MHPS holds Women in Policing conference

MEDICINE HAT, AB — The Medicine Hat Police Service held its first ever Women in Policing conference on Saturday at Medicine Hat College.

Roughly 100 women of all ages registered for the event.

The conference was meant to connect women with female officers already in the service, giving them the chance to ask any questions they have about becoming officers and what the job really entails.

“We recognize that our diversity is not what it could be and should be in Medicine Hat and, brainstorming with our people, we said why don’t we try a day really of education?” said Chief Andy McGrogan. “We can have ladies come in and say, ‘is this career for me or isn’t it?’ and kind of learn about what we do, who we are, listen to some ladies that are already in this field and what their experiences are and hopefully attract people.”

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Along with current female members, the service also invited three-time Olympian and six-time Olympic medallist, Constable Cindy Klassen, to speak at the event.

Klassen joined the Calgary Police Service just over a year ago.

“It was a big transition, just going from being an athlete to having a job where you’re working shift work. I’d never done that before,” she said. “That was a huge adjustment for me, but there’s so many things from the sporting world that I could carry over into policing.”

Klassen said her dedication and motivation to excel in anything she does has helped her become the officer she is. She hopes to inspire women and show them that they too can make policing a possible career choice.

“Before I applied, I thought I was too old, I was about 35 years old,” she said. “But when I went to my first session, learning more about this line of work, I learned that they’ve hired women as old as 50.”

The service is currently accepting applications for its auxiliary police program.