The study found virtually no evidence of a significant bivariate relationship between gender and perception of police performance in the particular neighborhoods examined. The study did find, however, that females were more likely to feel at risk for victimization, which is associated with more negative perceptions of police performance. One explanation for why females did not impose this anxiety on assessment of police performance is that females were less likely to be confronted by a drug dealer; such confrontations have been associated with less satisfaction with the police in previous studies. Although gender was not an evident factor in determining perceptions of police in the disadvantaged neighborhoods studied, in terms of policy, the study shows that other than age, actual victimization, signs of social disorder such as exposure to drug dealing, and perceptions of risk were among the most important factors that shaped perceptions of police performance in the disadvantaged neighborhoods. This study draws implications for criminal justice policy of each of these findings. Data for the analyses came from baseline data collected as part of the Federal Empowerment Zone 2010 Initiative to improve disadvantaged neighborhoods in the cities of Norfolk (17 tracts) and Portsmouth, VA (8 tracts). The dependent variable was a rating of the performance of the police in the respondent's neighborhood. In addition to gender, key independent variables included perceptions of risk, victimization experiences, and being stopped by a drug dealer, with each variable referencing the past 12 months. 3 tables, 1 figure, 5 notes, and 70 references