OSWEGO – Mayor Billy Barlow has announced the Oswego City Police Department will participate in the “30×30 Pledge” – a series of low- and no-cost actions policing agencies can take to improve the representation and experiences of women in law enforcement.
The activities help policing agencies assess the current state of a department regarding gender equity, identify factors that may be driving any disparities and develop and implement strategies and solutions to eliminate barriers and advance women in policing.
These actions address recruitment, assessment, hiring, retention, promotion, and agency culture.
The Pledge is the foundational effort of the 30×30 Initiative – a coalition of police leaders, researchers, and professional organizations who have joined together to advance the representation and experiences of women in all ranks of policing across the U.S.
The 30×30 Initiative is affiliated with the Policing Project at NYU School of Law and the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives (NAWLEE).
The goal of the 30×30 Initiative is to reach 30 percent of women in police recruit classes by 2030, and to ensure policing agencies are truly representative of the jurisdiction the agency serves. While 30×30 is focused on advancing women in policing, these principles are applicable to all demographic diversity, not just gender.
“I’m proud to enter the Oswego Police Department into the 30×30 Initiative and to take the pledge to hire more women police officers, advance women officers to leadership positions, and commit to ensuring 30% of the Oswego Police Department is female by 2030,” Barlow said. “We have already made a concerted to diversify our police force and improve our department through our police re-imagining plan adopted last year. Now, we take our efforts to the next level by using this initiative to firmly commit to long term goals.”
More than 135 agencies – from major metro departments including the New York City Police Department, to mid-sized, rural, university and state policing agencies – have signed the 30×30 Pledge. The Pledge is based on social science research that greater representation of women on police forces leads to better policing outcomes for communities.
“This pledge means that the Oswego City Police Department is actively working, under Mayor Barlow’s leadership, toward improving the representation and experiences of women officers in our agency,” said Phil Cady, chief of the Oswego Police Department. “We are honored to be among the first in the nation to make this critical commitment, and we look forward to working with and learning from agencies across the country who share our priority.”
Currently, women make up only 12 percent of sworn officers and 3 percent of police leadership in the U.S. This underrepresentation of women in policing has significant public safety implications. Research suggests that women officers:
- Use less force and less excessive force
- Are named in fewer complaints and lawsuits
- Are perceived by communities as being more honest and compassionate
- See better outcomes for crime victims, especially in sexual assault cases
For more information, visit www.30x30initiative.org.
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isnt hiring based on gender illigal in ny state ?
wont this open the door to many lawsuits against the city ?
Why?
What about the queer nonbinary folks. Will you hire them?
Or should we hire the best qualified people regardless gender?