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Recruiting Women to Policing: Practical Strategies That Work

NCJ Number
194856
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 69 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2002 Pages: 23-26,29
Author(s)
Donna Milgram
Date Published
2002
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article discusses strategies that are successful in recruiting women to policing.
Abstract
The article is informed by work done with police departments by the Institute for Women in Trades, Technology, and Science (IWITTS). This is a national nonprofit organization based in Alameda, CA, that provides law enforcement agencies the tools to recruit and retain women officers using research, training, technical assistance, publications, and e-strategies. Recruitment activities are greatly facilitated by using the World Wide Web. The Internet offers an inexpensive way to reach thousands of potential applicants around the country. Women-in-Policing Career Fairs provide another recruiting opportunity. Core elements of the career fair include: (1) a plenary role-model panel of three or four women officers who talk about their work; (2) information about application and selection; (3) tips to help women prepare for the physical agility test; (4) details about the academy; (5) keynote addresses from the chief and a high-ranking female officer; and (6) displays of police equipment. Long-term strategies include establishing justice programs in colleges and “police academies” in high schools. Tables, notes