by Erin Jordan, Associated Press
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - Michelle Powills was a newly remarried mother of two living in Iowa City in 2000 when she decided to pursue her dream of being a police officer.
The Mount Vernon Police Department first gave Powills a position as a reserve officer. When the department later offered her a full-time job, Mount Vernon’s chief learned she had already been hired.
“Unfortunately, we lost her to the Iowa City Police Department,” Chief Mark Winder said.
As law enforcement agencies across the country fight for qualified candidates and try to diversify their forces in terms of race and gender, women in Eastern Iowa have an unprecedented opportunity to enter the field.
Police departments are recruiting women more aggressively than in the past. Some departments are offering incentives, such as signing bonuses.
Law enforcement officials are mindful of the benefits of having women in their departments.
For example, research shows female officers use physical force less often than male officers. Many Eastern Iowa officers say women bring different strengths, such as communication skills and empathy, that help them avoid using force.
Cedar Rapids has 19 female officers out of 199 total. Iowa City has eight women out of 68 officers. The Iowa State Patrol has 12 women in its 420-trooper force.
“Being a woman, there is an advantage because they are looking to hire women in law enforcement,” said Powills, who lives in Iowa City.
Powills, 32, has been working patrol since she completed the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy in September.
“Sometimes I still think, ‘Wow, I made it!’ I’m still finding out where my niche is. I think that’s how you round out a police force,” Powills said.
At the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy in Johnston, which trains more than 70 percent of Iowa’s police officers and sheriff’s deputies, 20 of the 243 trainees who went through basic training in fiscal 2001 were women.
There is a need for them. Fewer people have been applying for law enforcement jobs in recent years, said Arlen Ciechanowski, assistant director at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.
The decline in applicants has forced departments to compete for top candidates.
“What we’ve seen is some large departments want certified officers so badly, they are willing to pay out those contracts” of officers who have signed four-year deals with smaller departments, Ciechanowski said. “We’ve even had departments in the state offer signing bonuses.”
Brandi Macias, a 1997 University of Iowa graduate, signed a four-year contract when she joined the Coralville Police Department in 1998. In October 2000, Macias moved back to her home state of California and was offered a job at the Fremont Police Department.
“The opportunities are never-ending for women in law enforcement,” said Macias, 26. “I have been told by many agencies that women are an extreme asset to any department.”
Though Macias left after two years at Coralville, she did not repay her training costs, as required in her contract. She said several lawyers told her the four-year employment contract was not binding.
Female officers who entered law enforcement in the 1980s say more opportunities are available today for women.
“The departments have the goal of diversification, and the law enforcement community has become better at recognizing that varied backgrounds can help in law enforcement,” Iowa City Officer Deb Protaskey said.
Protaskey, 39, has been on the Iowa City force for 17 years. She has served on all shifts and for five years specialized in investigating child abuse and child sex abuse. She went back to patrol in January 2001. She works as a crime scene technician and negotiator on the Iowa City Special Response Team.
Hiring women to be police sometimes includes dealing with controversy about their physical strength and skill. In response to lawsuits alleging discrimination, some states enforce the same physical requirements for anyone who applies for law enforcement.
Iowa’s physical requirements for recruits are easier for women and older applicants.
Some female officers believe they can avoid using physical force by developing their verbal skills, Protaskey said. Other women feel it is important to be physically strong in case they need to use force.
Force is defined as any contact applied by an officer that significantly restricts or alters the actions of another or compels compliance with the demands or instructions of an officer.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police found in a 2001 study that female officers use physical force less often than male officers. Police officers avoid using force in 99 percent of calls for service, the study showed. But when they use force, men use physical force 72 percent of the time while women use physical force only 52 percent of the time.
Female officers opt for pepper spray 38 percent of the times they use force while men use the spray 32 percent of those times, the study shows.
Cedar Rapids police Sgt. Cristy Hamblin, 39, remembers times in her 18-year career when being a female police officer gave her an edge when force was necessary.
“I had a chase with a man,” Hamblin said. “As he turned around to swing at me, he realized I was a woman and he hesitated. That hesitation gave me enough time to handcuff him.”
Iowa State Trooper Amy Driscoll, 38, of Dyersville, said female troopers seem to be better at doing many tasks at once and have better communication skills than many male troopers.
There are exceptions, she said. Some men are excellent communicators and some women are not personable.
Driscoll has patrolled the highways of northeast Iowa for 18 years.
The State Patrol requires 19 weeks of training, which is six more than police or sheriff’s trainees, and troopers of both sexes must pass the same physical requirements.
Many women in the State Patrol gravitate toward investigative jobs that allow daytime hours, she said. Driscoll is one of three women in the State Patrol who works the roads.
Most police chiefs say they would not hire a less-qualified candidate just because she’s a woman.
“We always try to hire the best person,” said Phil Fordyce, acting chief of the Oelwein Police Department. “We see very few women or minorities, because there are bigger departments that pay better and have more opportunities.”
Oelwein’s 11-officer department hasn’t had a female officer since 1985, Fordyce said. “We’d love to have a qualified female candidate. If there are women sitting back and looking for a job, I would think law enforcement could use them now.”