By Gillaila Thomas
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
The Baltimore County Police Department has signed a pledge to increase by 30 percent the number of women on its force by 2030.
The pledge, known as the 30×30 Initiative, will be applicable to all applicants while focusing on the advancement of women in policing, officials said.
“We are grateful to the Baltimore County Police Department for being one of the first in the nation to commit to being a part of this growing movement,” said Maureen McGough, co-founder of the 30×30 Initiative who is Chief of Staff of the Policing Project at the New York University School of Law.
McGough also worked as a policing expert at the U.S. Department of Justice.
“I’m elated that our agency is on the forefront of this national collaboration which aligns directly with our focus to increase diversity across the agency,” said Baltimore County Police Chief Melissa Hyatt.
Across the United States, police departments are joining the effort to increase the representation of women in all ranks of policing. Currently in the U.S., women only make up 12% of sworn officers and 3% of police leadership. McGough said the 30×30 Initiative should help advance strategies and solutions to hire more women as well as eliminate barriers to women recruitment.
More than 35 agencies have signed the 30×30 pledge, which officials said should lead to better policing outcomes in communities that have been at odds with the police. The policing project at NYU School of Law and the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives are connected to the 30×30 Initiative.
“Policing — everyday policing — is about social services: domestic violence cases, dealing with people’s mental health problems, getting victims to open up, negotiating,” McGough told CNN in an interview. “But recruitment ads you see for police are still using that macho guy with a gun. And the physical fitness tests to get into the police academy still favor upper body strength, something that has nothing to do with how good a cop you’re going to be.”