Patricia Smith takes the oath from Board of Police Commissioners Chairman Emile Geisenheimer. Photo by Hannah Vahl

MADISON-The town will soon boast four female officers, with Army veteran Patricia Smith sworn in Monday. "The locker room's getting crowded," joked Ofc. Lori Laprise at the swearing in ceremony.
Smith, 26, of West Haven, enlisted right after graduating high school. She spent four years in the Army, attaining the rank of specialist, and the year in the Reserves, stationed in Korea and in Washington State.
How will Madison stack up to Seoul, where she was stationed? "I think Madison is a great town. There's a lot of opportunity."
Smith knows about the troubles the department has faced, as the Board of Police Commissioners has fired many of its officers for allegations ranging from worker's compensation fraud to meeting prostitutes while on duty.
But all this hasn't fazed Smith. In fact, it has showed her how much she is needed at the department.
"I think I would be a good fit for them for what they need right now," she said. "They need people with strong morals and values. I have a lot of integrity."
On her decision to enlist in the Army, Smith said, "I wanted to feel that I was doing something to give back. I think it is an honor to be able to serve your country." While serving, she received a National Defense Service Medal, an Army Service Ribbon, and an Army Good Conduct Medal.
She comes from a family with a military tradition: both her father and grandfather served.
Before she was stationed in Korea, Smith had never stepped onto an airplane. Getting to live abroad, she said, was eye-opening. "You think you know so much at 18," she said. "It was shocking for me to realize how little I little I knew."
After Smith is sworn in, the department will still be four short of the 26 positions the department has budgeted for. Acting Chief Robert Nolan says that the department is considering several possible transfers of already certified officers, as well as continuing to look at entry-level noncertified officers.
Smith is the first officer to be hired under a new review process recommended by Nolan and implemented by the commission. Her application was first reviewed by the town's human resources department, which advertised the post and set up oral and written tests, rather than the police department which handled it previously.
After Smith passed the cost-free parts of the hiring process, the town paid for tests with associated costs - the psychological exam and tbe physical, for example.
Commissioners were also given Smith's entire application file, including the background check and psychological exam, before they interviewed her, which had never been the case before
"The Commission is making a major decision for the town of Madison and the police department," said Nolan. "How do you make that decision if you don't know who this person is who comes before you?"
And about the decision to have candidates first go through the town's human resources department, he said, "I want to be absolutely sure that when candidates come through they come through because of their ability and not for any other reason."
Nolan said that Smith was ranked number one in the initial testing, and called her "a very impressive young lady."
Smith has been working toward a bachelor's degree in criminal justice at Gateway Community College and says she plans to pursue her degree again once she graduates from the Connecticut Police Academy.
She is scheduled to start training with the Academy on Sept. 2.
Hannah Vahl can be reached at 458-5751 or hvahl@ctcentral.com

©Shore Line Times 2008