By Kaitlyn Klepec
The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Normal first responders are looking to make their departments more reflective of the communities they serve, including recruiting more women.
While women make up about half of the United States population, only 12% of police officers are women, according to the National Policing Institute.
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“Ultimately, a department that reflects the diversity of its community is a stronger, more effective department. That’s not just my belief — it’s backed by research and, more importantly, by the experience of working alongside exceptional women in this profession every day,” said Normal Police Chief Steve Petrilli.
Preliminary research findings suggest women in law enforcement use less force and excessive force than men, and women are named proportionately less often in complaints and lawsuits, according to research published in the American Journal of Criminal Justice .
Although women officers in Bloomington - Normal say their professional experience aligns with those findings, they have not always felt they could measure up to their male counterparts.
Discrimination against women in law enforcement
Officer Kim Ridlen of the Illinois State University Police Department said early in her career, a male superior at an agency in Knox County made a comment that almost made her quit.
“A lieutenant straight up told me to my face, women do not make as good of cops as guys do,” Ridlen said. “It was a good old boy network.”
Although she worked with other commanding officers who were “fantastic” and there were a few other women in that department during the more than seven years she spent at that agency, Ridlen decided to make a change, hoping for a less aggressive approach to policing, more focused on problem solving through listening.
“If you look at the statistics, women have a lower reported use of force, and women have a lower reported complaints that come in. Statistics don’t lie,” Ridlen said.
Her experience coming to ISU almost seven years ago was entirely different, she said. Unlike her former department, several women welcomed her to the university’s police force.
One of those women was Deputy Chief Nichol Bleichner, who served ISU for 24 years and had an extensive career in law enforcement before that.
When Bleichner started at ISUPD, 10 women were on staff, “which is unheard of,” she said. “We had more per capita than any other police department in the state of Illinois when I first started.”
Her transition to that team came naturally, Bleichner said, because the ISU’s police department had already established a rapport not only among the officers, but also with the university they served.
She also noted the police department hosts self-defense classes for women in the community.
“Sometimes being a woman is an advantage; sometimes being a woman is not,” Bleichner said, explaining that she experienced bias and disrespect at other law enforcement agencies in her career.
But she did not let that negativity discourage her. Bleichner said she continues to learn, and she prides herself in knowing her job and how to do it well.
"(As a woman), if you want to be a police officer, you really need to learn, you need to be smart, and that’s what you rely on,” she said. “Because there will be people out there that will take advantage of that, and for whatever reason, you just need to make sure that you have all your ducks in a row.”
Women who work in the Bloomington and Normal police departments told The Pantagraph they feel a sense of community and support from peers and administrators alike.
Bloomington, Normal and ISU officers said they have worked hard to expand the number of women on staff, and they are committed to building a “culture of respect, inclusion and mutual support.”
In Bloomington - Normal, both municipal departments have enlisted in the 30X30 initiative, a goal to reach 30% female officers by 2030.
The Normal Police Deportment is 12% women, with 10 sworn female officers, right in the national average of roughly 12-15%, but the Bloomington Police Department has eight sworn officers who are women, making up 5% of its force.
ISUPD has 29 officers, and seven are women.
A woman’s perspective
Women officers across Bloomington - Normal agreed their departments lean on women to solve certain crimes. For example, they are often requested on sexual assault cases and other sensitive cases, said Detective Nicole Bruno of Normal police.
Madison Castillo, also an officer for Normal, said, “Last week, I had three. It happens all the time.”
Bleichner credited women’s compassion, “not necessarily that men lack, but it’s just different,” she said.
Although men are also victims of sexual assault, women experience sexual violence at a disproportionately higher rate. One in 10 men experience sexual assault, compared to 1 in 6 women, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.
Bleichner and the other officers said women typically prefer talking to another woman when they are victims of sexual or domestic violence, especially when they were hurt by a man.
“But it goes with all the other diversity, that is important, too,” Bleichner added.
The ISUPD deputy chief compared the experience to some women being more comfortable with a female doctor.
Bloomington Police Officer Jordan Tieman said women’s perspectives can contributed to them being good police officers.
