There are currently seven female police chiefs in Los Angeles County, an all-time high. Women lead departments in Glendora, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Claremont, Hermosa Beach, Alhambra, and Manhattan Beach. Several of the chiefs gathered recently at USC's Sol Price School of Public Policy in Los Angeles for a panel discussion on female leaders in law enforcement to share their differing perspectives on their roles.
The number of women in the highest ranks of law enforcement is still extremely low across the country. A 2013 survey conducted by the National Assn. of Women Law Enforcement Executives found that women make up 13% of all officers in the U.S. Only 1% of police chiefs are female, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Chief Lisa Rosales of the Glendora Police Department said her style of policing encompasses listening, empathy, and patience — qualities she said have helped de-escalate potentially volatile situations. When she was a rookie working in an area heavily populated by gang members, she was able to take on the "abuelita" or grandmotherly role with them. She took the time to get to know them and they granted her more respect because of her approach, and because she was a woman. "I love to talk to people, and that has helped my career," she says.
Like Rosales, Chief Sharon Papa rose through the ranks. She has served as the chief of the Hermosa Beach Police Department since 2013. She remembers when she would show up alone on calls as a young officer in the 1970s and people would ask where her partner was. They wrongly assumed she couldn't handle police work on her own. She got similar treatment from many of the male officers she worked with at that time.
But times have changed, she says. And she believes the presence of other women in law enforcement has improved the culture of the profession. "We're not as quick to go hands on. We have a different perspective and style, and add a different dynamic," she says.
"It's not about how big and tough you are. We need to help women aspiring to join law enforcement understand that," Papa says. Like other female police chiefs in L.A. County, Papa believes that diversity in the department more accurately reflects the communities they serve, helping to build bridges to the outside community. "We need to have more women role models," she says.
Chief Jackie Gomez-Whitely of the Alhambra Police Department agrees. She hopes that law enforcement agencies will reach out to women who may be interested in joining law enforcement via different avenues such as social media and at sporting events. "We all have our stories of being tested because we are women," says Gomez-Whitely. She wanted to join the motorcycle unit, so she put in the time and the training, and she did it, becoming the first woman to serve as a motor officer with the City of Orange (CA) Police Department in Orange County. She was also the first woman to become sergeant and lieutenant at that agency. She wants to encourage other women to realize they can take on these challenges and become good police officers, especially if they are passionate about making a change in the world. "Encourage them to join our team and help join in solving the problem," she says.
Yet while she is also in favor of more women in all levels of law enforcement, including at higher ranks, Chief Eve Irvine of the Manhattan Beach Police Department doesn't want to stand out because she's a woman. "It would be nice if you could just hire the right person," she says. "It will be great when one day we're not the anomaly, and it's not a big deal to have a female chief…you're just a police chief."
She knows we're not there yet, but hopes we're getting closer to that point. "Every generation of law enforcement officers have their own obstacles to overcome," Irvine acknowledges. "But now female officers are more accepted, and we're here to stay. This makes 35 years in law enforcement for me. We're not a passing fad." — Melanie Basich
