, 4-year institutions of higher education, an epicenter of debate regarding gender-based violence, between 2014 and 2018. We find that few organizational characteristics consistently predict female representation. Our interpretations of such findings are informed by interviews with female CPD officers and consideration of whether female representation has any association with outcomes regarding sexual assault and rape.