The Saint Paul Police Department has become the first law enforcement agency in Minnesota to join the “30x30 Initiative,” a nationwide movement to recruit more women into the law enforcement profession.

On Friday, April 9, Police Chief Todd Axtell signed the “30x30 Pledge,” committing the police department to a series of series of low- and no-cost activities designed to improve the representation and experiences of women in the department.

The goal is to increase the representation of women in police recruit classes to 30 percent by 2030 and to ensure police policies and culture intentionally support the success of women officers throughout their careers. 

Currently, women make up about 12 percent of sworn police officers and less than 3 percent of police leadership in the United States. The Saint Paul Police Department is made up of 17.4 percent female officers and 20 of percent of leadership positions, including sergeants, commanders and two deputy chiefs leading the operations and community engagement divisions.

Axtell notes that research shows that women officers are trusted by their communities, have high levels of interpersonal communication skills and bring a calming effect to high-stress and dangerous situations.

“Studies demonstrate that communities and police departments benefit from having more female police officers,” he said. “Unfortunately, there are barriers that prevent women from pursuing careers in law enforcement. We’re looking forward to incorporating the 30x30 activities into our current recruitment efforts, breaking through those barriers and doubling (at least) the number of women serving the city of Saint Paul as officers.”

Signing the pledge is the first step in the 30x30 Initiative. In addition, Deputy Chief Julie Maidment will lead an effort to assess its gender equity, identify factors that may be driving any disparities, implement solutions to eliminate barriers and advance women in policing.

More than 35 agencies—from major metro departments including the New York City Police Department, to mid-sized, rural, university and state policing agencies—have signed the 30x30 Pledge. The Pledge is based on social science research that greater representation of women on police forces leads to better policing outcomes for communities.

The 30x30 Initiative was developed by a coalition of police leaders, researchers and professional organizations, including the founding partners of Policing Project and the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives, as well as the Police Executive Research Forum, the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, the National Police Foundation and the International Association of Women in Police.

“We are grateful to the Saint Paul Police Department for being one of the first in the nation to commit to being a part of this growing movement” said Maureen McGough, co-founder of the 30x30 Initiative, Chief of Staff of the Policing Project at the New York University School of Law, and former policing expert at the U.S. Department of Justice. “We believe strongly that advancing women in policing is critical to improving public safety outcomes. We look forward to having more agencies follow the SPPD’s lead by signing the pledge and improving the representation and experiences of women in policing.”

For more information, visit www.30x30initiative.org

Last Edited: April 9, 2021