Women in law enforcement speak at criminal justice conference in San Marcos

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- On this last week of Women's History Month, local female trailblazers in law enforcement got together to speak at the 2024 Women in Criminal Justice Conference on Wednesday in San Marcos.

Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez, Interim Austin Police Chief Robin Henderson and University of Texas Police Chief Eve Stephens participated in a panel discussion to share their knowledge and inspire the next generation of women in law enforcement.

"The wisdom and the knowledge that we can share with each other is invaluable, to help me specifically in bringing up the next generation in law enforcement by sharing my experiences, and encouraging them to be good and to do good things and try different things, and giving them the confidence that if I can do it, you definitely can do it too," Stephens said.

According to FBI data on women in law enforcement, only 12% of the field is made up of women, with only 3% in leadership roles like the women who spoke on the panel today.