How do the interrogation strategies of women detectives differ in style and efficacy from their male counterparts?

Authors

• Sarah M. Quinones, University of Central FloridaFollow

Streaming Media

Files

Course Code

WST

Course Number

3371

Faculty/Instructor

Dr. Anne Bubriski

Faculty/Instructor Email

anne.bubriski@ucf.edu

About the Author

Hello! My name is Sarah Quinones and I am a second-year forensic science student. I completed this research proposal under WST3371H, known as honors Women and Leadership taught by Dr. Anne Bubriski. Throughout this class, I have had the opportunity to review scientific research regarding women and gender studies and its applications to leadership and leadership styles. Thanks to the welcoming space for productive discussion Dr. Bubriski facilitates, I have had my prior beliefs regarding women and leadership validated, challenged, and changed.

Abstract, Summary, or Creative Statement

This research proposal seeks to examine recorded interrogation footage and in-depth interviews of professional interrogators to analyze how their interrogation styles and efficacies differ between men and women. There is an imminent need for a reformed, standardized, and research-backed interrogation system to improve the efficacy and discriminatory habits of the justice system. The proposed hypotheses include:

• Transformational interrogation styles yield more cooperative and informative responses than transactional interrogation styles. 

• Because women’s interrogation styles more often align with transformational leadership patterns, their interrogations exhibit higher efficacies.

These hypotheses were drawn following an extensive literature review of the current academic contributions, both in the field of law enforcement and women and gender studies. The review focused on five central topics, including:

• Gendered policing and communication styles

• Hyper-masculine workplace culture

• Efficacy of different policing styles

• Gendered treatment of female suspects

• Bias in evaluating male and female officers

Although it may pose a challenge to locate enough ethically sourced interrogations for the analysis and find sufficient woman interrogators (or subjects in general) for the interviews, the research is an important step towards standardizing law enforcement trainings using efficient, research-backed methods, eliminate biases against traditionally feminine-associated policing and interrogation strategies, ultimately allow women police their rightful opportunity for growth without needing to adjust toward aggressive ideals.

Keywords

police; law enforcement; gender; analysis; interview; transformational; transactional

Recommended Citation

Quinones, Sarah M., "How do the interrogation strategies of women detectives differ in style and efficacy from their male counterparts?" (2026). High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026. 92.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hip-2026spring/92