# Recruits hit the wall



## policelaborlaw.com (Mar 7, 2006)

*Recruits hit the wall
*By *Theresa Freeman*/ Daily News Staff
Sunday, April 2, 2006 - Updated: 12:50 AM EST

*F*ewer women are becoming police officers -- matching a downward trend in total police recruits of both sexes -- and departments must boost recruitment efforts to attract more qualified candidates, officials say. 
"We know for a fact they are having an extremely difficult time recruiting," said Mary McCauley, president of the Massachusetts Association of Women in Law Enforcement. "The labor force is not keeping up with the number of jobs." 
With fewer women opting for police work, she said, service may suffer. 
"Police agencies should reflect the diversity of the communities they serve," said McCauley. "We're going to give a better level of service with a mixture of people." 
During a recent lecture she gave to a University of Massachusetts-Lowell criminal justice class, said McCauley, most students said they never had any contact with a woman in law enforcement. 
"Many of them don't have role models to look up to," said McCauley, a Massachusetts state trooper. 
At least local law enforcement member said understands why the profession might be an unlikely one for women. 
"I really don't know what would make more women enter the field of law enforcement," Holliston Police Officer Ciara Maguire Ryan said. "At one time, did someone try to recruit more males into nursing or flight attendant professions? More women into auto mechanic school?" 
From 1972 to 1999, women gained about half a percentage point per year in their representation in larger agencies, the National Center for Women & Policing reported in a study published in 2002. But, in 2000 and 2001 the trend stalled or reversed. 
The number of women in larger agencies fell from 14.3 percent in 1999, to 13 percent in 2000 to 12.7 percent in 2001. 
Those figures, combined with a weighted estimate, indicate women represented about 11.2 percent of all sworn-in law enforcement staff in 2001, the study says. But women account for 46.5 percent of the country's total work force, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the study says. 
The 2002 study is the most recent national data on female law enforcement officers that center director Margaret Moore said she is aware of. 
"I think it's the right time to hire women," said Moore. "It's an industry that needs a cultural shift, and I think women can bring that to the table." 
Moore said she hears the most questions from women about the physical strength exams. The concern of potential female recruits about the tests often keeps them out of the ranks, she said. 
"It's the artificial barrier," said Moore. 
Physical strength is important, but there are different measures of fitness, Moore said. Analytical skills and the ability to communicate are equally important, she said. 
"We are in the era of policing that relies on technology and communication and intelligence," said McCauley. 
Policing is increasingly more about solving community problems and crime prevention than chasing criminals, although that will never go away, said Moore. 
"Sometimes you need to whup someone up-side the head, and sometimes you need to talk to people for 40 minutes, or hours, to diffuse a situation," said Boston Police Officer Pam Besold. 
"Police work is messy," Holliston's Ryan said. "You get yelled at and berated by people who called you into their homes to fix their problems." 
Ryan said she takes great satisfaction in her job, but there are hazards. She said officers might get verbally abused or belittled, but it can't affect their jobs. 
"These same officers would literally risk their lives for these same people," she said. 
Adding to the concern over physical exams, various entities including municipal and corrections agencies, the MBTA, colleges and hospitals all use different hiring processes, standards and academies, said McCauley. 
Also, 169 police departments in the state -- including Ashland, Framingham, Hudson, Medway, Milford, Newton, Waltham, Dedham and Walpole -- follow the civil service hiring process. 
The decline in women looking for policing jobs "isn't just a situation we're having here -- it's country-wide," said Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Lorraine Busconi-Cambria. 
The crop of young workers is influenced by a variety of factors, Busconi-Cambria said. Some who might have sought law enforcement jobs have entered the military to support the war effort, she said. 
The state police are hiring from a pool of candidates who took the written test in 2002, and the next test could be years out. Although recruitment is ongoing, the state police only step up their advertising campaigns right before exams, said Busconi-Cambria. 
"It's kind of a drawback we don't offer the exam more frequently," said Busconi-Cambria, one of the department's three full-times recruiters. 
Other would-be officers must turn to more lucrative professions not dependent on public funding, said McCauley. Other workers in their 20s and 30s might be jaded by seeing their parents get laid off or lose retirement benefits, she said. 
"They don't have the trust in the employers as the generation before them used to," said McCauley. 
The Massachusetts Association of Women in Law Enforcement has pledged to work with state officials in developing specific recruitment techniques. Besold, the group's executive director, said the group is not looking for lower standards for women on law enforcement agencies. They are urging organizations to seek out women as employees. 
"There really isn't a welcome mat out -- in departments state-wide and nationally -- that says women are welcome," said Besold. "One (male or female officer) is not better. You need them both." 
Recruitment doesn't have to cost a lot, the group says. 
Departments need to positively showcase a representative sampling of their employees -- men and women -- on their Web sites, intranets, office walls and promotional materials, Besold and McCauley said. Men and women need to join more community events, they said. 
The Massachusetts Association of Women in Law Enforcement is also building a networking program so that female officers can learn from mentors and get advice from one another, Besold said. 
"We're not saying we have all the answers, but we have good ideas," said Besold. 
Openings in policing jobs are expected to grow by 25 percent by 2008, according to the Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development. Departments should be ready to seek out the most qualified candidates, Besold and McCauley said. 
"Women do the job every day," said McCauley. "It shouldn't even be an issue at this stage of the game." 
Holliston officer Ryan said that, Perhaps by the nature of the work, more men feel the job is a better fit, just as some women feel better suited to the jobs they have sought in female-dominated fields. 
"That being said, I would not want to work with a male or female who joined the profession to fill a void in quotas" she said. "It would not be fair to those who count on you every night, if you weren't committed to the job." 








Ciara Ryan, a member of the 
Holliston Police Department, 
practices climbing over a five-foot 
wall in her back yard in Franklin. 
(Bear Cieri Photo)


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## HousingCop (May 14, 2004)

> The state police are hiring from a pool of candidates who took the written test in 2002, and the next test could be years out. Although recruitment is ongoing, the state police only step up their advertising campaigns right before exams, said Busconi-Cambria.
> "It's kind of a drawback we don't offer the exam more frequently," said Busconi-Cambria, one of the department's three full-times recruiters.


Three full time recruiters for that job? I think that's really a waste of time & effort since recruitment is not an issue for that job. So many take it and very few get chosen to attend the academy.

Don't you think these 3 should be returned to full duty actually fighting crime???


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