From those thinking about joining the ranks of Connecticut State Police to those who are already serving, dozens showed up for a State Police special recruiting event at the Connecticut Police Academy in Meriden on Wednesday.
State Police haven’t had a recruiting event geared toward women in about a decade. Troopers thought it was time to do one again after previously hearing women voice concerns.
“I’ve always been interested in law enforcement and I think they do very important work,” Kelsey Wallace of New Haven, said.
Wallace was among those taking part in the “Women in Policing” event.
“I’m really just interested in knowing more about becoming a state trooper, what they go through and how to get to the end goal,” Wallace said.
Wallace and others heard from women about how they started their careers and in some cases also started a family.
“We know there’s a lot out there that are interested. But they don’t know the full, full details of what it involves, what it takes and yes you can do both. You can be a mother. You can be a wife and you can do this job,” Trooper First Class Kelly Grant, said.
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Among the areas the troopers represented were patrol, major crime and K9.
“I just determined working behind a desk wasn’t a job for me. I wanted to be outside,” Trooper Dawn Taylor said.
Taylor, along with her partner Lucas, is the resident trooper in Deep River.
She’s now been with State Police for more than 13 years.
“I think we’re all out there doing the same job. I enjoy that,” Taylor said.
Right now there are less than 100 women out of 900 troopers.
The hope is events like this could help change that.
