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36 The College of New Jersey Magazine Sergeant Caitlin Hurley '10 Ewing Police Department For Hurley, law enforcement is a family affair: Both her parents, three uncles, and a cousin were state troopers. Her husband is currently in the state police, and her sister is a municipal police officer. It's no surprise, then, that when Hurley was growing up, she saw police as the good guys. Today, she realizes that's not always the case or the public perception, and that understanding has guided her own work as a police officer. Hurley started as a patrol officer, responding to all manner of calls. "People say being a woman officer must be hard," says Hurley, one of just a handful of women on Ewing 's 70-officer police force. "No matter whether you're a female or a male, I think this job isn't for everyone. It's very demanding. You see things MITCHELL SAYS: Television almost invariably portrays big-city police departments. In reality, nearly half of municipal police agencies employ no more than 10 officers. that most people don't see." Hurley says she tries to treat people she encounters on the job as she would like her own family to be treated. Last year, Hurley was transferred to the department's Community Relations Unit, which allows her to interact with the community in a variety of ways. She spends time in local schools teaching children how to stay safe in public. She's supervised winter coat drives, and, in Ewing schools, she's taken part in the D.A.R.E. program, teaching students how to stay away from illegal drugs. More recently, she's helped organize the department's new Citizens Academy, which is intended to form positive partnerships between the department and the public. Anyone 18 years and over can apply to join the academy, which provides 24 hours of classroom instruction about all aspects of the Ewing Police Department. "This is the good side of policing," Hurley says of the Community Relations Unit. "We get to make people smile. I'm 'Sergeant Cait,' as opposed to 'Sergeant Hurley.' I get lots of high fives and hugs."