Women
have made a steady, satisfactory and modest strides in law enforcement since
the 1970s. “As of the end of 2002, an estimated 17 percent of recruits who
completed police academy training throughout the nation's police academies were
female (Horne, 2015).” Many police agencies have taken action to eliminate or
reduce employment barriers and improve working conditions. It is interesting
that this is occurring while the first generation of women officers in the
modern era started in 1972 is retiring and the second generation is coming on
board police agencies. The female baby-boomer officers who were hired by police
agencies in the 1970s and early 1980s now have more than 25 years of service and
either have retired or will be retiring in the next few years. In case there
are still lingering doubts in anyone's mind, the efforts of these women have
improved law enforcement and paved the way for even greater contributions by
the next generation of women police officers. Therefore, the future on woman in
policing is improving yearly. More women are becoming police officers and willing
to put their lives on the line to protect people from crimes in local cities
and states.