The Cincinnati Police Department is pledging to increase the number of female officers to 30% by 2030. It's part of a nationwide push to increase the number of women in law enforcement.
"The efforts will include concentrated efforts on recruiting and hiring women as well as strategies to retain and promote women," says Lt. Col. Teresa Theetge, a 30-year veteran and CPD’s highest ranking woman officer. "Studies have shown women use less force and have less citizen complaints than our male counterpoints. They're also more likely to deescalate a volatile situation."
Department leaders last week signed the "30x30 Pledge," committing to have 30% of the force be female by 2030. CPD was invited to participate by the Policing Project at NYU’s school of Law, which will complete data research.
More than 100 agencies nationwide have also signed the pledge. According to the organization, women account for just 12% of sworn officers and 3% of leadership in the U.S. CPD reports it's at about 22% currently.
"Part of this pledge will include us sharing our data with New York University, so we will talk with them and share data with them on what some of our strategies are to hire, retain and promote women, and in return the other agencies will share their data and we will have access to that as well."
The pledge acknowledges women of color face additional hardships.
It states: "Participating agencies must address intersectionality in all efforts to improve the representation and experiences of women in policing. Intersectionality acknowledges the ways in which people’s multiple identities—race and ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ability and more—magnify or transform their exposure to discrimination.
"This means the way race and discrimination is experienced is not the same for everyone. Women of color in particular will often face compounding experiences of bias and discrimination based not only on their gender, but also their race or ethnicity. Though 30×30 focuses on increasing the representation of women, it is critical that agencies apply an intersectional lens when analyzing their culture and practices to better promote the creation of a diverse and inclusive workplace for everyone."
CPD says you need to be 21 by the time you graduate from the academy. Recruits need a high school diploma or GED and a clean background check. Hiring information can be found here.
