- The Fayetteville Police Department is aiming to increase its female officer representation to 30% by 2030, joining the nationwide 30x30 initiative.
- Currently, women make up 21% of the force, higher than the national average of less than 14%.
- Research suggests female officers use less excessive force, receive fewer complaints and are perceived as more compassionate.
The Fayetteville Police Department aims to reach a goal of 30% for its women in blue in the next five years.
The nationwide 30X30 initiative, which began in 2021, highlights the benefits of having women in law enforcement roles. Other North Carolina police departments participating in the initiative are in Burlington, Chapel Hill, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Durham, Elon, Fuquay Varina, Garner, New Bern, Raleigh and Salisbury. The initiative's website states that women represent less than 14% of sworn officers nationwide and that 40% of approximately 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the country have no full-time female officers
Sgt. Kendra Faire is a 14-year veteran of the Fayetteville Police Department and has worked in the department's Recruitment Division for the past three years. Faire said 21% of officers are female and believes a goal of 30% in the sworn ranks by 2030 is attainable.
“We typically are higher than the national average, but we try to really focus on hiring females and hiring more minorities in hopes that our police department can actually reflect the public they are serving,” Faire said.
According to the 2020 Census, women made up 49.1% of Fayetteville's population, and 42.3% of the population was Black, 38% was White and the remainder were native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, Asian, Hispanic and Latino and American Indian and Alaska native.
Police spokesperson Rickelle Harrell said the department has 75 female officers out of the current roster of 356 sworn officers. Faire said there are 114 vacant positions.
Why recruit women?
Faire said research shows that women use less excessive force, have fewer complaints and are seen by communities as being more honest and compassionate. She also said that women "make fewer discretionary arrests, especially of non-white residents.”
She specifically highlighted divisions like the Special Victim's Unit that could benefit from a female officer and said more female patrol officers would help in domestic violence and sexual assault cases.
“That's the first officer that the victim is going to come into contact with,” she said.
One way the Police Department has tried to reach out to women in Fayetteville is through open houses, which they hold twice a year, Faire said. During the open houses, women interested in a career in law enforcement have the chance to speak with female officers to discuss what the job is like and the steps necessary to join the department.
"I know a big thing with women is having to make sure we secure childcare and make sure home life is still OK, so we tend to tell our stories to those women to let them know, ‘Hey, you can do this, too.' You just have to have a support system behind you,” Faire said.
Faire said the last open house was earlier in April, and the department anticipates hosting another in September.
The initiative is important to Faire, who said she wants to set a good example for her daughter and other women throughout the county.
“I would just like to be a representation of what other women can do if they put their mind to it,” she said. “For my own daughter, to let her know you shouldn’t be counted out and you can do things that are even outside of your own realm of possibility.”
Information on Fayetteville Police Department hiring can be found at joinfaypd.com, or by contacting Officer Ciarra King at 910-433-1842 or ciarraking@fayettevillenc.gov.
Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.
