[4] In 1987 Harrington filed a federal sex discrimination suit claiming that members of the police department "conspired to embarrass and drive her from office", making it difficult for her to obtain employment following her "forced" resignation.
[4] In 1995, she founded The National Center for Women & Policing with Katherine Spillar, Executive Vice President of the Feminist Majority Foundation.
With the NCWP, Harrington helped write Recruiting & Retaining Women: A Self Assessment Guide for Law Enforcement, aimed at helping law enforcement agencies increase and maintain the number of female officers in their units.
[9] Harrington also co-authored the text Investigating Sexual Harassment in Law Enforcement Agencies with Kimberly A. Lonsway, to address issues of sexual harassment in fire and police departments and promote proactivity through prevention and training.
[10] In 1999, Harrington wrote an autobiography, published by Brittany Publications, Ltd., titled Triumph of Spirit about her successes, trails, and tribulations during her time working for the police force.