The Omaha Police Department put out the call looking for a few good men, women and minorities to help fill their ranks and got more than a few. A record breaking 1,500 people applied to join.

OPD had a goal of 20 percent of the applicants to be women. It came close at 15 percent. A look at the numbers shows 929 actually took the test. Of that group, 274 are minorities and 156 of the minority applicants are women.

Police say women play a vital role on the force. "One thing good about women on the police department is we do respond to some sensitive calls with some females and a lot of times those females are more comfortable talking to a female officer, so that is a big part of it," says Omaha Police Lt. Darci Tierney.

Currently the OPD has 747 active officers with 151 of them female. So who are they looking for?

"We like to have people who have common sense because that's a big part of our job, talking to people, problem solving, so those types of skills are very important to us," says Lt. Tierney.

The women we talked to say their male counterparts are respectful. "Most of the male officers are really supportive, not really what I thought it would be,” says Lt. Tierney. “There wasn't as many obstacles as I thought once I got into it."

Wednesday was a special day for Officer Kelly Nownes, one of three officers honored. She saved a man's life last July 16th when 65-year-old James Clark was found brutally beaten and stuffed inside the trunk of a vehicle.

"We just followed what appeared to us at the time to be drag marks on the ground,” says Officer Nownes. She says it was all part of the job, a job she's always dreamed of doing. "I've always wanted to be a police officer. I've always kind of wanted to help people."

"It's definitely a great job for females,” says Officer Nownes. “There should be no worries about joining. We welcome every female who wants to apply."

Lt. Tierney encourages women to apply and if you have any questions, they have female officers on hand to talk to. They also have tips to help you prepare for the recruitment process.