KLETC: More women training to be cops

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center class has a record number of women.
Fifteen of the 58 people in Class 252 are women, The Hutchinson News reported. It’s the most women the center has trained in a single class since it started operating at the formal naval base in rural Reno County in 1968.
The 14-week course features classroom training as well as hands-on experience. Students then become certified law enforcement officers.
Executive Director Darin Beck said officials aren’t sure if the increase in women is an anomaly or if it’s a growing trend. Women used to account for about 10 percent of each class, but Beck said that number has slowly increased over his 20 years at the center.
The amount of women in law enforcement rose from 14 percent in 1998 to 15.2 percent in 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Class 251 had nine women in the 55 person class.
Temri Racines is one of the women in the class. She plans hopes to be a part of the McPherson County’s emergency response team, be involved with Drug Abuse Resistance Education and start a community exercise program to use her background in personal training.
“I wanted to show my daughter that you can be a single mom … and still pursue your dream,” Racines said. “Be an independent woman.”