Police matron added to force

Township’s police matron conducts searches of female offenders (Dec. 22)

By: Marisa Maldonado
   PLUMSTED — When police pulled over a drunken driver last month, they had to find a way to care for the three children in the back seat. Peggy Ulmer, the department’s new police matron, was there to take them back to the station and entertain them with cartoons.
   Her new role as the township’s police matron allows her to provide people in need with some reassurance, she said.
   "Maybe if they do remember (the incident), they’ll remember the nice lady who gave them coloring books," she said of the three youngsters.
   The long-discussed idea to hire a woman to conduct searches of female offenders and accompany them to prison came to fruition when Ms. Ulmer, the Police Department’s new secretary, expressed an interest in the job when hired seven months ago.
   The 31-year-old said she has enjoyed working in the field with her colleagues in the all-male Police Department.
   "I have a lot of respect for these guys," Ms. Ulmer said. "I’ve actually seen the things they do."
   Ms. Ulmer, who studied criminal justice in college and accompanied police officers on the road in Oklahoma and North Carolina, was officially named police matron at last week’s Township Committee meeting. In addition to her secretarial work, she has accompanied police on three incidents in her two months on the job.
   She first experienced the role a woman can play in law enforcement while riding with police in North Carolina, holding the hands of a woman whose husband had just died. The police felt the grieving woman could benefit from the comfort of another woman, she said.
   "Even though I was a ride-along, they kind of let me help the lady," she said.
   Ms. Ulmer considered applying for the Police Academy in North Carolina several years ago, but stopped the process when she realized its strict time commitments would conflict with raising her three children.
   "I never got to finish it out, with the kids being young," she said. But taking classes to become a first- or second-class police officer — lower classes that would allow her to fulfill police duties such as filling out crime reports — still could be an option, she said.
   Plumsted’s Police Department has an all-male force of 11 members. There are some unique advantages a female staff member has, Lt. George Titko said. Having Ms. Ulmer on staff to conduct searches can discourage female prisoners from complaining that a male officer has touched them inappropriately, he said.
   "It’s definitely a liability issue for sexual harassment complaints and allegations," he said of having male officers search female suspects.
   Hiring female police officers is difficult with a limited pool to choose from, Lt. Titko said. But having a woman on staff would help the department, he said.
   "Sure, it would be a benefit," Lt. Titko said. "But it’s not a necessity."
   Balancing her secretarial and matron duties isn’t Ms. Ulmer’s only balancing act — she also has three young children at home. And an incident can take her away from home for several hours — a drug arrest Sunday night kept her at the department until the early hours Monday.