Abstract
The paper reports a study of the reasons for joining and beliefs about the police and police work among the Slovenian female police rookies. Fifty-five female police trainees participated in a survey at the end of their basic police training. It was hypothesised that their beliefs about police and police work were the result of their experience during training, their level of cynicism, support and encouragement from their relatives and friends, as well as their femininity, self-esteem, and doubt about trustworthiness of people. The majority of the hypotheses were confirmed. The results were compared with the results obtained from a sample of 22 male police trainees. The comparison revealed different dynamics of male and female beliefs about police and police work, as well as some differences in reasons for joining the police. The results are discussed in terms of their practical value for police recruitment and training.
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