FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Honolulu Police Department Detective Joanne Takasato, a 22-year veteran shown here Saturday at HPD headquarters, became the first undercover female officer in Honolulu.
Women make strides The men jeered and laughed at Joanne Takasato and her girlfriend as they waited in line to take the civil service examination for police recruits in 1979.
in isle police force
By Nelson Daranciang
CORRECTION
Saturday, January 11, 2003» Lucile Abreu and other policewomen assigned to the Honolulu Police Department's Juvenile Services Division were not police matrons. A story on Page A1 on Monday incorrectly stated that all of the policewomen who entered the department prior to 1975 were matrons.
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.
ndaranciang@starbulletin.com"We felt like two clowns in a circus," Takasato said.
The reception from her male colleagues was not any better after she passed the test and the grueling training and became a police officer.
"Gaining acceptance from male officers -- that was a fight all the way through," Takasato said.
But she persevered, becoming the first undercover female officer in Honolulu and accepting tough assignments, including one that targeted a fellow officer for investigation of corruption.
Takasato, a 22-year veteran, is among the female forerunners at the Honolulu Police Department after it began admitting women as full-fledged police officers in 1975.
The department's latest figures show that it had 213 female officers, who accounted for 10.7 percent of the 1,990-person force, as of last January.
Women have risen to top management positions at the department. Four of the department's 21 majors (two major positions are vacant) are women. However, there are no women among the department's assistant chiefs and deputy chiefs.
"We've come a long way, a very long way from when I first came in," Takasato said. "Today we've come to be accepted as officers."
Police Chief Lee Donohue, who was a sergeant when the first women joined the department, said female officers have proved themselves over the years and gained respect from their male colleagues.
Women, though small in number, have served in all capacities in the department. A few have been able to take on duties that even men have trouble with, such as handling a 1,000-pound motorcycle and joining the physically challenging SWAT team.
Before 1975, policewomen had very different duties. They were known as matrons and were restricted to working with juveniles and female suspects.
Lucile Abreu, a matron wanting the same opportunities available to men and who filed a discrimination lawsuit against the department, broke the first barrier.
In 1975, Abreu, the first matron, became the first female detective after winning her lawsuit. The department also began admitting female recruits into its training academy.
Despite the legal decision, male officers objected to women entering their profession and openly voiced their displeasure, Donohue recalled.
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Honolulu Police Sgt. Debbie Wilson heads HPD's mounted patrol. She was at the Ewa Beach Christmas Parade on Dec. 7 with her horse, Koa.
"What I saw was that the younger officers were more open-minded," he said, "but the older officers were more skeptical, (maintaining that policing) is a man's world (and) women couldn't cut it."
Recently retired Sgt. Timmy Wong, who served on the force for 42 years, said the men were concerned about the women's physical ability. The men worried the women did not have the brawn to confront troublemakers and that the men would have to protect them.
But, Wong said, the women proved them wrong. They not only stood up to the challenge, but also were better able to diffuse confrontations, particularly domestic situations.
The women also changed the male officers and how they treated each other, Wong said.
"Before the women came in, the guys would step on each other just for the heck of it," he said. "Women don't do that. They're more compassionate."
Donohue said women changed the culture in the department, making it "a more caring department."
However, women still have not reached parity in the male-dominated agency, partly because there have not been enough qualified female applicants.
A study in 1997 showed that women make up 11.6 percent of the police force nationwide. Honolulu, at 10.7 percent last year, is still below the national average.
Donohue said the 1975 lawsuit also gave the department a mandate to eventually reach a ratio of 70 percent men and 30 percent women.
But, he said, many female applicants cannot pass the physical fitness tests, and some who are admitted into the department eventually leave for the traditional role of raising a family.
Takasato said the image of a law enforcement officer as someone big and brawny discourages women from considering a career in the department.
Takasato, who is only 5 feet tall, said her size has not hurt her career. It has helped her in some incidents where suspects were stunned by her diminutive size and became easily subdued.
Debbie Wilson, the first woman who passed the strenuous tests to be a solo bike officer and a SWAT team member, encourages women to give the profession a try.
"You gotta have confidence in yourself," said Wilson, who is in charge of the newly formed mounted police unit.
Some women may lack physical strength but can make up for it in verbal skills, she added.
