Newsroom Homepage    Link this way

spacer
About HACC    Link this way
spacer
Calendar of Events    Link this way
spacer
Enrollment Reports    Link this way
spacer
Media Requests    Link this way
spacer
News Releases    Link this way
spacer





Submit

HACC Heroes


Follow HACC News

FacebookTwitterInstagram
flickrLinked InYoutube

Other Top Stories

HACC's 41st Wildwood Writers’ Festival
Local award-winning writers, community members, HACC students and alumni engaged with the public and celebrated the art of writing during the 41st annual Wildwood Writers’ Festival on March 23, 2023, at the Harrisburg Campus of HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College. 

 

More News Releases


Print Friendly Version Convert to PDF
22 March 2023

Tailboard Talk: Women in Law Enforcement

By Robert Stakem, executive director of the Senator John J. Shumaker Public Safety Center at HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College.

Published by Harrisburg Magazine, March 2, 2023
 
Editor’s note: Public safety professionals often hold informal discussions on the back bumper or tailboard of an ambulance or fire truck. Hence, the column’s tagline, “Tailboard Talk.”
 
Since 1981, March has been recognized as Women’s History Month. In honor of this annual observance, HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, recognizes some influential women in law enforcement.
 
According to the National Institute of Justice, women account for less than 13% of law enforcement officers in the United States. An even smaller percentage serve in leadership positions within the departments. Leading the fourth largest police department in the nation, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw is the first Black woman to lead the Philadelphia Police Department.
 
Closer to Harrisburg, other women are serving our communities and leading police departments. Among those women are Cindy Shirk, Alisha Graybill and Christina Day.
 
Cindy Shirk began her law enforcement career in Lancaster County in 1980. After 24 years, Shirk continued to serve the law enforcement community by becoming a certified instructor. She came to HACC and served as a law enforcement coordinator.

Although she retired from this position in 2021 after 15 years of service, she continues to teach and mentor new police cadets.
 
As Spring Garden Township Police Department’s first female officer, Sergeant Alisha Graybill was hired in 2000 as a patrol officer after graduating from HACC’s 78th Municipal Police Academy. Recognizing the lack of female officers in the field, she was drawn to the prospect of new challenges and opportunities to make a difference every day.

She has served her community as a member of the York County forensic team, a field training officer and critical incident stress management peer. Graybill was promoted to sergeant in 2020 and serves as the patrol supervisor, field training coordinator and department forensic unit supervisor. While the majority of cadets in HACC’s police academy are male, Graybill wants women “to understand that they are capable of succeeding at this career.”  
 
Christina Day is the 2022 recipient of the PNC Social Justice Scholarship, which provides a full-ride scholarship for Black students enrolled in HACC’s Police Academy or Emergency
Medical Technician (EMT) Program.

Day graduated Dec. 12, 2022, from HACC’s 121st Municipal Police Academy. She is currently in the hiring process for a local police department. When asked why she wanted to become a police officer, in addition to helping people, Day said, “An even bigger reason is that I want to start a legacy. No one in my family is an officer; a majority of them just got by with jobs they hated just to see retirement. I want my kids to see it's OK to find a career you love that they can be proud of. Most importantly, I wanted to be proud of myself and for my family to be proud of me. I know being an officer requires duty, honor and integrity. I feel as though I bring that and more to the big table of law enforcement."
 
These three women have defied norms and helped change the makeup of law enforcement for the better. Many police departments are actively recruiting for new officers. Are you interested in joining these women to make a difference in our communities?
 

Contact(s):
For further information, please contact newsroom@hacc.edu.
 

< back
Spacer
TEKgroup International, Inc. Contact Us | Locations | Employment | Site Map | Antidiscrimination Policy | Security | myHACC
One HACC Drive, Harrisburg PA 17110 (800) ABC-HACC   .:.  © 1996- 2023 all rights reserved