A National Movement to Advance Women in Policing - Why It Could Result in Safer Communities 

Policing has long been a male-dominated profession, and will likely remain so. Still, a major shift is happening, as departments recognize that having more female representation benefits both the police force and the community.

"Women make up less than 13% of police officers, a number that hasn't changed much in the past 20 years. And they make up just 3% of police chiefs as of 2013, the last time the data was collected," said retired Newark, NJ Police Chief Ivonne Roman during a TED Talk on policewomen.

A decade ago, Roman noticed a disturbing trend.

"I started monitoring recruits as they cycled through police academies in the state of New Jersey, and I found that women were failing at rates between 65 and 80% due to varying aspects of the physical fitness test," Roman said. 

This discovery led her to begin boot camp sessions for female recruits to better prepare them for the test. The result: each woman she helped train, graduated. Still, Roman felt the need to go further.

In 2018, she and Maureen McGough of the National Institute of Justice took a closer look at women in law enforcement. Their research found an under-representation of women, resulting in the 30x30 Initiative.

"It is a roadmap for improving both the representation and experiences of women officers," McGough said of the Initiative. 

The goal is for women to represent 30 percent of police recruits by the year 2030. So far more than 360 departments nationwide have pledged their support. 

The 30x30 Initiative provides research highlighting how adding more females will lead to better overall law enforcement. For example, statistics show policewomen are less likely to use or be accused of using, excessive force. They're also less likely to be named in a lawsuit or citizen complaint and can be more successful in diffusing violent or aggressive behavior. 

"Law enforcement has been looked at under that microscopic lens of, 'How do we improve? How do we represent our communities? How do we make our communities feel safe?' And I think that the reason why this is having the success that it is having is because people see the importance behind it, and the fact that women are valued and that we do have a place," said Lt. Tenesha Jensen with the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD).

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MCPD has already reached about 20 percent female representation in both academy classes and on the force. Lt. Jensen believes, however, that increasing those numbers further will require a change in perception.

"Females may feel that they can't have that work-life balance, that they can't do the job of a police officer, that it will be too demanding and too competitive with trying to have a family, with trying to be a mom...Is there equity between men and women as far as just different positions, whether that's lateral positions in the department, or rising through the ranks by promotion, and I think that we have to break those barriers," Jensen told CBN News. 

There is also the need for departments to offer benefits and a culture that women find attractive. 

"One of the things that our department has done for several years is a job share program, and that's where an officer can split and divide their position and their hours with another officer. So that would equal to working 20 hours a week as opposed to 40 hours a week," Jensen explained.

Other positive moves already being put into place by departments include mentorship programs, affordable childcare centers, and better parental leave.

"One of the things I would like (to see) departments (do), that some do, but not a lot, is that they gear their training toward the sexes having a better understanding of each other," said veteran police trainer, Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith. 

She tells CBN News that achieving this kind of culture change would also lead to having the most effective police force possible. 

"Police officers need to be able to de-escalate. Women do that naturally and are good at teaching it, and we are good at modeling it. Why do we not teach men that women are good at this? Why do we not teach women that they are good at this...And we don't teach the women anything about how men do things, how men communicate, how men fight, how men shoot," Brantner Smith said. 

She also stresses, that while greater female representation would benefit the force, the focus must ultimately be hiring qualified police officers.

"When we're talking about a profession like law enforcement, where a police officer has the authority, and the power, and the skills to take a human life, we do not want to hire people based on their sex," Brantner Smith said.

A key goal of the 30x30 Initiative is for participating agencies to share promising programs, learn from one another, and ultimately, develop policies that will achieve a more balanced force, and in turn, safer communities.