(HorizonPost.com) – Over the last two years, the Metropolitan-Nashville Police Department has made several adjustments to recruitment as part of an effort to reach its goal of having women make up 30 percent of its police force by 2030, The Washington Examiner reported.
Among the changes, the police department has done away with the physical ability tests required of every recruit and also added so-called “lactation rooms” for breastfeeding mothers.
The Metro Nashville police in March 2022 joined the 30×30 Initiative, a national movement to ensure that 30 percent of all police are women by 2030. In joining the initiative, the department boasted that it would help to “develop a culture that is inclusive, respectful, and supportive of its female officers.”
Nashville Police Chief John Drake celebrated the 2nd anniversary of the department joining the 30×30 Initiative by claiming that recruiting more women to serve as police officers would make Nashville “safer and more inclusive.”
Last week, Nashville’s WSMV-4 aired a segment on the program that included some of the new police trainees.
Since launching the initiative, the Nashville Police Department has placed more emphasis on recruiting trainees with empathy and critical thinking skills rather than physical strength.
The department discontinued using the US military’s health and fitness standards to determine if a recruit was fit for entry into the academy. Instead, the trainees’ agility is graded on tests that seek to mirror tasks they would encounter on the job.
Commander Tiffany Gibson, the MNPD’s first female director of training, told WSMV that the department can achieve the 30 percent goal now that it has made changes to attract more female recruits.
In addition to adding lactation rooms for breastfeeding mothers, the department has implemented more flexible work schedules to accommodate women.
Commander Gibson told WSMV that the department may also help to sponsor a childcare facility for officers with children.
One MNPD female officer told WSMV that she would like to see more female officers in patrol vehicles and leadership positions within the department.
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