On International Women’s Day the Medicine Hat Police Service (MHPS) is proud to celebrate women in policing. While all policing organizations employed women in civilian roles as receptionists or data entry clerks in the early years, very few employed them as uniformed members until the 1970’-1980’s. In Medicine Hat the first female officer was hired by the MHPS on January 8, 1986.

Over the past 35 years, female officers have faced varying degrees of challenges as they embarked on careers in policing. Some were met with open minds and coworkers who were very supportive and willing to teach, and others unfortunately with closed doors and the belief that women were not suited to the nature of police work. Today, 16 of the 114 police officers in Medicine Hat are women and are strong contributors to the community and the organization. The MHPS is committed to encouraging others to consider policing as a career as is demonstrated by the composition of the recent cadet training programs.

While female civilians have been an essential part of the MHPS workforce from its earliest days it is important to also acknowledge the much more diverse roles that they now play. Every day women offer their professional expertise in increasingly diverse areas including; municipal bylaw enforcement, communications, information technology, data analysis, victim services and many more.

Today, and everyday we thank these women for their service to our community, their strong leadership and for breaking down barriers for those who follow.