“Obviously, we know that men and women think differently, the way your actual brain is structured. So you go to a call with a male officer, and your approach might be different, and sometimes, your approach might be better,” Tieman said.
Sexual assault, domestic violence cases, and cases involving children are among the cases Tieman said she believes women are more suited to handle.
Ridlen also noted women police officers have different bedside manner than their male counterparts, which helps them communicate and be empathic with victims.
Police administrators agreed.
“When a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault comes forward, having a female officer available can make the difference between someone sharing their story or staying silent. That matters enormously to the outcomes we’re able to achieve,” Petrilli said.
Why law enforcement?
While some of the women officers always knew they wanted to get into law enforcement, others found themselves in this profession by chance.
For Bruno, the path was linear. Her uncle worked in law enforcement and inspired her from a young age, she said.
Then, in junior high, she and her dad were in a bad car crash, in which they were hit by a drunk driver. Bruno said she felt more solidified in her dream to work in law enforcement when her former D.A.R.E. (drug abuse resistance education) officer responded to the scene.
“Just seeing him immediately calmed me, reassured me, and it was a pretty bad accident. Then it just kind of kept reaffirming, yes, this is what I want to do,” the detective said, now in her 23rd year in law enforcement.
Bleichner said she has known since she was 13 that she wanted to be a police officer. She recalled when her uncle, former Bloomington Police Chief Dennis O’Brien, came home while she was watching a scary movie at his house with her cousin.
“He was working midnights, and he stood in the doorway,” Bleichner said. “I just remember him standing there in his full uniform, and I got scared because he scared us. But when I looked up at him, I was like, ‘That’s what I want to be when I grow up.’”
Similarly, Ridlen knew she wanted to get into law enforcement since she was little, hoping to become a Secret Service agent, like her dad, who tried to discourage her and her brother from going into law enforcement.
Neither sibling listened, and they both are now police officers, Ridlen said with a laugh.
Bleichner and Bruno studied criminal justice at Illinois State University , where they earned bachelor’s degrees. Bleichner also holds a master’s degree in legal studies. Ridlen has a bachelor’s and master’s in law enforcement and justice administration, which she attained from Western Illinois University .
For Tieman and Castillo, law enforcement came to them in other ways.
Castillo was in nursing school, when she found her calling in law enforcement. Just a year away from earning her degree, she reevaluated her future and transferred to ISU to pursue criminal justice.
“Along with the same lines of nursing, of caring for people, you know, that first responder, that public servant route, being able to make that change, that impact,” is what drove her, she said.
Tieman, who has been with the Bloomington Police Department for nine years, also saw herself working in health care. She studied biology and was pre-med at Southern Illinois University , with minors in chemistry and forensic science.
She always had an interest in crime, and initially her goal was to become a forensic pathologist. But after realizing she “didn’t want to go to school for a billion years,” she decided to go the “crime scene route” and became a police officer.
Increasing representation
Petrilli said he was proud when his department promoted its first female supervisor, Sgt. Serena Cunningham , marking a “significant milestone” in the history of the Normal Police Department.
“Having women in law enforcement isn’t just good policy, it’s good policing. Women officers consistently demonstrate strong communication and de-escalation skills that help us resolve situations peacefully and build trust with the communities we serve,” Petrilli said.
Officers and leaders in other departments agreed, noting the importance of having local police forces that have representation of all genders and races.
“I mean, 50% of our population is women, so if you’re looking at trying to get demographics that are reflective of the community, you got to have women representation,” Ridlen said.
The officers also said they have an opportunity to set an example for young girls, listing that as another important reason to have more women in law enforcement.
“You want to be a role model for younger girls and teenage girls that might want to do this job someday,” Tieman said. “If they don’t see other females doing a role like this, then they might not even consider that for themselves.”
Castillo said the Normal Police Department offers an inviting atmosphere, thanks to other women who came before her, like Bruno.
“Be true to yourself. At the end of the day, the job is going to require a lot out of you, and as long as you have good, solid morals, and you stay true to that, you’ll succeed in this career,” Castillo said.
Bruno agreed, adding, “This is exciting to me, to see young women getting into this field.”
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