Police push for gender equality

Wednesday 06 March 2019

Nearly a third of the Police's workforce is female, but the organisation says more work needs to be done to show the profession shouldn't be male-dominated.

While the number of female police officers has increased in the past 10 years, rising to 32.8%, ahead of the UK, the force says more work needs to be done to achieve complete gender equality.

In a bid to bust myths about women in the police force, Jersey Police will be sharing a series of social media posts showcasing the invaluable work of female officers and police staff in support of International Women’s Day and gender equality this week.

Pictured: Female members of the Police workforce.

The posts will highlight the work of a number of female officers and police staff to show the breadth of their roles and ranks, using the strapline “any role, any rank, no barriers".

It is hoped the campaign will help get rid of the idea that there are barriers to employment within the island’s Police force for women and to show that even the most seemingly male-dominated professions can, and should, change.

With 65 female officer out of a total of 198, women currently represent a third (32.8%) of the force. 10 years ago, they represented 26.9% of the force. That proportion is only slightly higher than in England and Wales where women make up 30% of police officers.

Alison Fossey (pictured top) is one of the local women showing that gender is not an obstacle to joining the force or climbing the ranks, she was the first female officer to hold the rank of Acting Superintendent in the history of the States of Jersey Police.

Pictured: Jersey's Police want to share the message that gender shouldn't be a barrier to a career with them.

She said the force was "absolutely committed" to becoming "completely gender equal".

"We must strive for a police force that is entirely reflective of the community we serve. It’s not just women who can benefit from this, we need to extend these opportunities to other under-represented groups," DCI Fossey commented.

She explained that, while there has been "significant success" in some areas - four out of the five Detective Inspectors in the force are female - there is still a lot of work to be done. “We recognise that there is still a long way to go and that there are no quick fixes. It’s about recruiting and training the right people, which takes time.”