Richmond Police credit some of the rise in female officers to innovative recruiting efforts, including its updated Web site, which links women interested in becoming officers to testimonials of other women who’ve gone before them. Also, the department has cited its recent move to permanent shifts as opposed to rotating ones as an incentive. According to a job posting on the City of Richmond’s Web site, the salary range for a police recruit is $32,695 to $49,904.

Lt. Charlene Hinton of the Personnel and Recruitment Unit says an increase in female officers represents a move in the right direction for police. “We’re going to continue to recruit heavily,” she says, “so we have a diverse force.”

Law enforcement runs in the family for recruit Chrissy Dalykas. Her father, Richmond Police Officer David Dalykas, works from the 2nd Precinct. She has brothers who are officers, too, in New York City and Cleveland, Ohio. She hopes to give today’s youth something to think about, she says, that steers them away from a life of crime.

“If I can take one drug dealer off of the streets,” she says, “maybe that saves one person or child from getting involved in it.” — Brandon Walters

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