Top 5 reasons police department should hire more females

Everyone, nationwide, is aware of the tough times that we, as officers, are all living. I’d like to bring some special attention to our female police officers.

I remember when I was little, my choices of toys were dolls and tea sets. My brother had the cool toys like cars, soldiers and action figures.

Even then, still there were a few toys, action figures and movies that always caught my attention. Because I did not consider myself a “normal” little girl, I aspired to be like She-Ra, Batgirl, Wonder Woman and Mulan.

I remember wearing Wonder Woman’s costume and really believing that if I spanned fast enough in the middle of the room, I would disappear just like Wonder Woman. Needless to say, I still have scars from all the falls while attempting this.

So let me ask this? Is it surprising, at all, that I became a police officer over 17 years ago?… I mean it makes sense with all those “different” interests right? Well, I did have one major influencer in my life and that was my mom.

She was among the first class of female police officers in Puerto Rico to graduate the police academy in 1974. As my mom remembers, the class began with a total of 82 women and only half of those made it to graduation. The extreme humiliation and emotional abuse by the police academy instructors made it difficult for most women to graduate.

When they graduated, the police department provided them with high heels and skirts as part of their uniform.

Even though some progress has been made, female police officers still face an uphill battle today. According to the FBI’s UCR (Uniform Crime Reports) only 12.5% of female police officers make up for the total of full-time sworn law enforcement officers in the United States.

While there have been numerous successful legal battles ranging from unfair physical abilities tests to height requirements, police agencies nationwide still face difficulties hiring and retaining female police officers. Why is that?

Her are the top 5 reasons why hiring a female police officer is beneficial to any agency in the United States.

• 1. Female officers are more likely to de-escalate situations than their male counterparts. We tend to use our communication skills to our advantage. Let’s face it, it’s a smarter way to defuse situations.
• 2. Female officers are less likely to face sustained allegations of excessive force than male officers. We have no problem going hands-on in any type of situation to protect ourselves, our partners or any citizen. However, if we can avoid any hostile situation by using our amazing communications skills, we will more than likely use that first. That doesn’t mean it is a weak response, it means it is a smarter response.
• 3. Female officers cost cities less in civil lawsuits. There are less female officers named in civil lawsuits compared to male police officers. Like I said before, it’s about working smarter not harder.
• 4. Female officers are influential when addressing domestic violence and sex crime victims. Often times female victims are more open to talk about their ordeal with other females. This is influential in gathering evidence for these specific cases. I worked many human trafficking cases where the victims were able to open up to me rather than my male counterparts.
• 5. Female officers can help improve police-community relations. This should be the agency’s ultimate goal. It demonstrates how the agency is willing to put aside the old “good ole’ boy” and outdated methods and implement real reform.