The Massachusetts Association of Women in Law Enforcement recently held their 7th annual training conference on July 23rd at the Holiday Inn in Falmouth, MA. It was followed by their 2nd Great Cape Escape Golf Tournament at Falmouth Country Club on July 24th.
This year's conference was co-sponsored by Sheriff James Cummings and Barnstable County Sheriff Department. Captain Jeanne Bonavita of the Barnstable County Sheriff Department was the hostess for the conference along with Sgt. Mary McCauley of the Massachusetts State Police. The day started off with the Honor Guards of the Barnstable and Plymouth County Sheriff Departments. The keynote speaker was Senate President Therese Murray who talked about the progress women have made in law enforcement and the glass ceilings they have broken. She went on to encourage all participants of the conference to not stop at breaking the glass ceiling but to continue on until the glass ceiling is nothing but a memory.
Training sessions were held on the following topics -
- Gang Members: Identifying/Investigation/Intelligence Sharing
- Methamphetamine and Trendy Drugs
- Intro to Narcotic Detection Canines: Understanding Scent Work/Legalities/Liabilities
- Search Warrants in 2010- A Primer
Through out the day participants had the opportunity to bid on silent auction items that included an iPad, a foursome at Falmouth Country Club, a golf bag and a Street Survival Seminar. There were also numerous raffle prizes, all awarded at the close of the conference.
The next morning many of the conference participants joined up with other golfers at the Falmouth Country Club. There were two grand prizes being offered for a hole-in-one - a Mercedes Benz C Class and a fully loaded Ford Edge. Though there were no winners this year, everyone had a fun time. Golfing was followed by a cookout on the grounds of the country club.
Special thanks goes to Jeanne Bonavita and her team for all the hard work they put into making this conference such a great success!
If anyone is interested in working on next year's conference or if you have any ideas for training topics, speakers, entertainment, etc. for the conference contact MAWLE at http://www.mawle.org/.
