SACRAMENTO, Calif. — On one of Sacramento's hottest days of the summer so far, more than a dozen young people, many of them women, were throwing heavy medicine balls and scaling a six-foot wall behind the Sacramento Police Department.
The Wednesday boot camp event was specifically geared for the upcoming female fitness challenge, and part of a broader goal to increase representation of women in the department to 30% by 2030. Chief Kathy Lester told ABC10 it was just 17% in March.
Police Corporal Alexis Grove said research has shown that women officers get fewer complaints, use force less often and have more success getting victims of crimes to speak out.
"In some cases when you show up on scene, people are just drawn to you due to that comfortability of seeing a female, so having females in law enforcement is a huge asset," Grove said.
The six-foot wall at the boot camp was initially one of the most challenging obstacles for applicant Megan Limeberger.
"I’ve been through the process once. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it, so now I’m re-applying," Limeberger said, more determined than ever to pass.
While the triple-digit temperatures in Sacramento this week didn't help the participants, Grove said training in such an environment is actually very applicable to real life as a police officer.
"I mean it’s a mental push but we work in this, we work in the rain, we work in the extreme heat," Grove said. "It’s a mindset that you have to work through and it’s really applicable to what our job entails."
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