Plano Police Focus On Recruiting Female Officers
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PLANO (CBSDFW.COM) - Right now the Plano Police Department is focusing recruiting efforts on women.
Female sworn officers currently make up about 12 percent of the force – a percentage Chief Gregory W. Rushin says shows that women are underrepresented compared to the population they serve.
"You have to have a diverse makeup within your department to be able to represent the different community," said Chief Rushin.
For many law enforcement agencies, today's policing operations are moving further away from the "boys' club" stigma of decades past, and moving closer to mirroring the makeup of the community.
Assistant Chief Gay Shaffer says women bring a particular skill set to the force that sometimes exceeds that of their male counterparts.
"People you deal with on the street treat women differently a lot of times than they do a male officer. It just brings a different dynamic, in a good way," said Assistant Chief Shaffer.
Shaffer started her career with Plano Police as a dispatcher in 1986.
She worked her way up as a patrol officer and spent many years working on the streets of Plano before moving into the Assistant Chief chair.
"Being female has always worked to my advantage, in all my years in this job," Shaffer said. "I think we do it differently."
Officer Natalia Reyna is a ten-year member of the force.
She recalls many times where she's been able to deescalate a tense situation by calmly talking to suspects, instead of relying on her strength or weapon.
"I think when you have male officers and a male suspect, sometimes the male suspect, if he's still aggressive, he's looking for a fight. If you have a female officer involved, you can deescalate it in certain situations just by communication, and letting them vent and talk," said Reyna, who is now training to be a crisis negotiator.
The Plano Police Department is holding a Women in Law Enforcement Career event on Saturday, June 20th from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Female officers will be on-hand to share their experiences and answer questions.
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