*Twenty-three years after Pamela A. Smith joined the U.S. Park Police, she makes history after being chosen to lead the nation’s oldest federal law enforcement agency as its chief, becoming the first African-American woman in the position.
She’ll lead a 560-member workforce that protects the public, parks and the nation’s most iconic landmarks in the District, New York City and San Francisco metropolitan areas.
Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and then graduated from the FBI National Academy. She’s a member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
During her law enforcement career, the proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. has served as a patrol officer, field training officer, canine handler and academy instructor at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.
The new leader of the 230-year-old agency immediately remarked that she would establish a body-worn camera program for the department within 90 days. The program will initially begin in San Francisco and be implemented across the country by the end of the year, Smith stated.
“Chief Smith’s commitment to policing as public service and her willingness to listen and collaborate make her the right person to lead the U.S. Park Police at this pivotal moment in our country,” Shawn Benge, deputy director exercising the delegated authority of the National Park Service [NPS] director, noted in a statement. “Over the coming months, leadership of the NPS will explore opportunities with Chief Smith designed to strengthen our organization’s commitment to transparency. Her personal and professional experience make her acutely aware of and ready to meet the challenges and responsibilities that face U.S. Park Police and law enforcement agencies across the nation.”
Chief Smith talks about her background and new historic role below, beginning at 10:20.
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