Wakefield Police Officer Receives “Spirit of MAWLE Award” Recognizing Women in Law Enforcement

For Immediate Release

Monday, June 22, 2015

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Wakefield Police Officer Receives Presitigious “Spirit of MAWLE Award”

WAKEFIELD — Police Chief Rick Smith and the Wakefield Police Department are pleased to announce that Officer Kelley Tobyne is the recipient of the 2015 Massachusetts Association of Women in Law Enforcement (MAWLE) “Spirit of MAWLE Award” for Community Service. The award was presented at a ceremony at Hellenic College in Brookline on June 18.

“The impact Officer Tobyne has had on our department and the citizens of our town has been immeasurable,” Chief Smith said.  “She has dedicated her life to making the lives of others better, and we are so proud she has received the recognition that she deserves.”

The “Spirit of MAWLE Award” is given to only five women each year for outstanding contributions to the field of law enforcement in areas of Leadership, Mentoring, Courage, Performance, and Community Service.

Officer Tobyne has been with the Wakefield Police Department since September 2009.  In 2010, she volunteered to partner with the Eliot Community Human Services in a ride-along program to better assist those suffering from mental illness and emotional disturbances, which led to a grant-funded program by the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health.  This program houses a full-time clinician to offer assistance to officers in dealing with those suffering from mental illness.  It also led to the creation of a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT).

Officer Tobyne is one of the departments first child safety seat technicians, educating countless numbers of parents on keeping children safe in the car.  She was also selected as the department’s first School Resource Officer in 2012, and developed a “Junior Officer” program which has seen great success.

Recently, Officer Tobyne helped start a Suicide Prevention Coalition in Wakefield, which targets early signs of depression in both youth and adults.  She is a member of the “Wakefield Unified Prevention Coalition” which dedicates itself to substance abuse education and outreach within our community.

Beyond her countless number of professional achievements, her most significant contributions to the community may very well come in her time off-duty as a volunteer for 15 years at the Massachusetts Department of Development Services (DDS) Hogan Regional Center.

“Her supreme level of compassion, dedication, and motivation place Officer Tobyne at the top of her class in community service,” Chief Smith said. “She is an inspiration for others who aspire to achieve greatness in the field of law enforcement.”

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