In this conversation, May-Britt V. R. Ronnebro interviews Paula Borrello, a policewoman in the Portuguese police and a member of the International Police Association (IPA) Portugal. Paula shares her journey of becoming a policewoman and the influence of her family members who were also in the police force. She talks about her passion for helping people and her decision to work on the streets. Paula also discusses the progress made for female police officers in Portugal and the different police organizations in the country.

Takeaways

• Paula Borrello became a policewoman because her father and sister were in the police force, and she admired them.
• She chose to work on the streets because she wanted to help people directly.
• Paula’s sister was the first woman to become an officer in the police force in Portugal.
• There has been progress in the representation of female police officers in Portugal, but there are still challenges.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction
01:01 Becoming a Policewoman
04:12 Being the First Police Woman
05:23 Passion for Helping People
07:15 Role Models in the Family
08:00 Inspiration from Sister
09:21 Working on the Streets
10:15 Loss of Sister
12:16 Progress for Female Police Officers
13:26 Different Police Organizations in Portugal
15:17 Language Barrier