DENVER (KDVR) — Denver Police Department is taking part in a new initiative to add more female officers to its force.

It’s called the ’30×30 initiative’ and the goal is to reach 30% of women in police recruitment classes by the year 2030.

DPD’s current class of recruits actually surpasses the goal of the initiative with 43% of recruits being female.

That’s the largest percentage of women Denver police has ever had for an academy class of recruits.

The effort now is to continue that momentum.

“We’re really focused on that,” said Deputy Chief Barb Archer.

Nationwide, only 12% of sworn officers are female, but in Denver that figure is higher; it sits at 15%.

The 30×30 initiative is being put in place to ensure law enforcement agencies are truly representative of the communities they serve.

DPD said it has women serving in plenty of different roles, including: patrol officers, technicians, detectives, sergeants, lieutenants, captains, commanders, even as deputy chiefs.

“There are a lot of great career opportunities. As you may be aware, in government jobs there’s no difference between male and female pay rates — you’re paid the same. So you’re equal as soon as you come in the door. There’s no difference there,” Archer said.

DPD just finished hosting its third women’s community academy, which allows women interested in policing to get hands on experience by shadowing officers for two days.

For more information on the 30×30 initiative, click here.