By Joelyn Hansen
The Post Register
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho -- Idaho Falls Police Officer Jessica Hunt knows women are the minority in law enforcement.
But, just in case she needed a reminder, the point is driven home to her when a community member unknowingly accuses her of driving her husband’s patrol car around town when she’s off duty.
And there are also those occasions when she sees drivers with surprised looks on their faces mouth the words “It’s a chick” in the car rearview mirrors after she stops them for traffic violations.
That’s exactly why this police veteran of nearly nine years is eager to see more women join the force and increase the ratio of women to men in local law enforcement.
“I would love more female officers,” she said. “It changes the perception of (the IFPD) and how we function as a department.”
According to the 2008 Federal Bureau of Investigation Statistical Report, women make up about 12 percent of all sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. In cities with populations between 50,000 and 99,000, the percentage is much smaller, at 9.5 percent of 52,341 officers.
Women make up about 4.5 percent of the 90 law enforcement officers working in the Idaho Falls Police Department.
IFPD Capt. Ken Brown said there is no clear explanation why women represent such a small percentage within the department. But he said part of the reason could be that few women apply or take the civil service tests to be considered for jobs in the department. In May, there were only five women among the 87 applicants who took the civil service test that the city administered.
The department interviews and hires potential officers based on how well they score on the civil service test, Brown said. For example, if there is one opening with the department, the candidates with the top three test scores will be selected for interviews.
Brown said it doesn’t matter what race or gender an officer is; the department is only concerned that the officers are good employees.
“To us, when they hire on, they are not a man or a woman, white or Hispanic, they are a police officer,” Brown said.
Hunt said she has encouraged many women to apply to become officers. She believes women bring a different element to police work. For example, even though she’s smaller than her male counterparts, Hunt said she can sometimes communicate better and that she can be more empathetic.
“I have to rely on my (thinking) skills more than my brawn,” she said.
Even though Hunt believes she’s a good cop, she said she’s been affected by negative perceptions regarding female officers, including from some of her past male co-workers.
As a rookie cop, Hunt said some of the male officers felt the need to “protect her” and would automatically respond with her to police calls, and others were concerned about her abilities to do the job.
But over time, she’s shown gender doesn’t matter. Three years ago, she became the first female member of the department’s SWAT team, which she calls one of her greatest career accomplishments.
“Anybody who says that women can’t accomplish what a man does - just look around and see what women have done, what heroic things they have done,” Hunt said.
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