Women officers say the benefits that San Jose provides can be very attractive to women. Officers work a four-day work week and do shift work, which can allow parents to arrange their schedule around their children's needs. There is also a variety of assignments that officers can take, allowing pregnant officers the option of doing less physical work. In addition, advancement and unit assignments are all made through testing and not by appointment alone, allowing a more unbiased way for women to move up the ranks, Amoroso says. Willow Glen resident Goede started as a police officer in San Diego and moved to San Jose four years ago.
Women move up in the ranks as steadily as men.
In all honesty, I've had nothing but positive and good experiences. Women, like other officers, are able to advance as more officers retire. But the police department is facing a growing challenge of filling the spots that are left open. There are only 12 people, six of them women, in the current academy, says Jim Tamaino, president of the Police Officers' Association. The academy usually has between 40 and 50 recruits, he says, and this one is the smallest ever.