KING COUNTY, Wash. — It’s National Police Woman Day. It’s a holiday that recognizes and honors the contributions, courage, and resilience of women serving in law enforcement.
In the King County Sheriff’s office, 11 percent of the force is women, but they are hoping to change that.
Officials tell KIRO 7 they want to increase the number of women in the department by 30 percent by 2030.
We spoke with a mother-daughter duo at the King County Sheriff’s Office who says this initiative is very much needed.
“It’s a dream, it’s absolutely a dream,” shared Rebecca about working with her mother, Theresa.
Her father is also in law enforcement, but she says her parents didn’t pressure her career choices
“It never seeped through, it absolutely never did, she was always there. I could say yeah, my parents are cops, I’d seen them in uniforms, but they never brought their work home, they were both really good about that.”
They tell us the goal of increasing that number by 30 percent in the next five years won’t be easy.
“It’s difficult if you try to be a mom and raise a family. This profession is 24 7/365, you need a village if you are to have a family.”
A burden both women know all too well.
“I tried not to let her see it, but there were a lot of times I didn’t sleep, whether I wanted to be present with her schooling or with her sports or because I had to work that night,” Theresa says.
“My husband and I would meet up at the precinct, switch the car seats into one patrol that’s just getting off, and go from there.”
Both say law enforcement is what they are made to do, and hope others take on that calling
“Women in law enforcement is something that is needed in a big advocate for it I think we need more women in law enforcement, but we need the right women too.”
If you are interested in applying for the King County Sheriff’s Office, click here.
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