March 7, 2023 By Carol Britton Meyer
In recognition of International Women’s Day on March 8 — honoring the achievements of women and promoting women’s rights — the Hingham Anchor reached out to Hingham Police Department’s women police officers, asking them to share their thoughts about their role in the community and why they are proud to be part of HPD.
Patrol Officer/FTO (Field Training Officer) Kimberly Neveu and Animal Control/Special Officer Leslie Badger responded to our invitation.
Hingham Animal Control/Special Officer Leslie Badger marked her 15th year with the Hingham Police Department last month.
In her ACO and animal inspector role, Badger handles all animal-related calls that come in to HPD, inspects barns and kennels, and issues quarantines when necessary. Along the way, Badger has earned many training certifications and hopes to do the same as a special police officer, a role into which she has grown.
In this position, Badger helps out when needed on regular police calls, from responding to the original call as a backup or other assistance to directing traffic, scene control, and other duties.
While she wasn’t sure she actually wanted to be a police officer growing up, she knew that helping animals and people was what she wanted to do from a young age.
One of the challenges of her job is getting others to understand that she’s not the stereotypical “dog catcher” seen on TV or in movies. “There is so much more to animal control in this day and age than people realize,” Badger told the Hingham Anchor.
Her favorite part of the job is seeing animals “happy, healthy, and thriving in this town, along with their owners.”
Another rewarding part of the job is when citizens follow the law, especially ones related to dogs, evidence of the respect that they have not only for her, the town, and the property they’re visiting, but also for themselves and their pets, Badger explained.
One of the high points of her career with HPD so far is adding “officer” to her title. “It took a lot to not only achieve it, but to know I can offer an extra set of hands and help even more now was very important to me.”
Among Badger’s goals and aspirations is to continue improving herself through training and within-the-field experiences. “I’m happy to always be learning something new, because I want to be the best person, ACO, and officer for the town and department that I can be,” she said.
Badger is proud to be among several female officers on the HPD force. “I think it’s so very important to have females in any and all departments, because they can relate to and understand other females and help them feel comfortable reporting incidents or concerns,” she explained. “It also sends a message to other females who would like to be in this field: ‘Look, we did it and are doing it, and so can you!'”
As a female police officer, Badger said she’s “personally thankful and looks up to all the other officers in the HPD and neighboring police departments because they all hold themselves to such high standards, which helps me even on my worst days to want to do the same at all times.”
Badger shared one of her favorite stories from her HPD experiences. “I think they all center around the calls/rescues I perform, ranging from getting a cat and iguana out of two different engine compartments to kayaking out to rescue an injured swan off a pond to finding, catching, and trapping a dog who has been missing for a really long time,” Badger said. “The rescues usually provide the best stories afterwards, that’s for sure.”
Badger appreciates the sense of camaraderie with HPD. “I think any place you work you will find some level of this, but here at HPD, we are family when it comes down to it — through the good and bad times.”