SAS supports women in law enforcement 30x30 Initiative

Global analytics leader SAS is contributing training and technology to support the 30×30 Initiative, a coalition to advance the representation of women in policing agencies. SAS has increased its focus on public safety analytics in recent years as law enforcement agencies have strived to make better use of data to speed investigations and improve community outcomes.

Ashley Beck, a Senior Industry Consultant – Global, Fraud & Security Intelligence Division at SAS, said: The change we are promoting to support a diverse culture within policing, is centered and driven by understanding relevant data. It is crucial for organizations looking to gauge the success of their equality and diversity initiatives, to measure outcomes and review recruitment, assessment, and retention processes to optimize the approach.

Currently, women make up only 13% of sworn officers and 3% of police leadership in the US. The 30×30 Initiative aims to increase the representation of women in police recruit classes to 30% by 2030 and to ensure police policies and culture intentionally support the success of qualified women officers throughout their careers.

That is just one of many benefits of increasing women representation in law enforcement. According to 30×30, research shows women officers:

Use less force and less excessive force.
Are less likely to be named in complaints and lawsuits.
Are perceived by communities as being more honest and compassionate.
See better outcomes for crime victims, especially in sexual assault cases.
Make fewer discretionary arrests.

Across the world these benefits have been recognized and organizations are actively promoting gender equality to take advantage of a diverse culture which is representative and supportive of society.

SAS® training path goes from basic programming to investigations management

Law enforcement agencies around the world are harnessing the power of data for case management, officer safety, community engagement and evidence-based policing. Thus, the policing profession requires new skill sets to fight crime as it evolves. SAS is providing a customized training path for law enforcement personnel focused on these valuable data skills:

SAS Programming I: Essentials teaches the basics of programming in a world where digital evidence gathering is evermore important.
Data Literacy Essentials includes what data is, why it is important in today’s world and how it is key to understanding potential threats, risk and harm to our communities.
Leading with Analytics teaches how a data-driven approach can support effective decision-making that generates positive change. Trainees will learn how to frame business problems so that they can be answered with data and analytics and how to overcome communication barriers among data owners.
Investigation Management and Analysis is created by subject matter experts in law enforcement investigations and training, using best practices, and detective techniques to understand criminal activities and the identity of suspects using the SAS Law Enforcement Intelligence platform. Learners are entrenched in a crime story that will lead them to identify the lead criminal of an organized crime group, learning techniques that will assist in real investigations.

Interested members of law enforcement can access the training on the SAS Women in Policing page.

In addition, the SAS Data for Good team is building data-sharing capabilities to help 30×30 members more easily track and monitor their progress toward quality and diversity goals.

SAS has repeatedly been recognized as a Best Workplace for Women by Fortune magazine. This commitment to gender representation is part of the reason that women make up over 40% of the SAS global workforce and 33% of global leadership.

“SAS is proud to assist police forces in their efforts to leverage data and analytics as they work to enhance representation and reflect the communities they serve. SAS also engages in several programs tailored to reduce the gender gap in technology and attract and retain women in the sector.” Ashley also added, “there’s still a gap to reach gender equity in the region as per the 2022 World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report. Among those edging closer to gender equity is the UAE, as it becomes one of the best-achieving nations in bridging the gap, rising four places in a year to the 68th internationally, and first in the Arab region. After recently having the pleasure of meeting women in Policing in UAE, I was impressed with the skill, motivation and passion to succeed and make a difference in communities”.

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