TED2019
Ivonne Roman: How policewomen make communities safer
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Less than 13 percent of police officers in the United States are women -- despite their proven effectiveness in diffusing violent situations and reducing the use of force. Drawing on more than two decades of experience as a police officer and chief, TED Fellow Ivonne Roman shares how a simple fix to police academy physical fitness tests could help build a more balanced force that benefits communities and officers alike.
Ivonne Roman - Police captain
Ivonne Roman cofounded the Women's Leadership Academy to increase the retention of women in policing. Full bio
Ivonne Roman cofounded the Women's Leadership Academy to increase the retention of women in policing. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
I've been a police officer
in an urban city
in an urban city
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for nearly 25 years.
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That's crazy, right?
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And in that time,
I've served in every rank,
I've served in every rank,
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from police officer to police chief.
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A few years ago,
I noticed something alarming.
I noticed something alarming.
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Starting in 2014,
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I started monitoring recruits
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as they cycled through police academies
in the state of New Jersey,
in the state of New Jersey,
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and I found that women were failing
at rates between 65 and 80 percent,
at rates between 65 and 80 percent,
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due to varying aspects
of the physical fitness test.
of the physical fitness test.
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I learned that a change in policy
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now required recruits
to pass the fitness exam
to pass the fitness exam
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within 10 short workout sessions.
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This had the greatest impact on women.
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The change meant that recruits
had about three weeks
had about three weeks
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out of a five-month-long academy
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to pass the fitness exam.
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This just didn't make sense, though.
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Police agencies and police recruits
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had made huge investments
to get those recruits into the academy.
to get those recruits into the academy.
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Police recruits had passed
lengthy background checks,
lengthy background checks,
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they had passed medical
and psychological exams,
and psychological exams,
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they had quit their jobs.
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And many had spent more
than 2,000 dollars in fees and equipment
than 2,000 dollars in fees and equipment
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just to get kicked out
within the first three weeks?
within the first three weeks?
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The dire situation in New Jersey
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led me to examine the status
of women in policing
of women in policing
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across the United States.
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I found that women make up
less than 13 percent of police officers.
less than 13 percent of police officers.
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A number that hasn't changed much
in the past 20 years.
in the past 20 years.
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And they make up just three percent
of police chiefs as of 2013,
of police chiefs as of 2013,
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the last time the data was collected.
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We know that we can improve those rates.
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Other countries like Canada,
Australia and the UK
Australia and the UK
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have nearly twice the amount
of policewomen.
of policewomen.
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And New Zealand is steadily marching
towards their goal
towards their goal
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of recruit gender parity by 2021.
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Other countries are actively working
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to increase the number
of women in policing,
of women in policing,
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because they know of a vast body
of research evidence,
of research evidence,
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spanning more than 50 years,
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detailing the advantages
to women in policing.
to women in policing.
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From that research,
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we know that policewomen
are less likely to use force
are less likely to use force
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or to be accused of excessive force.
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We know that policewomen
are less likely to be named in a lawsuit
are less likely to be named in a lawsuit
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or a citizen complaint.
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We know that the mere presence
of a policewoman
of a policewoman
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reduces the use of force
among other officers.
among other officers.
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And we know that policewomen
are met with the same rates of force
are met with the same rates of force
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as their male counterparts,
and sometimes more,
and sometimes more,
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and yet they're more successful
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in defusing violent
or aggressive behavior overall.
or aggressive behavior overall.
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So there are vast advantages
to women in policing,
to women in policing,
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and we're losing them
to arbitrary fitness standards.
to arbitrary fitness standards.
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The problem is,
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the United States has nearly
18,000 police agencies --
18,000 police agencies --
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18,000 agencies with wildly varying
fitness standards.
fitness standards.
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We know that a majority of academies
rely on a masculine ideal of policing
rely on a masculine ideal of policing
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that works to decrease
the number of women in policing.
the number of women in policing.
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These types of academies
overemphasize physical strength,
overemphasize physical strength,
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with much less attention spent
to subjects like community policing,
to subjects like community policing,
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problem-solving
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and interpersonal communication skills.
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This results in training that does not
mirror the realities of policing.
mirror the realities of policing.
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Physical agility is but a small
component of police work.
component of police work.
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Much of an officer's day is spent
mediating interpersonal conflicts.
mediating interpersonal conflicts.
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That's the reality of policing.
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These are my babies.
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And we can reduce
the disparity in policing
the disparity in policing
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by changing exams
that produce disparate outcomes.
that produce disparate outcomes.
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The federal courts have stated
that men and women
that men and women
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simply are not physiologically the same
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for the purposes
of physical fitness programs.
of physical fitness programs.
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And that's based on science.
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Respected institutions
that law enforcement deeply respects,
that law enforcement deeply respects,
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like the FBI, the US Marshals Service,
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the DEA and even the US military --
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they rigorously test fitness programs
to ensure they measure fitness
to ensure they measure fitness
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without gender-disparate outcomes.
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Why is that?
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Because recruiting is expensive.
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They want to recruit and retain
qualified candidates.
qualified candidates.
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You know what else the research finds?
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Well-trained women are as capable
as their male counterparts
as their male counterparts
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in overall fitness,
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but more importantly, in how they police.
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The law-enforcement community
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is admittedly experiencing
a recruitment crisis.
a recruitment crisis.
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05:00
Yet, if they truly want to increase
the number of applicants, they can.
the number of applicants, they can.
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We can easily recruit more women
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and reap all those research benefits
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by training well-qualified candidates
to pass validated, work-related,
to pass validated, work-related,
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physiologically-based fitness exams,
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as required by Title VII
of the Civil Rights Act.
of the Civil Rights Act.
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We can increase the number of women,
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we can reduce that gender disparity,
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by simply changing exams
that produce disparate outcomes.
that produce disparate outcomes.
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We have the tools.
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We have the research,
we have the science, we have the law.
we have the science, we have the law.
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This, my friends,
should be a very easy fix.
should be a very easy fix.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ivonne Roman - Police captainIvonne Roman cofounded the Women's Leadership Academy to increase the retention of women in policing.
Why you should listen
Ivonne Roman's work includes highlighting discriminatory fitness standards that screen women out of police academies, identifying factors that contribute to high attrition rates of women and convening a summit on women in policing to identify research gaps on the topic. She's currently working with the National Institute of Justice to spur policy changes that increase the representation of women in policing.
More profile about the speakerIvonne Roman | Speaker | TED.com