Women Police In Contemporary China

This is the first book to look at women in policing in the mainland of the People’s Republic of China. Informed by empirical data as well as rich secondary information drawn from a wide range of published materials, and written by a former police officer in China, this book offers a detailed discussion of key issues concerning women in the Chinese police. Mainly drawing on face-to-face interviews with police officers and student probationers in multiple force areas, Women Police in Contemporary China offers rich insights into women’s lives in Chinese policing. The book first discusses how Chinese women were introduced to the male-only organisation and their representation in the Chinese police today. It elaborates women’s experiences as female officers in the police and, more specifically, their everyday work, contributions to policing, women police’s own perceptions of their roles and positions in the police profession and the gendered challenges and concerns facing them. It also looks at police occupational culture from a gendered lens. This book is illuminating reading for all those engaged in policing studies, gender and justice, policymaking, comparative criminal justice and all those interested in a woman’s role in the Chinese police.

Through an empirical inquiry into three categories of offending women, Offending Women in Contemporary China: Gender and Pathways into Crime explores the socioeconomic conditions that facilitate womens' pathways into crime, and examines the interplay between gender, class, rapid social changes and female law-breaking in neoliberal China.

Women Policing across the Globe provides a cross-cultural comparison of the integration of women in policing across the globe, paying special attention to the unique contributions that women make to the field, along with the shared challenges and resistance they face. Individual chapters within the book provide students with a snapshot of the status of women in modern police agencies in the countries of the United States, Kuwait, China, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, and Taiwan. However, shared issues and successes of women police in many more countries worldwide are discussed throughout the entire book. This book allows students to explore the different origins of entry, specialized roles, their experiences of resistance, and effects of historical events that have shaped the experiences of modern women police from across the world. The authors discuss the new gains women are making, despite the obstacles they face, and ways they are transforming how policing is done every day. And, finally, this book closes with collective issues and successes faced by women police worldwide.

This book examines the development of women in the Hong Kong Police Force (HKP) over the past 68 years, beginning from the early colonial years when calls to include women in law enforcement first emerged, to the recruitment of the first female sub-inspector in 1949, and through to the current situation where policewomen constitute 15% of the total HKP establishment. What accounts for these developments and what do they tell us about organisational culture, gender and colonial policing? This interdisciplinary work is relevant to fields including women’s studies, gender studies, policing studies, criminology, colonial history, sociology, and organisational studies, and will appeal to academics, students and lay readers interested in the development of women in policing.

Through an empirical inquiry into three categories of offending women, Offending Women in Contemporary China: Gender and Pathways into Crime explores the socioeconomic conditions that facilitate womens' pathways into crime, and examines the interplay between gender, class, rapid social changes and female law-breaking in neoliberal China.

China’s role in global events today cannot be overestimated. This book provides a comprehensive and detailed overview of contemporary political developments in China. Key topics covered include: China's international relations with its neighbours and with the international community more widely; demographic developments; Taiwan; Macao and Hong Kong, Tibet, Uighurs; human rights, health issues (including bird flu); food contamination and defective goods; and a chronology of political developments, congresses and Central Committee sessions since May 2006; the earthquake of 12 May 2008 and the 2008 Olympic Games. The book continues - and adds to – the overview of developments up to May 2006 which were covered in the author’s China: A Guide to Economic and Political Developments (2006), and is the companion volume to Economic Developments in Contemporary China: A Guide (2010) - both published by Routledge.

This work investigates inequality and social exclusion in contemporary Chinese society, specifically in the context of urbanization, migration and crime. Economic reforms started in the late 1970s (post-Mao) fuelled a trend of urbanization and mass migration within China, largely from rural areas to more economically developed urban regions. With this migration, came new challenges in a rapidly changing society. Researchers have extensively studied the rural-to-urban human movement, social changes, inequality and its impact on individuals and society as a whole. This volume provides a new perspective on this issue. It forges a link between internal migration, inequality, social exclusion and crime in the context of China, through qualitative research into the impact of this phenomenon on individuals’ lives. Using a series of case studies drawn from interviews with inmates – men and women – in a large Chinese prison, it focuses on migrant offenders’ subjective experiences, and analyses issues from the rarely-heard perspectives of migrant lawbreakers themselves. The research demonstrates how factors – including: the hukou system, rural-urban, class and gender inequalities, prejudices against rural migrants, and other structural problems – often lead to migrant offending. The author argues that to mitigate the effects of criminalisation, the root causes of these problems should be examined, emphasizing radical reforms to the hukou policy, cultural change in urban society to welcome newcomers, positive programs to integrate migrant workers into urban societies and improve their opportunities, rather than inflicting harsher penalties or reducing migration. While the research is based in China, it has clear implications for other regions of the world, which are experiencing similar tensions related to national and international migration. This work will be of interest to researchers in criminology and criminal justice, particularly with an interest in Asia, as well as those in related fields such as sociology, law and social justice.

This study provides an up-to-date empirical account of Chinese female judges within the context of the Chinese legal system and wider society, revealing a deeper understanding of women in contemporary China. Shen explores the gendered nature of judging in post-Mao China by examining: who female judges are, what they do, and their position in relation to their profession. She goes on to argue for true representation of women in the judiciary, including their contributions in judging, and the importance of judicial diversity. The book examines the place held by female judges at home and women's place in society as a whole, and investigates gender equality, women's agencies, emancipation, and empowerment in the contemporary China. Based on data resulting from original research, this book provides a much-needed contribution to contemporary women's studies. Addressing a broad range of issues surrounding gender and justice in the Chinese judicial system, this engaging study will be of special interest to scholars and activists involved with judicial diversity, gender politics, and gender equality.