Female Officers Sought for Ohio County Sheriff, Police Departments
by Casey Junkins, business/energy writer
WHEELING — Ohio County sheriff’s deputy Brenda Lesnett does not pretend her job would be easy under any scenario, but serving as one of the precious few policewomen working for either the city of Wheeling or the county can present even more challenges.
Still, the 2010 John Marshall High School graduate who holds a criminal justice degree from West Liberty University believes her work provides a valuable service to the community.
“I think a lot of women are interested in it, but are afraid they won’t succeed,” Lesnett said. “It’s something you really have to be dedicated to and have the right mindest for. It’s just not for everybody.”
Both Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger and Deputy Chief Martin Kimball said they would prefer to have more female officers.
Kimball said of the 66 officers now on the force, only two are women. One of these serves as a detective, while the other works on patrol.
“We’re having a hard time finding officers, period,” Kimball said, noting Wheeling City Council allots funding for at least 72 positions in the police department. “It’s an ongoing struggle to get people in here, get them trained, and have them actually stay for a while.”
Kimball said at one time a few years ago, Wheeling had at least seven female officers. He said two of these women left the force to become full-time mothers, while another went back to college, while others took different jobs.
“There are some obstacles that could be more difficult for women,” Kimball said, adding this could involve the physical strength requirement that must be met for police officers working in West Virginia.
Kimball said some women may feel a “social stigma” about being a police officer. Additionally, with so much national media coverage of “police shootings,” some potential officers, men included, may just not want to get involved.
“We have to somehow debunk a lot of this social stigma. This is a tough job. So many times now, people are making us out to be the bad guys,” he said.
However, Schwertfeger and Kimball said they would like to have more women on the force.
“They have intelligence, common sense, skills to talk to people,” Kimball said. “And, there are instances where a woman can probably do things better than a man. Very often, sex crimes victims will feel more comfortable talking to a woman.”
Kimball said Wheeling hopes to hire more officers soon, adding he would welcome women to be part of the team.
“We welcome anyone who is willing to do this. It’s hard work. It’s not for everybody,” he added.
Kimball said recruits typically spend about 16 weeks at the academy. This is after they go through the entire process of just getting hired, which includes a thorough background check, a rigorous physical test and a challenging written exam. He said the starting annual salary for a Wheeling officer is about $38,000, while he or she would likely earn over $39,000 after a year of service.
Lesnett, herself, recognizes the challenges of working in a field dominated by men. Still, she said she enjoys her work.
“I really like knowing that I’m helping the community,” she said. “It’s a very important job.”
West Liberty University is a forward-looking, four-year public university steeped in a rich heritage as West Virginia’s oldest institution of higher education and offering nearly 70 undergraduate majors and 30 programs. Graduate programs include the Master of Arts in Education, the Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies, the Master of Professional Studies, the Master of Science in Criminology, the online MBA and the new MA/MS in Biology.
Criminal Justice is a program within the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences combining aspects of criminal justice, sociology, social work, psychology, history and law. For more information on WLU, please call 1.866.WESTLIB or visit westliberty.edu.