In Honor of Black History Month, Middlesex County Sheriff Mildred Scott has received the 2017 Law Enforcement Ambassador Award.
Scott is the first female sheriff for the county and the first African-American sheriff in the state of New Jersey. The American Conference on Diversity will honor her during the 69th annual Humanitarian Awards Gala at the Pleasantdale Château in West Orange on April 6.
In 1968, Scott started as one of the first females to graduate the county police academy and be sworn in as a sheriff’s officer, according to a statement prepared by the American Conference on Diversity. She was promoted to sergeant, lieutenant and chief warrant officer until she was made chief sheriff officer in 1991, the first female to serve as the highest law enforcement officer in Middlesex County.
During her career at the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Department, she supervised all sheriff’s officers, oversaw all courthouse security, instituted fingerprinting programs in schools, established a senior citizen home security program and coordinated prisoner transport services with 25 municipalities within Middlesex County, according to the statement.
Scott retired from the sheriff’s department in 1995. She was elected as Piscataway’s councilwoman in 1996 and served until 2008.
In 2008, she was elected Middlesex County freeholder, serving as the chair of the Committee of Law and Public Safety from 2009-10, until she assumed her current position as sheriff.
She was re-elected as sheriff of Middlesex County for her third term in November.
Scott, a Gold Life Member of the Policeman’s Benevolent Association, received the Perth Amboy Hall of Fame in 2008 and the NAACP Award for Outstanding Service. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Jewish Renaissance Foundation and has served on the Executive Board of the Constitutional Officers Association of New Jersey. In 2013, Scott was selected as the Middlesex County 200 Club Honoree. The Supreme Court appointed Sheriff Scott to the 2016-18 Supreme Court Committee on Court Security, according to the statement.
To purchase tickets to the awards dinner, become a sponsor or make silent auction item donations, contact Barbara Getze at [email protected] or 800-626-8097. Tickets must be purchased in advance.