UNITED NATIONS (AP) U.N. police forces worldwide are about 4,000 officers short of their approved strength of more than 16,700 and are failing to recruit enough women to meet a goal of 20 percent female officers by 2014.
The top police adviser in the U.N.'s Department of Peacekeeping Operations said Thursday that "We must have more female police officers among our blue berets."
Stefan Feller says shrinking national budgets are partly to blame for U.N. police forces not being fully staffed.
He also says the United Nations will not meet its target of 20 percent women in the police forces by 2014, saying, "We are at about 10 percent with one year to go."
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Female officers are also in high demand in their home countries.