Gone are the days when a woman had to choose between a career and a family

A/Sgt. Christie Cacchione
An officer came to my class as part of a VIP program in the 90’s. She talked about the usual things police speak to students about: safety, drugs and bullying. I was impressed with how she spoke to us and the presence she had in her uniform. She clearly cared about her community. I thought, that’s what I want to do. I worked hard to make myself a competitive candidate. I was on the high school honour roll, I volunteered at the Ottawa Mission, I graduated with honours from the Police Foundations program at Algonquin College and won the Police and Public Safety Institute Award and was then hired by the Ottawa Police. Now 20 years later, I’m married to an RCMP police officer and we have three beautiful children. Managing kids and a career can be hard, but we make work-life balance a priority. Gone are the days when a woman had to choose between a career and a family. I’m grateful for the support I get from Ottawa Police to move forward with my career without any sacrifice to my family.