March marks National Women's History Month throughout the country to recognize the achievements of women in all facets of life. This initiative has proved to have an enormous positive impact on the development of self respect of girls and young women as well as opening up new opportunities for them. There is a local organization that our Department partners with whose mission is to connect with girls and young women in order to help them discover themselves, their values, connect with others and take action to make the world a better place – CampHERO. This organization offers exciting unique experiences to help girls develop courage, gain confidence and build character while they are introduced to the protective services field such as law enforcement. The girls are given hands-on experiences taught by real police officers, firefighters, EMT/paramedics and dispatchers. Currently there is one Lieutenant, two Sergeants, two Detectives, one Investigator and two police officers from Madison Police Department who are involved with CampHERO.
The Madison Police Department is an active participant and supporter of women in the law enforcement profession. We are proud to have the highest percentage of commissioned women personnel on our staff in the entire nation at 33%. We are committed to the recruitment, hiring and retention of women for our Department which is why we support programs such as CampHERO.
CampHERO will be launching its media campaign on March 12, 2014 to promote this year's events. This initiative is a remarkable way for girls to connect with a network of mentors and to be inspired to make the world a better place through public service. To learn more about CampHERO please visit their website: http://camphero4girls.org/Home/tabid/559/Default.aspx