Taking place in Grand Rapids Tuesday and Wednesday is the Michigan State Police Women in Law Enforcement Conference.
MSP Inspector Sarah Krebs is the agency’s chief diversity officer and tells us the event has drawn about 450 women in law enforcement from all over the state.
“We started in 2018 with the hopes to bring women together in the field of law enforcement to network, to learn from each other, and to pass along our knowledge to the upcoming to network, to learn from each other, and to pass along our knowledge to the upcoming recruits that are coming through our ranks,” Krebs said.
Krebs says with a recruitment shortage, more women are being sought by police. Michigan State Police are pursuing the 30 By 30 Initiative, seeking to have 30% of recruit school candidates be women by 2030.
Krebs says there are unique challenges faced by women when they go into law enforcement.
“It’s a male-dominated field, for one. Some women could be a little bit intimidated by that coming into it. We do have a lot of women that leave the profession. Women are usually caregivers and givers of of life and having children and being in the profession can be hard.”
The conference kicked off Tuesday with remarks from Governor Gretchen Whitmer and MSP Director James Grady. The rest of the day featured presentations by women working in several branches of law enforcement. Panel discussions were also taking place.
Krebs advises anyone interested in a career in law enforcement to reach out to a recruiter.
