Constable Monica Cipriano, Detective Senior Constable Cath Swan, Senior Constable Mandy Watene, Detective Senior Constable Hayley Self, Senior Constable Jaye Lilley and Assistant Commissioner Tracy Linford inspire women to join the QPS
Commissioner Ian Stewart today celebrated the start of Queensland Women’s Week with the launch of the Queensland Police Service’s (QPS) new strategy to recruit more females.
At the end of 2015, HR and Recruiting teams began developing strategies to attract more women into the QPS.
Our commitment is to target a more balanced intake with the aspiration of increasing female recruitment to 50 per cent.
“During the inaugural Women’s Week celebrations, we’ll be sharing the stories of 10 of our successful female officers to inspire women to think ‘that could be me’,” Commissioner Stewart said.
“These 10 officers are everyday people who are motivated in their careers and have had significant successes within the QPS.
“They come from different backgrounds and hold various roles across the state and across our varied units.
“We hope that by sharing their inspirational stories and their love for their jobs, women will look at them and think ‘I want to be like her’.
“This recruitment strategy has been developed specifically to focus on increasing the interest of females and encourage them to pursue a career in policing.
“As a Service, we are keen to ensure that our strategies set the organisation up well for the future.
“We currently have a comparatively low number of women in positions within the Service.
As of June 30 2015, the Queensland Police Service had 11,875 police officers and recruits, 3,099 of those being female.
“Both the Service and Queensland will benefit from an increased presence of women on the frontline.
“A more balanced and diverse police organisation will mean a better service to the people of Queensland.
“We need to be more representative of the community as a whole and reflective of the community we serve.”
Recruiting staff will be spending the week delivering seminars, attending events, talking with potential recruits and handing out ‘That could be me’ materials across the state to promote this recruiting strategy.
“I can assure you that recruiting standards will remain the same. We’re trying to encourage more women to apply so we have a larger pool from which to select recruits.”
The 10 ambassadors for the week are:
- Assistant Commissioner Tracy Linford (Intelligence, Counter-Terrorism and Major Events Command),
- Senior Sergeant Anna Dwyer (Ethical Standards Command),
- Detective Senior Constable Cath Swan (Stock and Rural Crime Investigation Squad, Forest Hill),
- Detective Senior Constable Hayley Self (Child Protection Offender Registry, Bundaberg),
- Senior Constable Christine Beattie (Officer in Charge, Pentland Police Station),
- Senior Constable Jaye Lilley (Brisbane Dog Squad),
- Senior Constable Mandy Watene (Forensic Scientifics Section),
- Senior Constable Rozy Henriksen (Road Policing Unit, Gold Coast),
- Constable Jael Jackwitz (General Duties, Bowen Police Station),
- Constable Monica Cipriano (General Duties, Inala Police Station).
Senior Constable Henriksen, one of the first two of the Service’s female motorcycle officers, said policing was a rewarding job.
“I think the best thing about the job is the freedom I have, not only in my daily tasks, but in my career. I have had many careers in one and worked in a number of different sections,” Senior Constable Henriksen said.
The Service’s highest ranking female officer Assistant Commissioner Linford said she encouraged women to consider policing as a career.
“If you’re thinking about it, give it that little bit of extra thought and make it happen,” Assistant Commissioner Linford said.