Women in Police Careers
As an Equal Opportunity Employer, the City of Hollywood Police Department has the same career opportunities for women as there are for men.  This is not an ideal we simply strive for, we follow through; there are currently women in the positions of COP Road Patrol, Detective, Undercover Street Crimes, Undercover Vice/Intelligence/Narcotics, Special Operations Neighborhood Team Leader, Traffic Homicide/DUI, and others.  Additionally, women hold supervisory positions of Sergeant, Lieutenant, and in the upper level Command Staff.

The days of Police Departments only hiring six foot tall two-hundred pound men are long gone, and they should be. Female Police Officers have long shown themselves to have the same capabilities as their male counterparts at doing every job related to Policing, and physical size has little to do with effective job performance.  We have many Police Officers (male and female) that are not large or physically intimating individuals and are extremely effective at their job, and they excel in, and enjoy, their career in law enforcement.  The truly important job traits for a Police Officer are honesty, integrity, and dedication.  The skills that turn a great applicant/recruit into a valuable Police Officer are the knowledge, training, and experience that the Hollywood Police Department actively builds within them.

The number one goal of the Hollywood Police Department is the delivery of quality police services to the residents and visitors of Hollywood.  In our attempt to reach this goal, the Department feels that there should be men and women at every level in our employment.  Our Personnel Unit is striving to make this happen.

All Police Officers must spend time at the beginning of their career in the COP Division assigned to patrol in a uniform and marked vehicle handling calls and initiating police action.  This phase of an Officer's career builds within them the basic investigatory and policing skills necessary to move into other facets of Law Enforcement.  After this time, based on the knowledge, training, and experience an Officer acquires, opportunities exist to move into many areas of police work.  Many Officers desire to stay in uniform patrol in a police car as this is a highly fulfilling position that is an ever-changing experience and is the front-line of police work.  You may wish to become a Detective in plain clothes, or do undercover work with drug operations, money laundering, prostitution, organized crime, or terrorism.  You may see yourself on motorcycle patrol, on a boat or on a personal watercraft in our marine unit, as a K-9 Officer, or on our fully outfitted Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT).  Maybe the intensity of the Emergency Operations Center during Hurricanes and large scale events is your interest.  And of course patrolling Hollywood Beach on a bicycle or ATV is often a desirable post.  Any of these positions (and others) are available to any Officer that shows the enthusiasm and desire to work, learn, and advance their career; and every position/assignment in the Police Department is open to women looking for a career in Law Enforcement.

Another area of advancement is supervisory promotions.  There are a number of women currently in command and supervisory positions, and the Department is emphatic in the pursuit to elevate more females into our higher ranks. There are ample promotional opportunities for women and the Hollywood Police Department enthusiastically pursues the opportunity to promote women to leadership roles within our Department.  There is no job, position, assignment, or supervisory level in the Hollywood Police Department that is unavailable to women.  There is no limit to what you can achieve in the Hollywood Police Department.

A Police Officer as a Wife and/or Mother
Most Police Officers must balance a family and their career.  To help in these dual-roles, the Hollywood Police Department does not rotate shifts.  There is a yearly shift-bid process for the COP Division and most of the specialized units have stable unchanging shifts as well.  With this system, most Officers can count on a steady shift for up to a year at a time.  This helps for planning family activities, events, and trips.  Due to a diverse cross-section of personalities in police work, there are often many Officers who wish to work day shift, afternoon shift, or the midnight shift resulting in the majority of Officers getting the shift they request.  As Officers build seniority, they have more choices and opportunities.

The medical and dental benefits of the Hollywood Police are very good and the amount our Officers pay toward medical and dental are significantly lower than most other Police Departments.  Vacation and Holiday time are generous as well.  For an expanded list of our salary and benefits, return to our Personnel Unit page.

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