Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office campaigning to hire more women deputies

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office wants to increase the number of women in law enforcement to 30% by 2030.

Now, women make up 12% of sworn law enforcement officers and 3% of law enforcement leadership in the U.S.

Lots of police officers and sheriff’s deputies say their job feels more like a calling.

Others hear the call but don’t answer because of their initial fear of the job.

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office worries that fear may keep women who want to protect and serve from doing exactly that.

“You look at this role as a male-dominant role,” said Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Tabitha Carter, “so it takes actually females to ask questions, or for us, like me, to go out and talk to other females to try to get them onto the team.”

Carter is all for the national effort to get more women into law enforcement.

In Charlotte County, the sheriff’s office does better than the national average.

“Currently, It’s 15%, so we’re halfway there,” Carter said.

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office has 65 women deputies.

They begin with training at the Southwest Florida Public Service Academy in Fort Myers, and they also have to pass a state exam.

The standards are high and equal for both genders.

“It doesn’t matter your size, your height, your weight, you’re a female. If you want this job, you have to do the same thing as a male counterpart would have to do with this job,” Carter said.

Carter believes more women in the ranks will help the sheriff’s office to do a better job.

“They can relate a little more on the sensitive side of how females handle things,” she said.