Baltimore Police Department Seeks More Women Officers
BALTIMORE (WJZ)—The Baltimore City Police Department is looking for a few good women.
A deputy commissioner tells Suzanne Collins studies show women do better at some police duties.
City police Sgt. Sharon Talley makes sure important public officials are safe as part of the executive protection division.
"It's a huge responsibility. We have no room for error. We have to be on our toes the whole time," Talley said.
City police want more women to join the force. Right now only 16 percent of city officers are women.
"And there's a lot of studies that women are able to communicate better," said Deputy Commissioner Deborah Owens. "They diffuse situations they're involved in. There are fewer excessive force cases. So there is a big demand and a need for women in law enforcement."
Owens worked her way up from officer to the number two spot and wishes more women wouldn't stop at sergeant.
"There are lots of women that would say this whole glass ceiling thing and they can't get to the top," Owens said. "I've never experienced that."
A special recruitment drive is underway to attract female officers.
Woman can do almost all of it this weekend on Friday and Saturday. Learn more information about the force on Friday at noon, take the civil service exam at 1 p.m. and on Saturday morning, take the agility test.
"I tell people 90 percent of my job is a good thing; 90 percent of my day is a wonderful day. You have 10 percent that you have to do some type of enforcement and everyone is not going to come out happy," Talley said.
Starting salary is $41,000 for academy cadets. It goes up $1,000 when they become commissioned officers.
In those agility tests men have to do 20 pushups, women only 10. But just about everything else is equal, like bench pressing 64 percent of your body weight.
You can find a link to all the information about city police hiring, here.
