Jacqueline Robles is sworn in as HCC police chief by Azizah Yasin, acting clerk magistrate of the Eastern Hampshire District, while her eldest son, Jalen Cruz, looks on.
Photo credit: Holyoke Community College
HOLYOKE — Holyoke Community College hosted an oath-of-office ceremony on May 5 to officially appoint Jacqueline Robles as the new chief of police at the college.
“Big task ahead,” Robles stated,” I was super humbled and excited filled with emotions. I was definitely overwhelmed by the abundance of support, both from the staff and the faculty and the students, but also from my family.”
Robles’ son, a court officer in Worcester, and her brother, a retired police officer, took part in the ceremony by pinning the bars, stars and badge.
Robles also made history as the first Latina police chief, which she called an honor.
“As a first Latina woman at HCC, that carries a lot of responsibility. I hope to serve everybody, but particularly, Latina women, to help them push forward and tell them to work hard and it is possible to achieve what you dream for and work so hard for,” Robles said.
In general, Robles said she also hopes to be a role model for young women and represent her culture.
Robles decided to join the police force after two of her brothers became officers.
“My brothers would all get together and they would chitchat about their day and about their experiences and I thought to myself, I can do that, I think I can do that, I really do think I can do that,” she explained.
Both she and her sister were at college together and Robles said she did not know what to do with her future. Her sister ended up becoming a police officer which led Robles to realize she wanted to do the same thing.
Robles has served with the HCC Police Department for 22 years, becoming a familiar face on campus.
She talked about her experience so far and said, “I like it. It’s a completely different atmosphere than municipality and I loved it and I’ve been here ever since. I wanted to help people and I’ve been doing that all this time. It’s great — I’m in a position where I can help, I can lead, I can mentor, I can empower all these students.”
Looking to the future, Robles said her focus is to unite the HCC community with a more “humanized” form of policing and get the Police Department accredited.
“We can go on a journey through that process and make it grow and learn and eventually after a little bit of time, get it to where I want it to be, which is maximum professionalism in law enforcement officers and to get recognized for that along with making this Police Department more student centered, participation with the community, participating in events, having the community participate with our department to come together,” Robles concluded.
