West Hempfield Township Police Department’s Cameron Powers has been an officer for less than a year, but all signs pointed to her becoming an officer based on her family history, education, and career experience.

“Both of my parents are retired police,” Powers said. “I always knew I wanted to do something with law.”

Powers was intrigued while watching Cops and Forensic Files growing up and eventually decided on joining the military during her senior year of high school before hitting a snag.

“I unfortunately couldn’t get into the military because I have a tube in my ear,” she said. “That was a little bit of a kickback because I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do, and I was graduating high school in a month.”

She decided to go to Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport to get an associate degree in prelaw and ended up graduating with a bachelor’s degree in legal studies and a minor in business administration.

“I thought might as well just go for it,” Powers said. “Then I worked for a paralegal for about two years.”

The Fairfield, Pa. native ended up working as a paralegal at a family law firm in Harrisburg for two years, yet the passion for law enforcement and public safety remained.

“I started wanting to do something with security and my dad told me to be armed security,” Powers said. “So, I obtained my Act 235 certification and then COVID hit. Fortunately, PennDOT in Harrisburg was hiring armed security and I started there in July 2020 until I went to the academy.”

Powers then went to and graduated from Harrisburg Area Community College’s (HACC) Police Academy.

“I always talked about becoming a police officer and thought I didn’t have the money, didn’t know if I should do it,” Powers said. “Then I thought, ‘This is your dream.’ If now’s not the time it’ll never be the time.”

Powers initially put her name into the Dauphin and Cumberland County police hiring consortiums thinking she would join a department closer to where she was residing. She never thought she’d come to Lancaster County until meeting West Hempfield Police Chief Lisa Layden, the first woman to serve in that position in the county.

“Chief Layden was at an open house at the Academy, and I was surprised to see a female,” Powers said. “I went up to her and shook her hand and we started talking. I never imagined I would be working in Lancaster. She told me when to apply and that there was going to be an opening in her department. I put my application in and thought I had no chance of getting it. It was the only Lancaster one I applied to.”

Powers got the job and has been effectively utilizing her education, which helps with the legal side of the position, and experience in security, which helps with public safety and required proficiency in use of force and handgun training.

“[Chief Layden] saw that potential in me and that felt really nice,” Powers said. “I went from a lawyer position to security to this and it’s been a nice stepping-stone transition. Working here has been a dream.”

Powers, who was one of eight women in a 64-person class at the academy, hopes more women join the police ranks and bring new ideas to the field.

“I’m hoping to keep a new perspective and go into situations with fresh eyes rather than a prejudgment of an issue I’ve dealt with before,” she said. “I hope to keep that going and be here for 25 years.”

Powers is a “big sister” to a “little” in Landisville in the Big Blue police mentorship program. She hopes to get into schools more and spread the word to the youth about the roles and responsibilities of police officers.

“The biggest misconceptions are that we aren’t human and that we should know all the answers,” she said. “That’s not the case. We deal with things in our personal life that we have to put aside to do our job and sometimes that can be difficult. We go home at the end of the day and have to cook dinner and take care of our kids just like everyone else.”

The first-year officer has ambitions to work her way up the ranks and become a detective investigating drug and gang crimes one day. She has thoughts of starting a PI firm – like her father had – further down the road, but right now she’s in a position that she’s always dreamed of.

“I’m a very curious person and I’m always asking why,” Powers said. “Even when I was young watching Forensic Files or Cops, I wondered why people commit crimes. It’s genuine curiosity and investigating the answers for people that don’t have them means a lot. It feels good to bring people peace and alleviate a bad situation.”

Powers was aware of the difficult and traumatic experiences officers face due to her family history in law enforcement and her past position in security. She has ways to get her mind off the job such as reading, spending time with her nieces, scrapbooking, massages, and helping her mom with her remodeling home (where smashing walls serves as a solid stress-release outlet).

“It can take an emotional toll,” she said. “It’s important to get your mind off the job sometimes. Go for a walk, go for a run, find a hobby. We have a good amount of time off to find something to do and try and decompress from the job a bit.”

That said, Powers feels all jobs can have certain stressors and being an officer allows her to make a difference, have autonomy, and ultimately help and keep safe the citizens of Lancaster County.

“If you are passionate about law enforcement, go for it,” she said. “If you don’t find the right department at first, don’t let that discourage you. I was lucky to find West Hempfield, it’s a department that fits my goals and dreams. If you have your heart in it, you’ll get what you put into it.”

MEDIA CONTACT: Sean McBryan, semcbryan@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @SeanMcBryanLanc.