AMESBURY — Amesbury police Deputy Chief Lauren Blatchford was given special recognition by the Massachusetts Association of Women in Law Enforcement on Thursday at the Irish Cultural Center in Canton.
Blatchford, born and raised in Amesbury, began her career in law enforcement in 1996 with the Titusville, Florida, Police Department after she had earned her degree in aeronautical engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.
In 2004, she transferred to New Hampshire where she became a sergeant with the University of New Hampshire Police Department. Seven years later, she returned to her hometown and became Amesbury’s first-full time woman police officer.
Since 2011, Blatchford has worked her way up through the ranks haven been promoted to sergeant in 2016, lieutenant in 2022 and deputy chief in 2024.
“I could not be prouder of Lauren and her accomplishments. She is not only a pioneer who continues to pave the way for future women, and women leaders within the law enforcement profession, but most importantly she is a role model, and hero to young woman who look up to their parents and say, ‘I want to be a police officer,’” Amesbury police Chief Craig Bailey said.