Getting more women into policing has been a priority for the Regina Police Service (RPS) for many years now.
And today, the service swore in a new class of officers, nearly half of whom were female. Of the 15 recruits, seven were female.
One of those new recruits is Amanda Hannem, and she said today has been a long time coming.
“It’s a lot of hard work and dedication,” she said. “It’s something I always thought about but never really committed to.”
Hannem has a background in health care, but after sitting at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, she felt it was time for a career change. Mix in some family members in the police force and it was a perfect recipe.
“I have a brother-in-law who is a police officer, and I am surrounded by officers so it’s definitely something they have inspired me to do and work towards.”
To help recruit more women to the force, in 2021, Regina police launched the 30 by 30 initiative, which aims to have a 30 per cent female work force by 2030.
As of 2023, the number of female officers has risen one per cent since last year, and now sits at 25 per cent.
“This class is a really good example of the number of females we’ve recruited,” RPS deputy chief Lorilee Davis said. “Our goal is to be representative of the community we serve.”
For Hannem, she is proud to be amongst many women joining the force and hopes more continue to enter the profession.
“Policing is a very male-dominated force, but you can hang with the boys and push through. You can’t let it intimidate you if it’s something you want to do.”
Retired police chief Evan Bray donned his uniform one last time as he welcomed in the new recruits at the RPS headquarters.
“This profession is probably one of the most important ones I believe, in society,” Bray said to the new recruits. “And when done right it can be the most impactful profession in society. When done wrong, it has the exact same, profound, deep impact.”
The work for the new recruits isn’t done yet. Now the team enters a five-month boot camp-style training period.
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