at them all the time and not do their work" (Leonard et al 1991:146) Training may be thought to be an arena within which the emphasis on physical strength can be challenged and women's capability acknowledged. Fielding (1988) followed probationer constables through their first two years of training in one English force. The attitude of young male recruits was a mixture of chivalry and pragmatism towards a woman partner in potentially violent situations which did not seem to change with experience of patrol. Fielding notes after one year, policemen's early qualms about policewomen's lack of physical strength based in policing's tough image was not assuaged. In an analysis conducted in Germany some eight years after women were allowed to join the uniformed police, it was reported by Weigel (1992) that men had gained a positive impression of women police as a result of working with female colleagues yet they still held onto their prejudices about women working in violent situations. The men believed that the numbers of women working on shifts should be limited and that women should not complain about pornographic calenders in police stations. Woman should adapt to men's "standards" of behaviour. In a later study, Wurz (1993) described how the position of German women police had developed. Initially women were looked upon as rather "exotic" which led them to be excluded from certain police duties. This attitude also perpetuated the scepticism of many male officers who thought of women as "fair weather constables". The women officers faced considerable opposition to overcome the belief that woman are not capable of carrying out the full range of police work. Data from the survey of police women conference delegates show that in terms of acceptance by their male officer colleagues the Eastern European officers indicate greater acceptance with decreasing levels being reported by their sister officers in Continental Europe, the British Isles a...
