August 2024. Blues Vol 40 No.8

GUEST COMENTARY Noah

GUEST COMENTARY Noah Webster Federal government prioritizes DEI and hiring by gender over competence, and the Trump shooting proves it. by: Noah Webster, Law Enforcement Today 28 The Blues - August ‘24 Editor: Let me preface this editorial by Noah Webster, in no way is intended to criticize the fine women who wear a badge in any Law Enforcement agency in the world. Some of the finest officers I know are women and they in fact hate the “30x30” program. Not because it’s advocates for more women in Law Enforcement, but rather because it advocates for hiring more women for a profession, they aren’t qualified to be in. They shouldn’t be forced to work with unqualified individuals, men or women. WASHINGTON, DC - Besides being government agencies, what do the FBI, Secret Service, US Marshals, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Bureau of Justice Assistance all have in common? They have decided that qualifications to work for one of those agencies no longer matters, as long as you check off the right box on the diversity scale. All have committed to a program called “30X30.” On Saturday, July 13 in a small town in Pennsylvania, former (and future) President Donald Trump came within what has been described as a centimeter from losing his life to an assassin’s bullet. Only a well-timed turn of the head to the right which no doubt involved some divine intervention prevented our 45th president from being gunned down. It was that close. In the aftermath of the assassination attempt, many people, including those in law enforcement, began to question a lot of things, not the least of which was the deployment of somewhat petite women as part of President Trump’s Secret Service detail. In fact, one of them was made famous in videos of the mayhem when she seemed to have great difficulty performing the “complicated” task of holstering her firearm. After several unsuccessful attempts to do so, she held her firearm in her hand in a way that no law enforcement officer is trained to do so. The federal government’s law enforcement agencies have bought in hook, line, and sinker to the 30x30 Program, the goal of which is to have 30% of all law enforcement officers in federal service be women by 2030. The suggestion is that there is an “underrepresentation of women in policing” which has always been a male-dominated profession, much as firefighting. The reasons are many, but that is simply the way it has always been. According to the 30X30 website, women currently make up only 12% of sworn officers and 3% of police leadership in the United States. There are a number of allegations made on the website, which infers that male officers suffer from having too much testosterone. There are of course a number of advantages to male officers, one which specifically involves the amount of testosterone male officers have. That means they are stronger, bigger, and less prone to having emotional episodes. Male officers also do not bear children, which puts an additional burden on police agencies with female officers. Understand we are not condemning female officers. There are some excellent females in police departments and law enforcement agencies across the country. However agencies should not be trying to fill quotas but should be looking for the best and brightest, regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, or whatever. There are a number of claims made about the “advantage” of hiring female police officers. These “statistics” are compiled by leftist college and university researchers who tend to dislike the police and believe that hav-

ing “kinder and gentler” police officers will translate to less crime and less assaults on police officers. This of course doesn’t take into account the over 10 million foreign invaders who have entered our country, many from countries that have little if any respect for women. What are those claims? According to “research,” female officers are: • less likely to use force/excessive force • less likely to fire duty weapons; • better able to engage with diverse cultural groups • less likely to have citizen complaints filed against them The 30X30 initiative is not only for federal agencies, but a number of municipal police agencies have also bought into it. The Bureau of Justice Assistance says that over 300 agencies have committed to increasing the number of women in their agencies, with some already reaching that number. On May 25, 2022, Joe Biden signed an executive order that mandates federal agencies to abide by diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) standards. In complying with Biden’s order, for example, the ATF announced it was “proud to reaffirm its commitment to participate in the 30x30 Initiative, a nationwide effort to advance women throughout local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement.” In February 2023, ATF Director Dettelbach “formally signed the 30x30 pledge, thereby committing to increase the numbers of women working as criminal investigators, which make up the largest employee group at ATF and will be the focus of ATF’s pledge to improve the representation and inclusion of women in its ranks.” On March 6, 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) bought onto the 30x30 Initiative in a press release. “The FBI is committed to ensuring our work environment supports the recruitment, development, and advancement of our female sworn officers,” says FBI Director Christopher Wray. “This important commitment reflects our continued dedication to bringing more women into our special agent cadre, FBI police, and the FBI’s leadership ranks. We are honored to join more than 260 of our policing partners in making this commitment.” On September 8, 2022, the U.S. Marshals Service was the first federal law enforcement agency to buy into the 30x30 Initiative. “Our pledge reflects the U.S. Marshals Service’s commitment to recruiting and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce,” said Ronald L. Davis, Director of the U.S. Marshals Service. “We know diversity brings The Blues - August ‘24 29