attendees to lead at every level
triumphs began in 1987 in the Bay Area
when two women, Los Gatos Police Captain Alana Forrest and Menlo Park Police
Commander Lacey Burt, met in a restaurant with 20 other female law enforcement
professionals to discuss how to help each
other in their profession. In 2006, after several years of small, local training events,
the California Police Chiefs Association
took the event statewide and brought in
the State Sheriffs’ Association, the California Peace Officers’ Association and the
California Highway Patrol as co-sponsors.
To this day, WLLE hosts upwards of 800
female and male attendees each year. One
of the biggest supporters of WLLE since
its institution has been Los Gatos/Monte
Sereno Police Chief, Scott Seaman. This
year, Chief Seaman was recognized for all
of his outstanding contributions and overwhelming support for WLLE throughout
the past 10 years.
WLLE has grown tremendously since
1987, and this year we were honored
to have attendees from states such as;
Alabama, Arizona, Michigan, New York,
“WLLE helps
me refocus and
inspires me.
I leave with a
renewed sense
of purpose.”
Nevada, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.
Furthermore, WLLE played host to twelve
very special female attendees from Tajikistan (a mountainous, landlocked country
in Central Asia, bordering Afghanistan to
the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east).
Female police officers in Tajikistan have
been traditionally assigned to administrative duties only — very similar to the
beginnings of law enforcement in the
United States. This visit to the U.S., and
more specifically to WLLE, was designed
to allow the Tajik officers to network with
their American counterparts and build
lasting, mentoring friendships. Tajikistan
is moving toward having their female police officers handle crimes against women
and children, a progression that mirrors
the evolution of duties assigned to female
police officers in America.
Planning for the 9th Annual Women
Leaders in Law Enforcement Training
Symposium is already underway! We
hope you will join us October 13-15, 2014
in Anaheim, CA. ?
FALL 2013 | California Police Chief
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