Schulz is giving a presentation on the topic today at the 7th
annual Australasian Women and Policing Conference in
Australia. In November, CPCA will host its sixth Women
Leaders in Law Enforcement Training Symposium.
Twenty years ago, when Lucy Carlton was sworn in as Los
Altos Police Chief, there were only two other women chiefs
in California.
There are “so many variables” that determine whether
somebody makes a good chief, she says. “I don’t believe
gender plays as big a role,” she said, arguing that factors such
as experience, communications skills and ability to get along
with city management are far more important.
She attributes the higher numbers “to the great mentoring
and coaching these chiefs have received from both the men
and women in their own departments as well as those in our
profession.”
Alicia Powers, who in 1996 retired from Hercules PD near
San Francisco, adds: “As the pioneers in each role have
proven capable of performing the job well, that has made
the road easier for those who have followed.”
Fremont Police Chief Craig Steckler expressed a similar
sentiment.
“I am sure there are still a number of male officers in our
profession that cannot fully accept a female as a partner, but
this number is very much diminished from when I started
in this profession,” says Steckler, who serves on the board
of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and is a
past president of CPCA. “The fact is women are every bit
as good as men in performing the essential functions of our
job.”
For her part, Urban says she hasn’t thought much about
gender since starting her new job. She’s too busy getting
acquainted with staff, city management and the community.
Technology needs to be upgraded. Strategies need to be
developed to improve public safety after a recent reduction
in sworn staff from 200 to 190 officers.
Doing better with fewer resources is nothing new for
Urban.
“I come from San Jose where we cut 184 sworn positions,”
and still served the public effectively, she said.
She says lines between gender, race and sexual orientation
are blurring in law enforcement.
San Jose Police Chief Chris Moore described her departure
as a loss of one of “our best and brightest.”
“I suspect, however, that there are still some locations where
acceptance has been harder to achieve,” she says. “Someday,
the ideal will be that hiring and promoting authorities are
blind… and promote strictly on ability.”
Added Judge LaDoris Cordell, the city’s Independent Police
Auditor. “Diane broke the glass ceiling at SJPD by virtue of
her hard work and determination. I have no doubt that she
will bring that same work ethic and determination to her
new job as the Chief of Police in Hayward.”
Urban holds a master’s degree in public safety from the
University of Boston, and her achievements in track and
field fill the record books at Cal State East Bay, where she
holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. The three-time
national champion and two-time All-American discus
thrower broke the national record in 1985. She also holds
the school record in the javelin and ranks second in the shot
put.
“They hired me to do a job and gender really is a peripheral
variable,” she says. “I don’t think about it. To me, it’s about
fit and qualifications. I am here to provide leadership and
to ensure we continue to provide excellent service to the
community.” •
Cypress Chief Jackie Gomez-Whiteley and (Ret.) Orange
Lt. John Whiteley
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Behind The Badge