COLORADO, USA — The Colorado State Patrol (CSP) wants to hire new troopers, and they're channeling some serious girl power, hoping to add more women to the team.
In a tweet last week, CSP asked potential recruits if they wanted to join “the #Sisterhood” of female troopers. CSP begins accepting applications for its next class starting May 27th.
“Women can do this job, and I will tell you it’s one of the most rewarding careers you will ever find,” said Captain Afsoon Ansari, who has been with CSP for 15 years. “And Colorado needs women troopers.”
She is a Commander at the Colorado State Patrol Academy.
Ansari said the current class of 23 cadets includes three females, and that women currently make up just under 7% of CSP’s ranks.
Ansari said the goal for law enforcement is to represent the community they serve, and that means they want more female representation and diversity among the members.
“We need that perspective, we need that diversity,” Ansari said. “And women are excellent problem solvers. We have a different approach to how we address things. So that diversity is really unique and I think it’s necessary to have in law enforcement.”
In the recruitment tweet, CSP shared a photo of female troopers all standing together. Ansari said that was snapped at a 2018 conference of the Women’s Resource Network, a CSP organization for women that promotes training and networking and other resources.
“We do have a sisterhood, and it’s really a network,” Ansari said. “It’s a network put together so we have a resource within one another, and we can communicate with one another in order to be successful in our careers.”
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