A Fair Chance for the Women in Blue

Sometimes the best thing that can happen to a reform-minded police chief is for some outside report to come along that advocates a course of action the chief already is pursuing. Something like that happened to Willie L. Williams the other day.

Although women cops ably perform in all areas of police duty, they still face mountains in trying to advance. Is that because too many officers still believe police work is men’s work?

A report by the Women’s Advisory Council to the Police Commission concluded that the LAPD’s hiring and promotion practices further a “culture of gender bias.” That finding is not new. The Christopher Commission investigated the LAPD after the Rodney King beating and found that gender bias was resulting in the “underutilization of female officers.” The report further warned that continued discrimination against women officers “could deprive the department of specific skills, and thereby contribute to the problem of excessive force.”

Studies have shown that women officers are often better able than men to de-escalate a potentially violent situation. That makes them well-suited for community policing. Women cops also are likely to do a better job than male officers when investigating child abuse complaints, rape cases and domestic abuse calls.

Chief Williams certainly recognizes the value of female officers. He backed a City Council resolution to boost the number of women officers from 14% to 44%, an impressive standard. The Women’s Advisory Council report should give him more of the political momentum he will need to approach that goal.