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WINCHESTER – The first female sergeant in the Winchester Police Department’s history, Kathryn DiPerna was recently appointed as such and is very excited to take on this new role. Sergeant DiPerna grew up in Winchester and currently lives in the area with her husband and children. She has always loved working in law enforcement, and worked in a few different capacities.
She has been with the Winchester Police for almost 10 years and for the last several years she was assigned to the Detective Bureau, so her job was conducting investigations and following up on incidents after patrol handled the initial scene or report. Now as a sergeant she will be back in uniform with patrol as a supervisor.
She is looking forward to the challenges and the responsibilities her new role will bring, both in supervising the officers she works with and serving the community effectively and fairly.
She noted that being the first female sergeant in the department’s history feels pretty cool. She said that when she first started, herself and one other female worked for the department and since then two more women joined the force.
She added how she has consistently worked hard to be the best she can be with hopes to advance her career. She noted this was a big goal for her, but she is also a mom to two young children which is her first priority, while maintaining a full-time career.
She mentioned that to be promoted, there were two different tests they had to take, both of which required many hours of studying and preparation. Her family knowing how important this was to her allowed her the space to do the work required, even if it meant less time with them. She has a 6-year-old daughter whom she hopes to inspire and teach her that with hard work and dedication, she can do anything she sets her mind to.
Prior to working for the Winchester Police Department, she worked for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office as a victim witness advocate and a forensic interviewer. As an interviewer she worked in the Family Protection and Child Abuse Unit where her primary responsibility was interviewing child victims of sexual and physical abuse. Although she loved that job, she wanted to be more involved in the law enforcement side of it; she wanted to help victims of crime, investigate the crimes themselves, and hold offenders accountable.
She has two mentors that helped shape who she is as a police officer. One being her husband who has been a police officer for nearly 20 years, whom she met before she got on the job. He encouraged her to begin her career in law enforcement, and taught her the importance of integrity, honesty, fairness and professionalism. He is proud of being a police officer and carries himself as such.
She added how he has been a constant source of support and guidance for her and she’s been lucky to have him as a mentor.
Her second mentor is a detective sergeant from the Chelsea Police Department, whom she met immediately when she began working for the DA’s Office. He is one of the primary child abuse investigators for the City of Chelsea. During her seven years there, the two worked closely together on child abuse cases and he handled every investigation with an open mind, compassion and grace. He seems to understand the cases more than anyone, and knows how to run an effective, thorough investigation. He always answers her calls and questions, no matter how silly they may be, and she appreciates his guidance so greatly.
One of the biggest challenges she encountered in her career is that some people they encounter will challenge the authority of a female police officer more than they would a male officer. They can be disrespectful, dismissive or attempt to intimidate. It was difficult for her in the beginning of her career to not take that personally. She wanted to be viewed equally to her male counterparts. She learned that by knowing her authority, understanding the law and maintaining professionalism, she could earn respect from those who might not otherwise give it.
The most rewarding part of her career is becoming involved with people as they are experiencing something traumatic, forming relationships with them, and resolving the investigation. She had the opportunity to investigate and work on many serious cases, from homicides to sexual assaults, domestic violence, child abuse and overdoses. These investigations are difficult for victims and their families, but can be difficult for the investigators, as well. She has formed relationships with people that she may not have met otherwise, and seen how resilient they can be.
Police Chief Daniel O’Connell noted that the department knew when they hired Sergeant DiPerna years ago that she was bringing a wealth of knowledge from her previous job in the Children’s Unit with the District Attorney’s Office. Since that time, she has proven herself to be a great asset to the department and community.
He noted that she worked a short time in patrol before she was moved to detective where her skills could be utilized and enhanced. She will now be moving back to patrol as a supervisor, the first female supervisor in the history of the Winchester Police Department. He exclaimed how she is an outstanding police officer whom he is proud to be working beside. He knows she will again excel in her new position as sergeant.
Sergeant DiPerna noted that in a time where there seems to be a lot of anti-police sentiment in the country, she is fortunate to work in a community that supports and trusts their police department. She added it can be challenging to work in a profession that operates around the clock, nights, weekends, holidays, often where they miss time with family. She said they are lucky the Winchester community they serve appreciates those sacrifices.
