OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – Capt. Lori Mingione said she wouldn’t change anything about her dream job in law enforcement.
She’s one of 63 female deputies at the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.
“I have loved this career. It has been more than I could’ve ever imagined,” Mingione said. “You have the ability to be part of solutions to problems for people in the community.”
But getting more women into law enforcement has been a challenge.
On Thursday, Sheriff Marcos Lopez launched a new program, the Women on Watch Initiative, that the sheriff’s office said is run by women, for women.
“Unfortunately, women haven’t been applying the way we’d like to see them apply,” Sheriff Marcos López of Osceola County said. “We’ve created the free pre-academy for women. Women from my agency will be sharing their experiences from the academy and at the agency. We’ll also be setting up some of the physical qualifications as well as letting people know the academic expectations.”
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office recently joined the 30x30 Initiative, a campaign to increase the number of women in law enforcement by the New York University School of Law’s Policing Project and the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives.
The program said increasing the number of women in law enforcement will improve public safety because women are less likely to use excessive force, are perceived as more honest and compassionate, and work better with crime victims.
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By joining 30x30, the sheriff’s office is pledging to have women represent 30% of its police recruit classes by 2030. Currently, women represent 14% of the sheriff’s office’s workforce, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.
By comparison, women represent 12% of law enforcement officers across the country, and only 9% of law enforcement officers in Florida.
Other Central Florida agencies taking part in the 30x30 Initiative include New Smyrna Beach Police Department, Orange County Sheriff’s Office and Orlando Police Department.
“I think if more women truly understood the job duties and roles of law enforcement it would become more attractive to them and that’s part of the reason for offering this two-day course,” Mingione said.
As for the challenges the women will be faced with, Mingione said it’s also about teaching them that they can overcome any obstacle.
“You can learn to overcome size challenges when it comes to physical confrontations with suspects. The fact that you’re a single mother, I was a single mother my entire career. You can overcome that as well. If this is the career that you want, you can make it happen,” she said.
Mingione said it’s a job with a high reward, especially in those moments of gratitude.
“When you have a child that thanks you for taking the monster out of their life, that’s — that’s something that is worth its weight in gold,” Mingione said.
The pre-academy program is free to women and takes place June 17 and 24.
To register, go to Osceolasheriff.org.
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