Camden County Police Introduce First Female K-9 Officer

Gabrielle Camacho is the first female K-9 officer in the history of the the City of Camden’s law enforcement efforts, the Camden County Police Department announced on Friday.

She has worked for the department for more than two years with the neighborhood response unit and most recently as a detective. She is currently in the K9 Academy and her dog Peyton is being trained in narcotics detection.

“I am proud and honored to be able to introduce the first female police officer on our K9 team,” Camden County Freeholder Susan Shin-Angulo said. “This is a historic day for the department, the city and this decorated unit. I hope this will be one of many other announcements to come for female officers branching out into other male-dominated roles.”

Additionally, the American Humane Society donated five body armor dog vests for the department’s canine officers. The vests usually cost $2,100 apiece.

“This donation will go a long way in protecting and preserving our K9s on the street,” Shin-Angulo said. “Furthermore, we want fellow officers to have the same valuable tools and protections as their colleagues.”

Dogs were first used in law enforcement in 1869, when the Metropolitan Police of London started the practice.

In the United States, they have been used in a variety of ways, from bomb sniffing to search and rescue, for more than 100 years.

The Camden County Police Department uses eight K-9 officers who are all dual-trained at the academy for a variety of different purposes.

“Not only does the unit make a real difference to law enforcement in Camden City, they are also our best ambassadors in the classrooms,” Shin- Angulo said. “These animals make our department a better law enforcement agency and we will continue to deploy them in a variety of ways in order to make residents feel safe and reduce the number of crime victims.”