Warwickshire Police to Boost Female Officers

Coinciding with International Women's Month in March, Warwickshire Police is encouraging women to find out more about a career with the police.

Of the 1,021 officers in the county, just 207 are women, something the force recognises must change if it is to better reflect the community it serves.

There has been a perception for a long time that policing is a man's career but Supt Karen Harfield, the force's most senior female police officer, says it is not a man's world. While she acknowledges the Warwickshire force is male-dominated, she believes it doesn't make any difference what sex you are.

"At the end of the day we are all doing the same job," she said. "Women are just as capable as men and there are an increasing number of women in the higher ranks including several chief constables."

The 37-year-old is also the chair of the Special Interest Group on Gender, which promotes the understanding of issues that affect women within the organisation.

They are hoping to make it easier for women to have a career in the police force by ensuring awareness of family friendly policies, such as flexitime, and that such policies are user friendly as well as identifying barriers and perceived barriers, which may prevent women fulfilling their full potential within the service.

She said: "We want to encourage more women to join the organisation and empower them to take their career into their own hands.

"Women have been shown to excel in their ability to build teams, manage projects, multi-task and communicate effectively, which are all areas that are highly valued by the police. Women have a lot to offer, however, organisations have not yet fully adjusted to support their needs. As an organisation we need to change to make sure we attract this valuable section of the community. We have come a long way in recognising that within the service we need to be more flexible in employing people."

She gave up a job as a market analyst 13 years ago to become a police officer.

"I wanted to do something that would help improve people's lives, something that was challenging and was different on a day to day basis," she said.

Karen has had a varied career with the force. She started as a beat police officer and later roles, which included custody sergeant and control room inspector as well as time in CID.

She has also had the opportunity to work outside Warwickshire Police on a secondment to the National Crime Squad, returning to become the head of intelligence and is now in charge of strategic development for the force. She said: "In order to provide the full range of services in an appropriate manner for the community we police we need to ensure our diverse communities are represented within the workforce."

But despite her demanding career it has not stopped her having a family.

"I have a 22-month-old and I would not say that it is significantly harder to be a mother in the police force, than in any other organisation," she said.

Warwickshire Police has been inviting prospective recruits to awareness evenings to give an insight into the processes involved in joining and what it's like to work as an officer.

There are plans for another of these in the summer. For further information please contact Seamus Faulkner, outreach recruitment officer, on 01926 415118 or look at the website www.policecouldyou.co.uk or the careers section of this website.