To diversify its force and attract more female officers, the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) has introduced lactation rooms for nursing mothers and substituted its physical exam with an agility test.
According to the national 30×30 plan, there will be 30% more female police officers by 2030, which is in line with the department’s pledge to that goal. Much has transpired since the force enlisted in the endeavor in 2021.
The first female head of the Metro Police Department Training Academy, Commander Tiffany Gibson, told WSMV4 that the 30% objective is “definitely attainable.”
An agility exam, more indicative of real-world situations, has supplanted the academy’s old physical ability test. The prior benchmark, the Cooper benchmark for Law Enforcement Physical Assessment, was replaced. It comprised several strength training exercises, such as push-ups and sit-ups, timed 300-meter and 1.5-mile runs, a vertical jump, and other similar exercises.
According to the department’s website, some of the new test events include an obstacle course with sharp turns, curb height changes, and a nearly 3-foot obstacle that must be vaulted. There is a rescue simulation where teams must drag a 100-pound “lifelike” person 32 feet. Applicants must climb a four-foot chain link fence and run about 500 yards.
One in eleven law enforcement officers was a woman last year. This year, it recorded a growth rate of 13%.
The organization has introduced more accommodating scheduling and specialized nursing areas in every precinct to attract more women.
An MNPD official said that increasing the proportion of female police officers is the program’s primary goal.
The ongoing shortage of police officers in many American communities has prompted this change in hiring practices. As a result of low morale among police officers, several cities are grappling with severe staffing shortages in the aftermath of the 2020 riots, which started with the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers.
These cities include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Seattle.
