MEMPHIS, Tennessee — The Memphis Police Department made a new pledge in celebration of Women's History Month: hire more women by the year 2030.
MPD Chief CJ Davis - the department's first top cop - signed the "30x30 Initiative," with a goal of women making up 30% of the department by the year 2030.
"For me, especially being a person who has been involved in this industry for more than 30 years, to see the playing field being leveled and not changing qualifications but simply making sure that anyone who is qualified has an opportunity," Chief Davis said Tuesday afternoon.
The commitment is part of a broader recruitment effort to get MPD's total host of officers from about 2,000 today to its peak of 2,500 in 2011.
For Chief Davis, the pledge is also personal.
Three decades ago, she still remembers clearly having 11 women in her first training class - but only two graduated.
"I believe that some of the women that were in my class would have been great police officers, it wasn't a very friendly time for women in law enforcement and it took a lot of tenacity to make it through those periods," Chief Davis added.
Currently, women make up 17% of the Memphis Police Department, higher than the national average of 12%.
The '30x30 Initiative' - created in 2018 - looks to reverse women under represented as law enforcement officers and in police leadership.
More than 100 law enforcement agencies made the pledge.
Those who spearheaded the initiative cite a 2019 National Institute of Justice report and other studies in recent years.
It found - compared to men - women officers use less force and excessive force, are named in fewer complaints and lawsuits, and get higher marks on citizen surveys.