Recently I was the closing keynote speaker for the California-based “Women Leaders in Law Enforcement” conference. As I listened in on the post-conference de-brief, I heard a detective talk about her experience as a conference volunteer. Her assignment to help staff the executive hospitality suite had given her access to all of the instructors as well as many chiefs and other executives, most of them female. Spending informal, one-on-one time with these potential mentors and role models made this officer’s conference experience an extremely valuable one. Training events and association conferences are almost always looking for volunteer help. Reaching out may prove to be invaluable to enhancing your career.
Enhance your career by volunteering
My column is undergoing a bit of an identity crisis. I’ve been writing for the Street Survival “Newsline” and the P1 Newsletter for several years. As a Street Survival seminar instructor, I write about officer safety and survival, but I’m also a supervisor, a mom, a trainer, a cop’s wife, and dare I say, a woman, so I’ve got a lot to say about any number of topics (what woman doesn’t?!), and I’ve always received great feedback from our readers. So when Police One approached me and asked me to author a monthly column dealing with women’s issues, I enthusiastically agreed. “What a great opportunity” I naively thought “to bring issues to light that both women and men in law enforcement could all relate to, perhaps discuss at roll call, and ultimately learn something from each other.” Yeah, just call me Sergeant Pollyanna…I forgot that by calling it a “women’s” column, not only will most of our male readers skip over it, but so will at least half our female readers. What?! Why in the world wouldn’t women read a “women’s” column?! Because, there are a lot of female crimefighters out there like me who have spent a lot of years just trying to blend in, to be “one of the guys” if you will…to be perceived as and conduct ourselves as “warriors,” not “victims.” We don’t want special treatment; we just want to be cops.