Appleton Police Department Hosts Women in Public Safety Day March 8 2023.
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) — Young women in Appleton spent this International Women’s Day learning from the strong women at the Appleton Police Department at their 2nd annual Women in Public Safety Day at the Hilton Paper Valley Hotel.
Women make up 12% of law enforcement across the nation. Appleton Police Chief, Polly Olson, wants to encourage women to see themselves in the profession.
“The event is really about having the young women consider doing things that might be outside the normal box for them, and explore different career opportunities.” said Chief Olson.
Participants attended hands-on sessions relating to public safety. Student Elisabeth Owens shared why she came to the event.
“I’ve always been really interested in law itself, and recently I’ve been thinking about becoming a paralegal,” said Owens. “When I heard this was about law and learning courtroom procedures, I thought this could be really interesting.”
The young women participated in hands-on presentations lead by Appleton police and fire departments, the Outagamie county district attorney, department of criminal investigation, and digital forensic examiner. They also got a tour of the Appleton Police Department and the Outagamie County Courthouse.
Lieutenant Meghan Cash with the Appleton Police Department played a key role in organizing the event.
“If somebody would have told me this was an option for me when I was younger, it probably wouldn’t have taken me so long to find the law enforcement career.” said Cash.
The first Women in Public Safety event was held in February of 2022 with 30 participants. This year saw 40 participants. The Appleton Police Department is hoping to keep growing the program for years to come.
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