Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Women policing in the United States began as early as the 1890’s. They were first employed largely as prison matrons in the 19th century. Since that time, women have taken on more and increasingly diverse roles in law enforcement. Today, the duties of female police officers have taken on many more responsibilities that only male officers dealt with in the past.
In July of 2024, the City of Gatesville appointed Lieutenant Georgiana “Georg” Cleverley to the position of Interim Police Chief making her, in known history, the first female Chief of Police in Gatesville.
At the time of her appointment, Cleverley said, “I am honored to serve the Gatesville Police Department and the City of Gatesville in whatever capacity is needed. This is a great community to live in and a great department to work for. As interim Police Chief, I will do my best to meet the needs of the department and citizens of Gatesville.”
According to an article, which appeared in The Gatesville Messenger, Cleverley served in the U.S. Army for 25 years before joining law enforcement and becoming a police officer.
Recently, Cleverley commented that the Gatesville Police Department has the most female police officers than they’ve ever had at one time.
“Besides myself, there are four female patrol officers, making a total of five female officers at the Gatesville Police Department,” she said.
She continued, “This is 35% of the sworn peace officers we currently employ. The average number of female officers in Texas police/sheriff departments is 11.5%, while for the country it’s 13.3%. We have three times the amount that are in Texas departments and nearly that nationally. It’s actually pretty remarkable.”
Cleverley also noted that an interesting thing about her female officers is that they all have some sort of law enforcement connection in their families. “Two have parents who were/are officers, one has an older sister who is an officer, and the last is married to another officer,” she said. Cleverley notes that the only connection that she herself has to law enforcement was her father who was an MP in the U.S. Army before she was born.
The female officers employed by the Gatesville Police Department include:
Amanda Stiles
She is a Senior Patrol Officer and a Field Training Officer with the Gatesville PD. She has been employed in Gatesville almost five years since December of 2019. She completed the Police Academy at Central Texas College in Killeen and also completed other training to further her education as a peace officer.
Stiles said that her father is currently and has been employed as a peace officer for over 30 years. “I’m a second-generation peace officer and have a sister who also works for a law enforcement agency,” she said.
Stiles began her career in law enforcement as a jailer for the Bell County Sheriff’s Office before coming to the Gatesville Police Department.
She said that her two favorite parts of her job are helping citizens who are experiencing mental health issues and just speaking with members of the Gatesville community.
For females wishing to enter law enforcement, Stiles said, “Advice I would give to females wishing to pursue a career in law enforcement is to research. Research what our job is actually like and what to expect. Talk with officers who have experience, talk about more than the ‘cool stuff’ and see what we do, and plan what direction/outcome you want with a law enforcement career.”
Linda Knoch
She is an officer in training at the Gatesville Police Department. She began working in Gatesville in July of 2024. She received her training at the Central Texas College Police Academy.
“I’m proudly following in my mother’s footsteps. She is a retired detective at the Copperas Cove Police Department,” Knoch said. She continued, “My father is currently employed with the Copperas Cove Police Department as a Lieutenant, and my late grandfather was retired military.”
Before joining the Gatesville Police Department, Knoch worked at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for nine years at the Christina Melton Crain Unity and Woodman State Jail.
She said that her biggest challenge at the GPD was learning the geography of Gatesville. “It’s hard to find addresses when house numbers aren’t visible from the street or on mailboxes.
Knoch said that she loves interacting with the public and the spontaneity of each day.
She said that the advice she could give to females wishing to become part of law enforcement would be, “It’s never too late to follow your dreams; I’m a prime example. There are many roles and paths one could take as a licensed peace officer. There’s literally something for everyone in this career. I highly encourage anyone interested to volunteer or participate in our ride along program to get a feel of what it’s like.”
Glory Little
Little is a patrol officer who became employed with the GPD in August of 2023. She completed her training at Temple College Police Academy.
“I was inspired to go into law enforcement by some family members, although my mother wasn’t too enthusiastic about it at first,” she said.
Little’s first job was at a family-owned arcade/bowling alley during high school and college. She then worked at Walmart as an order-filler for the online grocery pickup department. Her most prior job, prior to law enforcement, was at Caterpillar in the warehouse working as a team leader over the high-rise.
“One of the challenges I’ve faced is learning how to work with difficult partners who don’t share your same goals and aspirations in this profession, as well as staying motivated when dealing with said partners.”
She continued, “I love being able to help and meet new people. I also love sharing my love for this profession with those I meet.”
As for giving advice to females who are considering law enforcement as a profession, Little said, “Go for it and give it your all. There is a place for females in law enforcement, despite what some people might tell you. Believing in and trusting yourself is one of the first, and, sometimes, the most difficult part of getting started in this profession; but if you continue to work on the areas you’re less confident in, it should become second nature in time.”
Anna Perrow
Perrow works as a patrol officer and has been employed with Gatesville PD since December of 2022. She received her training at the Basic Peace Officer Course at Central Texas College.
Perrow’s husband also serves as a police officer.
Before joining the Gatesville PD, she worked for the State of Texas conducting investigations and was also employed in Bell County for a few years.
When asked about the challenges she’s faced as a law enforcement officer, Perrow replied, “When my children were younger, childcare was an obstacle.”
Perrow said that what she enjoys most about her job is, “Every day is a new experience, and no two days are ever the same.”
Advice that she would like to share with females who might like to pursue a career in law enforcement, “Don’t underestimate yourself and don’t be afraid to pursue your career goals.”
