12-31-2007, 12:22 AM
A nice article found in the Tallahassee Democrat about your current Director, Cynthia Hill.
http://tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar ... /712290308 (http://tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071229/NEWS01/712290308)
Women officers rising in ranks of law enforcement
By Nic Corbett
It was a different time for women in law enforcement when Cynthia Hill began as a Florida Highway Patrol trooper in Broward County in 1982.
Recently appointed director for the state Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, Hill has now risen to the top in a male-dominated field. She is the first woman to hold the position.
Back when Hill was a trooper, women were not well-received in the profession, she said. Female troopers were not perceived as being effective backup when the going got tough. They were not seen as strong as men. Her first year on the job was the most difficult.
"Some troopers did not want to train me because their wives didn't want me in their cars," she said.
Women make up about 20 percent of law enforcement at both the Tallahassee Police Department and the Leon County Sheriff's Office. Police officer Katie O'Brien said this is better than some law-enforcement agencies in the country, some of which are only 7 to 12 percent female.
O'Brien, who is about to retire after 25 years of service, said she was part of the first wave of women to become officers at the Tallahassee Police Department after a class-action lawsuit in the late 1970s forced TPD to start hiring women and minorities.
"This was all very new, especially for the South," she said. "I remember there were a lot of very skeptical men, and a lot of them felt that women couldn't do the job."
Her first five years were the hardest, she said. At times, male officers wouldn't show up when the female officer needed back up until things had calmed down.
"Several men were 10 times tougher on us than they were on the new male officers," she said.
O'Brien said some of the women got tired of fighting it.
Back when O'Brien started in law enforcement with an internship at the Orange County Sheriff's Office, a major told her, "Now an ugly woman I can understand. But a pretty woman, you don't have to do this."
Tallahassee residents had to adjust to the change, too. O'Brien recalls responding to a burglary and having the victim tell her, "What's the world coming to? A meter maid with a gun?"
"Several times I had to call the sergeant and he had to say, 'This is your officer. She'll provide good service,'" she said.
Leon County Sheriff Larry Campbell said most of the applicants his office gets are from men.
"If it can get to be 50 percent, that's fine with me," he said. "A good woman is just as good as a good man."
However, he said men are more suited for the physical aspect of the job because many of them have grown up playing contact sports and have experienced getting hurt in a fight.
Sgt. Nancy Burns of the Sheriff's Office started as a police officer in Miami in the late 1970s.
"Back then, we were some of the first ones," she said. "Thank God we had some women that led the way, that opened the door for us."
Men weren't certain about having women working alongside them at first, she said. But all women needed to do was show they were willing to do the same tasks that men do.
"I think if we did use our femininity as an excuse to not do something, that would definitely have hurt us," she said.
Burns said it's important for agencies to have men and women officers because both have unique qualities that are important on the job.
"I think that women have more of a calming influence on the scene," she said. "We're not going to come in all ready to go and fight. We're going to go more for the other way, trying to calm the situation by talking, using your brain and your mouth instead of your brawn."
Things could still improve for female officers. Officer Sandra Harrison said she has issues with the police uniform.
"They haven't been quite tailored to fit a female," she said.
Reporter Amanda Nalley contributed to this report.
Contact reporter Nic Corbett at (850) 599-2161 or ncorbett@tallahassee.com.
http://tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar ... /712290308 (http://tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071229/NEWS01/712290308)
Women officers rising in ranks of law enforcement
By Nic Corbett
It was a different time for women in law enforcement when Cynthia Hill began as a Florida Highway Patrol trooper in Broward County in 1982.
Recently appointed director for the state Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, Hill has now risen to the top in a male-dominated field. She is the first woman to hold the position.
Back when Hill was a trooper, women were not well-received in the profession, she said. Female troopers were not perceived as being effective backup when the going got tough. They were not seen as strong as men. Her first year on the job was the most difficult.
"Some troopers did not want to train me because their wives didn't want me in their cars," she said.
Women make up about 20 percent of law enforcement at both the Tallahassee Police Department and the Leon County Sheriff's Office. Police officer Katie O'Brien said this is better than some law-enforcement agencies in the country, some of which are only 7 to 12 percent female.
O'Brien, who is about to retire after 25 years of service, said she was part of the first wave of women to become officers at the Tallahassee Police Department after a class-action lawsuit in the late 1970s forced TPD to start hiring women and minorities.
"This was all very new, especially for the South," she said. "I remember there were a lot of very skeptical men, and a lot of them felt that women couldn't do the job."
Her first five years were the hardest, she said. At times, male officers wouldn't show up when the female officer needed back up until things had calmed down.
"Several men were 10 times tougher on us than they were on the new male officers," she said.
O'Brien said some of the women got tired of fighting it.
Back when O'Brien started in law enforcement with an internship at the Orange County Sheriff's Office, a major told her, "Now an ugly woman I can understand. But a pretty woman, you don't have to do this."
Tallahassee residents had to adjust to the change, too. O'Brien recalls responding to a burglary and having the victim tell her, "What's the world coming to? A meter maid with a gun?"
"Several times I had to call the sergeant and he had to say, 'This is your officer. She'll provide good service,'" she said.
Leon County Sheriff Larry Campbell said most of the applicants his office gets are from men.
"If it can get to be 50 percent, that's fine with me," he said. "A good woman is just as good as a good man."
However, he said men are more suited for the physical aspect of the job because many of them have grown up playing contact sports and have experienced getting hurt in a fight.
Sgt. Nancy Burns of the Sheriff's Office started as a police officer in Miami in the late 1970s.
"Back then, we were some of the first ones," she said. "Thank God we had some women that led the way, that opened the door for us."
Men weren't certain about having women working alongside them at first, she said. But all women needed to do was show they were willing to do the same tasks that men do.
"I think if we did use our femininity as an excuse to not do something, that would definitely have hurt us," she said.
Burns said it's important for agencies to have men and women officers because both have unique qualities that are important on the job.
"I think that women have more of a calming influence on the scene," she said. "We're not going to come in all ready to go and fight. We're going to go more for the other way, trying to calm the situation by talking, using your brain and your mouth instead of your brawn."
Things could still improve for female officers. Officer Sandra Harrison said she has issues with the police uniform.
"They haven't been quite tailored to fit a female," she said.
Reporter Amanda Nalley contributed to this report.
Contact reporter Nic Corbett at (850) 599-2161 or ncorbett@tallahassee.com.