For years, Julie McInnis wanted to be a cop. After raising two sons, she decided last fall that the time was right. Now McInnis leads other recruits on long, grueling runs preparing for June entrance into the Los Angeles Police Academy in Westchester.
School bus driver Karen Smith, meanwhile, sought a dramatic career change after she and her husband of 10 years divorced. Today, she's a Los Angeles Police Department cadet with 3 1/2 months of academy classes remaining, eager to begin patrolling the streets.
McInnis and Smith are among a growing number of women turning in their workaday lives for a badge, beneficiaries of an LAPD drive to recruit and train more female officers. Gone are the days when the LAPD would simply recruit brawny men from military bases or security firms. Now the department, under pressure from City Hall, is seeking women of all backgrounds--from hairdressers to homemakers to insurance claims adjusters.
"You can be 5 feet tall and 90 pounds, or 6 feet 3 inches and 200 pounds--either way you can still do the job," said Sgt. Lita Abella, vice president of the Los Angeles Women Police Officers' Assn.
Currently, female officers account for 16% of the almost 8,000-officer department, up from only 2% in 1981. Hoping to bring the number of female officers to 43% of the force, the LAPD offers female recruits special training programs before they start at the police academy, including physical conditioning and hands-on police work.
With just over 1,300 women in the LAPD's ranks, Abella is pleased with the numbers. "It's terrific that we have that many," Abella said. "It is a very, very good sign for not only the department but for the community."
Added Lt. Stan Ludwig, who commands the Westchester Academy: "Some people say there is no place for women in police work and that's garbage. We've seen that it isn't true."
But recruitment has not been without its growing pains. Some people charge that testing standards have been lowered to admit women, and others complain that the old-fashioned, even Neanderthal attitude of some officers has made it difficult for women to adapt to the department.
"We absolutely applaud the efforts to increase the women in the LAPD," said Ramona Ripston, executive director of the ACLU of Southern California. "But it's not enough to recruit the women. Steps need to be taken so that women are treated with respect once they're in the department."
