Wichita force marks National Police Woman Day with first all-female squad
For the first time in history, the Wichita Police Department had an all-female squad working first shift at Patrol West on Sunday morning.
The squad, comprised of officers and supervisors who are all women, was arranged in honor of National Police Woman Day, celebrated annually on Sept. 12 to acknowledge women’s contributions and work in a historically male-dominated field.
Currently, the Wichita Police Department employs 107 commissioned officers who are women. More than 300 women work for the department overall in both commissioned and non-commissioned roles, the Wichita Police Department said.
Nationwide, roughly 11.7% of police officers are women, according to a post on the Wichita Police Department’s Facebook page.
Wichita’s commissioned police force, meanwhile, is about 17% female.
The department in recent years has worked to diversify, including recruiting more women into commissioned positions. In January 2020, Wichita police had a record number of female recruits — 12 — in a single academy class, or just over a third of 34 students.
In addition to arranging the first all-female squad, the Wichita Police Department also marked National Police Woman Day with a series of videos showcasing its female officers and with a Sunday morning ceremony where current and former female officers were each given a rose in appreciation of their service.
The roses were purchased using a donation from Loving Touch Home Health Care, the department said on Facebook.
You can see the video series on www.facebook.com/WichitaPolice.
This story was originally published September 12, 2021 at 2:36 PM.
