The twelfth full-time officer in the Perry Police Department started work last week, bringing the department to full strength for the first time in several years.
Officer Hayley McCarthy is a native of Reinbeck, Iowa. Before taking the position in Perry, she held a state job as an officer in the University of Northern Iowa Police Department.
“There are similarities between working in a campus police department and a municipal department,” McCarthy said, “but there are also some significant differences.”
She said the college environment saw a lot of alcohol-related violations but few domestic disturbances.
Stray dogs were probably less commonly seen in a compact campus environment than in a sprawling place like Perry.
McCarthy had the chance to meet a large number of her fellow city employees at Wednesday’s sixth annual Employee Safety and Appreciation Day, held for the first time in the Perry Police Department’s new sally port.
