By Sarah Roebuck
Police1
The 30x30 initiative, Women in Federal Law Enforcement and other law enforcement agencies have released a joint statement addressing articles that blame the attempted assassination and shooting at former President Donald Trump’s rally on the U.S. Secret Service’s gender equity efforts and questioning Director Kimberly Cheatle’s qualifications.
The full statement reads:
“Our associations are disheartened by the reductive attacks on the U.S. Secret Service, Director Cheatle, and the 30x30 Initiative following the tragic shooting at former President Trump’s rally over the weekend. Statements blaming this shooting on efforts to promote gender equity are disingenuous at best and deeply dangerous at worst.
The 30x30 Initiative is an evidence-based effort to increase public safety by expanding – not shrinking – the pool of qualified applicants for law enforcement positions. Our efforts ensure the best possible candidates have access to the job they’re best suited for and that’s best suited for them, remove unnecessary barriers to entry, and address problematic organizational cultures that impact recruitment, hiring, advancement, and retention. As the research makes clear, when law enforcement agencies take on those efforts, it makes us all safer. We do not and would not encourage nor support agencies hiring or promoting law enforcement officers based solely on their gender, nor do we support agencies lowering their standards in any way. Rather, we advocate for testing and training specific to the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to be effective in these roles, ensuring all candidates are evaluated fairly and comprehensively.
Women and men in law enforcement are risking their lives in the performance of their duties daily. We must reject all bad-faith efforts that seek to score political points at the expense of our safety. This is the most recent effort to sow division and blame by attacking diversity initiatives for everything from airline safety catastrophes to bridge collapses to bank failures. These attacks are deeply disingenuous distractions from what matters most in the aftermath of fatal tragedies – in this case, mourning the senseless loss of life while investigating the actual factors that contributed to this tragedy and understanding how we can prevent such heinous acts in the future.”
Please see our joint statement on supporting women in law enforcement. pic.twitter.com/BAmxDxTxP4
— 30x30: Advancing Women in Policing (@30x30initiative) July 17, 2024
The statement comes after several articles have published comments from state representatives and other political figures stating that the reason Trump was injured was because of female agents and diversity, equity and inclusion programs, the New York Times reports.
The National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, Law Enforcement Action Partnership, New Blue and International Association of Women Police also supported the statement.
The 30x30 Initiative aims to increase the representation of women in police ranks to 30% by 2030. This video dives deep into why this is crucial for better policing and how departments nationwide are making strides toward this goal.
