Women police executives to meet here

The UW Police Department will host the fifth annual conference of the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives Aug. 3-6 at the Concourse Hotel in Madison.

Founded in 1996, the association is the first organization established to address the unique needs of women holding senior management positions in law enforcement. Its mission is to promote the ideals and principles of women law enforcement executives in the areas of leadership, management and administration.

NAWLEE members hold the rank of lieutenant or above in federal, state, county, municipal, campus or railroad law enforcement agencies. They come from organizations of all sizes and locations, including the Los Angeles, Denver and Boston police departments. The organization’s current president is Anne Glavin, chief of police at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass.

UW Police Chief Susan Riseling, one of NAWLEE’s co-founders and its immediate past president, says that while the professional needs of women executives in law enforcement are much the same as those of their male counterparts, they are not as easily met. For instance, both need mentors, but there is often a reluctance or discomfort on the part of men to mentor women. Riseling says there aren’t enough women in top law enforcement posts to mentor all the women in the lower ranks, so male and female mentors are still very much needed.

Another problem is retaining women now at work in policing. “Most women who leave the profession do so around the eight- to 10-year mark, just when they are eligible for promotion,” Riseling says, noting that their reasons for leaving are varied.

The NAWLEE conference’s opening ceremony and general assembly are scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 4., in the Grand Ballroom of the Concourse Hotel.

The opening will include an historical flag presentation by the color guard of the 115th Fighter Wing of the Wisconsin Air National Guard and welcoming remarks from U.S. Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, County Executive Kathleen Falk and Dane County Sheriff Gary Hamblin.

Other highlights include workshops on mentoring, ethics, technology trends in law enforcement and “Leadership Skills for the 21st Century,” featuring educator and consultant Jack Enter, Lawrenceville, Ga., who lectures on law enforcement issues.

A banquet Saturday, Aug. 5, at 6:30 p.m. at The Springs Resort near Spring Green, features speaker Rev. Zina Jacque, who once served as the executive director of the Boston, Mass. Ten Point Coalition, an organization of 60-plus churches galvanized around issues related to solving problems involving at-risk youth in Boston.

The conference concludes Sunday, Aug. 6, at the Concourse with a discussion on “Becoming a Chief or Sheriff” and an issues roundtable.

Conference attendees have been invited to take part in a charity golf outing hosted by Riseling at The Springs Resort Monday, Aug. 7. Proceeds will go to the Exchange Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse, which serves at-risk families in the Dane County area.