An exodus of police expected to retire this March has the Norwalk Police Department launching an aggressive campaign to attract female recruits to fill new openings.

Police Chief Harry Riling says the department?s next Norwalk recruitment brochure focuses on attracting a more diverse work force ? and that means women. Police recruiters hope to increase the percentage of female officers from 9 percent to 14 percent.

But Lieutenant Andrew Gale, the officer in charge of recruitment, says it?s not easy to woo women officers, despite a starting salary of just under $50,000 a year. He says departments across the country are hiring from within smaller pools of qualified people so competition is fierce. Interested applicants must apply to take the force?s written exam by September 21st.