Police pledge to increase female recruits to 30%
The Milwaukee Police Department has pledged that 30% of its recruits will be women by 2030.
City officials announced the pledge publicly Monday as the department begins recruiting for another class of officers and vacancies remain high.
“It is no doubt a difficult job and it is a great job,” said Leon Todd, the executive director of the Fire and Police Commission, which conducts recruiting for both police and fire departments. “We need honest, compassionate and dedicated officers that understand service requires respect and humility as much as strength and pride.”
The pledge made by the department is part of a nationwide movement, called the 30x30 Initiative and led by a coalition of police leaders, researchers, and professional organizations, to increase the percentage of women recruits in law enforcement to 30% by 2030.
It also comes at a time when the department has struggled more recently to fill open positions, with vacancies among sworn staff totaling almost 240 as of late August, according to city records. That includes more than 150 officer positions and almost 50 detective positions.
Chief Jeffrey Norman said the department recently began surveying its female staff about workplace concerns.
“This pledge means that the Milwaukee Police Department is actively working towards improving the representation and experiences of women officers in our agency,” he said.
Milwaukee police are scheduled to begin training a recruit class of 65 people in spring 2023 and a class of 50 people the following fall. Todd said the application period for both officers and 911 telecommunicators is open until Dec. 16.
As of late June, the Police Department’s sworn staff of just over 1,600 was 16% female, while its rank-and-file officers were 14.4% female. The department’s executive command staff of eight people, along with its roster of seven district commanders, each includes two females.
Nationally, 12% of sworn officers and 3% of police leadership in the U.S. is female, according to the 30x30 Initiative.
The campaign cites a series of research showing female officers tend to use less force, less excessive force, are named in fewer complaints and lawsuits, make fewer discretionary arrests and are perceived by the public to be more honest and compassionate.
Victims can also see better outcomes when working with female officers, particularly in sexual assault cases, according to the initiative.
Well over 200 law enforcement agencies have signed on to the pledge, including five others in Wisconsin: the Dane County Sheriff ’s Office and police in Madison, Fitchburg, Middleton and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.