Virginia Beach police this week joined other departments across the country in pledging to hire more female officers and promote more women to supervisory roles.

Chief Paul Neudigate made the announcement Thursday, saying his department had signed onto the “30x30 Initiative” by pledging to increase the number of women in its police recruiting classes to 30% by 2030, and to support their success throughout their careers.

The initiative was launched earlier this year by a coalition of police leaders, researchers, and professional organizations working to advance the representation and experiences of women in police agencies across the country, according to the initiative’s website.

Dozens of departments across the country have signed on. Virginia Beach is among a handful statewide to do so. The others include Suffolk, Richmond, Herndon and Charlottesville, according to the website.

Research has shown that female police officers use less force, are named in fewer lawsuits and complaints, are perceived by the community as being more honest and compassionate, and make fewer discretionary arrests, especially in cases involving non-white citizens, the website said.

Yet, women only make up about 12% of the country’s sworn police officers. Less than 3% hold supervisory roles.

In Virginia Beach, about 16% of about 700 officers are female, spokeswoman Jennifer Cragg said. The 112 women serve in roles ranging from patrol officer to one of the department’s recently promoted top leaders.

In April, Neudigate appointed the first woman to serve as a deputy chief in the department’s 58-year history when he promoted Capt. Shannon Wichtendahl.

The city is already well on its way to meeting the initiative’s goal of having recruiting classes with at least 30% women. Of the 63 recruits participating in the next academy training class, 22 are female, Cragg said, which is 35% of the total.

Police agencies that take part in the initiative agree to report on their efforts to identify and address the obstacles women officers face in recruitment and throughout their careers.

Jane Harper, 757-222-5097, jane.harper@pilotonline.com