RACINE — Women are at the forefront of helping move policing forward in Racine, leading the majority of the city's Community Oriented Policing houses.
Officers Gabby Hood, Emily Draves, Haley Harbison and Jennifer Bodnar are four of the seven COP House leaders for the Racine Police Department—a notable majority—as women are often underrepresented in law enforcement.
FBI data shows just about 17 percent of police officers nationwide are women. Within the Racine Police Department, women make up about 16 percent of all officers.
WATCH: Women are at the forefront of Racine's community-oriented policing houses aiming to build local connections
"As someone that was born and raised in this city, I was familiar with two female officers, and that was it," Officer Hood said.
She said it was those officers she knew as a child that influenced her to pursue a law enforcement career.
"And I just knew that I'd be able to make a positive impact if I was the same way that I saw them in my eyes," she said.
Officer Hood leads the Geneva Street COP House and often visits a nearby school as part of her community-facing work. She says it's not uncommon for students to be surprised that she's a female officer.
"For it to be 2026 and these kids to think that a female couldn't be a police officer is crazy," she said. "It just shows them that it's something that they're able to do."
In 2025, five COP houses were led by women. One of the officers was promoted to an investigator.
These COP officers say seeing women in leadership in the department emphasizes women's role in law enforcement, despite the ongoing disparity.
"It’s still a space, despite there being a disparity, that we are welcome in, especially, intrinsically, inside the department," said Officer Harbison, who leads the Villa Street COP House.
The officers say there is a culture of supporting and uplifting women within the Racine Police Department.
"All of us treat each other like family," said Officer Bodnar, who oversees the Mead Street COP House.
"The house that I’m at right now, the Wadewitz community house, I grew up around the corner from there, at 17th and Racine," Bodnar said.
She said it feels "amazing" to be serving within RPD at that location.
"It’s crazy to think about that I was in this community when I was younger, and now I get to meet the kids and the older folks in my community and make a difference," Officer Bodnar said.
The officers say their focus is on building trust in the community, and being a woman and adding to the diversity of the police department only further helps the city's COP house model have an impact.
"Like any type of diversity that you have, age, gender, race, orientation, religious preferences, you can connect with someone different," Officer Draves said.
Officer Draves leads the 434 Main COP House in downtown Racine, where she has to balance the needs of both business owners and residents in the area.
She says being in the COP Unit alongside these women is a beneficial part of the job.
"We just obviously share a lot of life experiences, we share a lot of ideas and goals, and so we get to play on that every day," she said.
For Officer Harbison, she's experienced the gratification of being a presence in her COP House's neighborhood.
"The biggest thing has been kind of reframing trust for kids in the neighborhood," Officer Harbison said.
She described a change she's seen from kids not wanting her around to looking forward to snacks, stickers and movie nights at the COP House.
"Seeing that change and those bonds come to fruition has been amazing," she said.
Beyond their own relationships with one another, for officers Harbison, Hood, Draves and Bodnar, it's the community relationships that emphasize the benefit of the COP House model.
"You have seen many, many relationships that have blossomed from it," Officer Harbison said. "All of it has shown that we do get tangible results from it.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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