December 30, 2017: The sight of a woman in a police uniform is no longer the novelty it once was. For good and valid reasons, police forces have embraced the notion that a diverse workforce strengthens their ability to police the communities they serve.That is encouraging, but as a survey by the Associated Press discloses, woman lead only five of the nation’s 50 biggest police departments. A 2013 survey counted 169 female chiefs out of 1,500 departments.

While there is little debate among academics, sociologists and criminologists that the presence of female officers enhances the quality of police work, there remains doubt in the overwhelmingly male ranks.A 2005 study of police officers concluded that “the single most problematic issue for women in law enforcement is the attitude of their co-workers.”

That explains the growth of organizations that want to grow the number of women in police work in general and in leadership in particular. Membership in the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives, founded 22 years ago, has been on a steady growth curve.They make the case that the addition of women has improved policing, and a number of studies bear them out.

Read the full article: Female Police Officers, a Growing Asset (Sun-Sentinal, www.sun-sentinal.com)