Move over Jon & Kate. Let The Police Women of Broward County show you how real women raise kids -- and work.

Smack in the middle of the debate about whether it is possible for women to have it all comes TLC's new series that sets out to capture the reality of females in law enforcement. It follows the lives of four ordinary women who alternately shuttle kids to school and, by the way, bust up drug rings.

When I previewed the new reality show, what surprised me most was that these women who shackle criminals and mediate violent domestic disputes for a living confront issues at home with their kids that are very familiar to those concerns of any working woman.

During the episode, 26-year-old Andrea Penoyer takes a call from her son -- as many women do while they're on the job -- but has to cut him off to burst into a crack house.

``Being a mom and a cop, those are both big jobs,'' she says.

Penoyer keeps her cool when she finds herself outnumbered in the crack house. Assigned to the street crimes unit, Penoyer stays fit through exercise and tells viewers she needs to be ``better than the best bad guy.'' At home, the single mom relies on coffee to keep her awake while her son does his homework.

These real-life Wonder Women are serving as role models at a time when the first black female CEO has just made the Fortune 500 list; Washington, D.C. has named its first female police chief, and Michelle Obama is advocating for the rights of working mothers. Despite all this, women are still getting mixed messages, with former General Electric CEO Jack Welch creating a national furor by telling women they can't have it all.

Welch recently told an organization of human resource professionals that there is no such thing as work-life balance, just ``work-life choices, and you make them and they have consequences.'' Welch said women frequently don't land that corner office because they opt out of an intense career to live a life that has some kind of balance between work and family.

Yet these Broward County officers are proving that women can succeed in a profession that is inherently risky and dominated by men.

Some might consider the show a remake of the popular Cops reality show, some of which was filmed in Broward. Yet I see a different storyline. I see four women -- Penoyer, Ana Murillo, Julie Bower and Shelunda Cooper -- showing America that each day they perform the same balancing act as most working women. One that the male officers in Cops did not have to master.

What differentiates the women in the reality show from most across America is that their job just happens to involve working a graveyard shift in a crime-ridden neighborhood or going undercover as a prostitute.

Bower, 48 and divorced, has three sons and works in the sex crimes unit. Murillo, 29, is married with a 2-year-old son and goes on stakeouts. Cooper, 25, is newly married to a fellow officer, works nights and has a twin sister on the force.

I love it that Murillo says what so many working moms know to be true. ``It's harder to be a mom than to be a cop. When I put my uniform on, I'm ready to play. That's my fun time, because when I go home, I gotta be a mom.''

In a phone call with two of the women, I ask them what they want viewers to take away from the 10 episodes of the first season: ``That we're not just cops; we're real people,'' Bower says.

I asked Penoyer, the single mom, if she worries each time she goes to work about not coming home for her son. She replied that the danger of her job is the reason why she spends her off time ``having experiences'' with him rather than hanging out watching television. ``If I don't come home, I want him to have something to remember.''

``What happens if their shift runs long or a kid gets sick?'' I ask.

They tell me that the unpredictability of their work schedules forces them to have a safety net at home -- family members who pitch in with child care and kids who are understanding.

Of course, it's the police action that TLC producers hope viewers will tune in to see. Nancy Daniels, TLC's VP of development and production, says the location was selected for its diversity, accessibility and high crime rate. She says the four women were chosen because they are ``multifaceted'' and reflect the station's heavily female audience.

If anything, this recession has shown us that women increasingly play a crucial role in their families' economic stability. As I watch The Police Women of Broward County, I see women who chose their profession not only to pay the bills, but also for the personal fulfillment that we all seek.

``I'm exhausted all the time,'' Bower says. ``But I know I'm making a difference out there.''

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@