• Login
• My Profile
• Help

Search

Products Police Products Accident Reconstruction AEDs AFIS Ammunition Antennas Apparel Badges Bags and Cases Ballistic Shields Batons Bicycles Biometrics Body Armor Books and Training Materials CAD Cameras Cargo Storage Collectibles Communications Communications Interoperability Computer Forensics Concealable Armor Consoles Correctional Armor Corrections Products Crime Scene Investigation Crisis Communications Data/Information Sharing Software Dispatch Equipment DNA Forensics Duty Boots Duty Gear Emergency Lighting Emergency Preparedness Emergency Response Emergency Response Software EOD Evidence Management Eyewear False Alarm Management Financial Services Firearm Accessories Firearms Firearms Storage Fitness Flashlights Footwear For Cops, By Cops Forensic Supplies Gas Masks GIS/Mapping Software Gloves Gun Cleaning Gun Racks Handguns Headsets Helmets Holsters In Car Video Investigation Investigation Software Jail Management K9 Police Training K9 Products Knives Laser Sights Laser Traffic Enforcement Less Lethal License Plate Readers Light Bars Medical Supplies Mics Mobile Computers Mobile Data Motorcycle Accessories and Gear Motorcycles Mounts Night Vision Outerwear P25 Radios Partitions and Barriers Patrol Cars Personal Protective Equipment Personal Shields Personal Transportation Vehicles Police Robots Power Distribution Precision Rifle Prisoner Transport Projectiles and Launchers Public Safety Software Public Venue Protection Push Bumper Radar Radio/Wireless Networks Radios Report Writing Software Restraints Riot Gear RMS Satellite Communications Scheduling Search and Rescue Secure Communications Shooting Range Equipment Shotguns Sights and Scopes Simulation Software Sirens Software Specialty Vehicles Sprays and Aerosols Stinger Stun Guns Storage Surveillance Tactical Apparel Tactical Armor Tactical Entry Tactical Eyewear Tactical Footwear Tactical Headsets Tactical Medical / TEMS Tactical Products Tactical Video TASER Technology Thermal Imaging Traffic Enforcement Training Training Gear Training Products Training Services Training Simulators Undercover Undergear Uniforms Vehicle Equipment Vehicle Graphics Vehicles Video Analysis Video Surveillance Weapon Lights Wire Tap Systems Wireless Communications Wireless Handsets Wireless Networking WMD Equipment

• PoliceOne Email

Sponsors

Women Officers Resources

International Association of Women Police International Association of Women Police (IAWP) National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives Sameshield.com - Dedicated to Women in Law Enforcement Worldwide Scholarships and Benefits from the NRA More Links Submit A Listing

Featured Product Categories

Light Bars Forensic Supplies Duty Boots WMD Equipment Eyewear View All Categories

Women Officers Products

Featured Product:

EXT PLUS™ Tactical Outer Carrier from SAVVY™ Armor for Women

Women Officers Article

February 11, 2008

EmailPrintTalk BackRegisterWhat's This

Utah has only one female police chief

The Associated Press

GARLAND, Utah — Garland Police Chief Linda Bourne is one of a kind.

According to the Utah Chiefs of Police Association, she’s the only woman in the state running a police department. All the other chiefs are men.

Bourne has three officers — all men — to help her cover the community of 2,000 in northern Utah. The small staff means in addition to her police duties like patrolling and making arrests, she also gets to handle the administrative duties.

“I always wanted to be a secretary. I guess I still am on any given day,” Bourne said with a laugh.

Bourne isn’t alone as a woman in an industry that’s predominantly male. Nationally, women make up about 12 percent of law enforcement agencies. And according to a survey by the (Ogden) Standard-Examiner, the number in northern Utah is much lower. The newspaper found the average in Davis, Weber, Morgan and Box Elder counties is only about 5.4 percent.

Sgt. Betsy Brantner-Smith of the Naperville, Ill., Police Department, said it’s typical for smaller police agencies to have fewer women.

Brantner-Smith is a 28-year veteran officer. She travels the country teaching female officers “street survival” techniques and writes columns about women in police departments and other law enforcement issues.

“I think there should absolutely be more women cops,” she said. “Women have so much to offer. They bring some amazing inherent skills.”

Brantner-Smith said female officers may be better than males in certain situations. In other cases, men may be better.

“Our whole profession needs good men and women,” she said. “But an ideal police department reflects your population with women and minorities.”

During her tours, Brantner-Smith talks to female officers from all around the country and thinks things are generally getting much better for police women — especially from her earliest days as an officer.

“It was a bad atmosphere, and we were treated very badly,” she said. “My first sergeant said, ‘You know, I don’t believe in broads in the police force.’ “

She said those problems have mostly been addressed, especially in larger departments.

Bourne said she tries not to think of gender as an issue. She’s a police officer with the same sworn duties as the men in her department. Still, she would like to see more women in the field.

“When you talk about percentages, I don’t have an opinion on that,” she said. “I just think that, you know, women are needed.”





Back to previous page