... very considerable range of discretion, processing only a proportion of incidents and citizens through to full criminal charge and how women fare in such encounters is another considerably contested area. Many writers argue that women benefit from the values of the 'canteen' culture in the police force as they are seen to be in need of protection not punishment and therefore accorded the respect of chivalry (Morris, 1987). However, a more complex picture has emerged more recently which suggests that demeanour is a key factor in determining police reactions in addition to seriousness and recidivism (Piliavin & Briar, 1964; Harris, 1992). The opposite view to the police as rescuers has been advocated from a growing number of sources in the 1980s and 1990s. Several groups of deviant women have reported particularly repressive treatment by the police and accused them of especially harsh treatment. Prostitutes have long complained (McCleod, 1982); ...

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