Document Type

Senior Thesis

Publication Date

Spring 2026

Abstract

This ethnographic study examines how gendered workplace culture and mental health culture shape officer retention in two urban police departments: the Orange Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department's 77th District. Through ride-alongs, observations, and informal interviews with nine current and retired officers (four female, five male) across various ranks conducted between March and April 2026, this research reveals a troubling contradiction: departments tasked with serving diverse communities struggle to support diversity within their own ranks. Female officers navigate professional isolation, prolonged competence-proving expectations, and implicit career-versus-motherhood choices, with experiences varying significantly between the more supportive Orange PD and the competitive LAPD environment. Simultaneously, across both departments and all officer demographics, a mental health culture of compartmentalization dominates, requiring officers to independently manage trauma while remaining operationally ready. Despite formal mental health resources, officers distrust institutional support and rely on informal peer networks and spousal relationships, systems with uneven availability and effectiveness. These interconnected cultural patterns illuminate how departments undermine their own diversity and retention goals while compromising officer well-being. This study reveals the institutional contradiction at policing's core: agencies cannot effectively serve diverse populations when their internal cultures systematically marginalize and unsupport their own diverse workforce.

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