ARE WOMEN REALLY SUITABLE FOR POLICE PATROL WORK? (2)

I also posted this piece on PACOVILLA Corrections blog. It generated over 40 responses, with many of them accusing me of being either ignorant, bigoted or hateful, and better yet, all of the above. Many of the comments were obviously the result of knee-jerk reactions. It was obvious that those who piled on me the hardest did not understand or never bothered to understand what I had written.
　
Bob Walsh tried to explain what I wrote, but to no avail. The piling on continued. Here is what Bob wrote:
　
__Hey people, please remember that the original post deals with female patrol officers, primarily riding solo at night and a study (not cited) that indicates they may be significantly less willing to make stops late at night solo than their male counterparts. That’s all. It is also a fact that most women have less upper body strength than most men and, in a toe to toe slugout, may not do as well as most men. He did not adovcate that women shouldn’t be cops, or that women shouldn’t be patrol officers. He merely pointed out some potential problems. EVERY system has problems. (I admit I am surprised the CHP let a husand and wife ride together, for just that reason.)
　
That pretty well sums up my post. As far as the reluctance to make nighttime stops, that came out of a study made in California back sometime during the 1970s. Because that study was conducted over 30 years ago, I am unable to cite it.

UPDATE 10-17-10
　
My critics kept piling it on. To date there have been well over 50 comments. Bob Walsh, God bless him, got so fed up with the lack of critical thinking that he made this comment yesterday:
　
__There are times when the rubber meets the road and the strength is very very handy. Not often, but it happens. At the institution we have response close at hand. On night patrol, in the boonies, there are places where you can get help in 15 minutes if you are lucky. Its not so much that physical strength makes a good patrol officer, but lack of physical strength can make an ineffective patrol officer, at least at certain times and in certain circumstances. If a lone female might not be able to handle the fisicality, and she KNOWS or even merely fears that she can’t, that might make her inadequately aggressive as a patrol officer, she might let stuff slide that maybe she shouldn’t. That fact might make her a less effective patrol officer even if she is NEVER involved in a one-on-one dustup. That is the whole point of the original post.