Sarnia's outgoing police chief wants to see the hiring of more women on the local force.
According to Statistics Canada, there are just 13 female officers in the 111-member uniformed compliment.
That amounts to about 11.7$, well below the national average of 21%.
Chief Phil Nelson says they're always working to attract more females but admits it can be challenging.
"I think it seems to be a bit of a concern across the province right now, getting more women into policing," says Nelson. "I'd just like to see more women applying here. We're not a large police service, we're not hiring large numbers. We recently sent four cadets to the police college, that's a large number for us. But still, I would like to see more women just applying here."
"I go back to the days when we had our first policewoman working here. Some quit, some go back to teaching or other professions, some have just retired after working for 30 years. I can definitely state to you that from seeing the women in the various parts of the service, seeing the expertise that they bring, they are indeed very important to us."
Nelson says there are women playing prominent roles on the service, including on the Emergency Response Team and in court services.
There are also non-uniformed women working in the communications, financial services, and property management divisions.
He says his successor Norm Hansen is working on ways to attract more women to the job.
In neighbouring Chatham-Kent, where the number of female officers is at 13.5%, recruitment Initiatives include more job fairs and school presentations.
Nelson's final day on the job is May 31.