The Brunswick Police Department is the first municipal law enforcement agency in Maine to sign on to a national initiative to increase the number of female police officers, who currently make up about 12 percent of the country's police force.
Brunswick Police Chief Scott Stewart says the nonproift group 30x30 aims to grow female participation in law enforcement roles to 30 percent by 2030.
"I wanted to make sure we did what we could to break down those barriers, open up that philosophy of 'it doesn't matter what gender you are,'" Stewart said. "It's a great career opportunity and I encourage women to take a look at that."
Stewart said his last two hires were female officers and the department has 3 women in total, about 9 percent of the 33 officers on staff. Requirements for 30x30 include having gender specific uniforms and gear and separate rooms where a female officer could pump breast milk.
The University of Southern Maine's new police chief says it's one reason she accepted the job. Chief Grainne Perkins says flexible scheduling for women who are caregivers could attract more women to public safety jobs.
"We can accommodate those type of things with our schedule," Perkins said. "I think it's looking at flexibility and cleaning your lens and considering just because it's always been done like that doesn't mean it's the way we still have to do it."
Perkins is confident she can meet the 30 percent female officer goal by 2030, but she says more needs to be understood about why female officers are leaving jobs after only a few years. She also says militarized police academies need reforms to attract more women as well.
Nonprofit 30x30 reports that more than 300 police departments across the country have signed on to the initiative since 2021.
