US police departments take pledge to raise women staff to 30% by 2030
Follow UsStory highlights
The 30×30 Initiative is a coalition of researchers, police leaders and professional organisations. It aims to spike the representation of women in police recruit classes to 30% by 2030. It also looks to ensure that policing culture and policies support women throughout their careers
With an aim to raise the representation of women in ranks to 30% by 2030, Memphis Police Department and the New York State Police have taken a pledge recently.
These agencies joined a coalition of 150 law enforcement agencies in the US and Canada, who had taken the oath last year.
The two departments took the initiative on the one-year anniversary of the endeavour on Friday.
The 30×30 Initiative is a coalition of researchers, police leaders and professional organisations. It aims to spike the representation of women in police recruit classes to 30% by 2030. It also looks to ensure that policing culture and policies support women throughout their careers.
In recent weeks, four other police departments, such as Fresno, California; the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington DC; Indiana University at Bloomington; and the city of Bloomington in Indiana, took the pledge, as per Kym Craven, executive director, National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives (NAWLEE).
Watch: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken highlights Israel's role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict
The initiative is also affiliated with NAWLEE and the Policing Project at NYU School of Law.
“We started this with really no funding and just sheer will. We’ve now attracted some funding and we’re expanding our programming as a result of that. They come in steadily and we’re getting a real big diversity of agencies signing on now. Even smaller agencies are seeing that they can join the pledge,” Craven said.
(With inputs from agencies)