NORTH WILDWOOD – Katherine Madden would be considered a typical hometown girl if one only looks at where she grew up and what schools she attended – Margaret Mace School, Wildwood Catholic, Atlantic Cape Community College, and Rutgers University.
Madden, however, having reached the rank of captain in the North Wildwood Police Department (NWPD) makes her anything but typical.
She was promoted, June 7, along with Capt. Justin Robinson and Deputy Chief Willian Etsell, but when Madden took her oath from City Clerk Scott Jett, she reached the highest rank any woman had reached in the NWPD after Lt. Vicki Skill, who served from 1986 to 2011.
For Madden, the feelings are rather complex. On one hand, she would like to consider such an accomplishment normal and obtainable by anyone, regardless of gender. At the same time, however, she would like to be a role model for young girls to inspire them to consider roles that have been traditionally held by men.
“I want it to be something normal. I want it to become the gender norm. My end goal is to be chief. That is my end-end goal for my career, and I do want to be a role model for other girls,” she said.
Madden said she has been working with Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority’s (GWTIDA) John Lynch, who is known locally for starting his Lunch With Lynch Foundation which promotes educational opportunities for children.
She chaired the 2022 annual conference for the Mid-Atlantic Association of Women in Law Enforcement, which was held in Wildwood last year. This year’s event is being held in Annapolis, Maryland.
From the 2022 event, the association was able to donate money to Lunch With Lynch and set up a lunch between local female officers and local students, to whom the officers could act as role models. For Madden, she found her inspiration at home.
“I was taught by my dad, the father of four girls and one boy, that I could be anything I put my mind to,” she said.
Originally, that was not about being a police officer, let alone part of the NWPD command staff.
Madden graduated from Wildwood Catholic in 2004 and entered Drexel University. After a semester there, she decided that Philly was not her thing, and she came home and started attending Atlantic Cape.
Madden said she had not aspired to be a police officer and her father, retired Detective Sgt. Tom Flounders, had not pushed her in that direction, but ultimately, he suggested she try it for a summer job.
“He said it would be a good resume builder if nothing else. I tried it for the summer and fell in love with it,” she said.
Madden worked as a Special Law Enforcement Officer (SLEO), or Class II officer, for two summers before being hired full-time by the City of North Wildwood where she has worked for the past 16 years.
“I have enjoyed the North Wildwood Police Department, and I have enjoyed the City of North Wildwood,” she said. “The NWPD is very pro-female. In 16 years, there have been no gender issues.”
That is despite law enforcement remaining a male-dominated occupation. Again, what is the norm has not been a problem for the Flounders girls. Madden has a sister who is a port captain for a shipping company, and breaking barriers is something Madden instills in her own daughter – and others.
“As I am moving up the ranks, I am passionate about being a role model,” she said, “and I have to give credit to Vicky Skill. She was the strong female role model I was fortunate to have.”
Madden earned her associate degree and then her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Rutgers while working as an officer. Madden is a graduate of the New Jersey State Chiefs of Police Command and Leadership Academy. She will be attending the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, in January 2024.
Like many career officers, she has worked in various areas of the department. She spent some time in the detective division, which she said she didn’t mind because it gives you a different take on things, but her real heart has been in patrol.
“Patrol like being able to make a positive impact on people; seeing people at their worst moment and you help them overcome what they are going through,” she said.
Her current position, which she held as a lieutenant, is administrative commander, which means she is in charge of the civilian employees in the NWPD, the fleet, the equipment, the parking enforcement officers (Class I), and code enforcement.
She said there have certainly been changes in policing over her 16 years, including the use of social media. Recently, the NWPD used its Facebook page to get help from the public to identify two car burglary suspects.
Madden said DNA technology is far more advanced than it was 16 years ago, and there were no body cameras when she started. Like many officers, Madden feels the body cameras help more than hurt.
“They cover us when someone says we did something wrong, it shows that we didn’t. It’s also for transparency for the public,” she said.
Madden said procedurally some things have changed, and there is a lot more paperwork, but fundamentally everything comes down to the law.
About growing up in North Wildwood, Madden said the best thing is the small-town environment that characterizes it for much of the year.
“Obviously in the summer, it’s not a small town, but my graduating class from Margaret Mace was about 60 kids, and it was that or maybe a couple more from Wildwood Catholic. It’s a very tight town – the people are there to lift you up,” she said.
Madden recalled that when her mother, Christine Flounders, an art teacher at Margaret Mace, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at an early age, she, her father, and siblings organized a fundraiser walk for Alzheimer’s disease.
“The support from the community was amazing. The teachers at Margaret Mace… I can’t even say how supportive they were,” Madden said.
Ironically, although she grew up and still works in a shore town, Madden is not really a beach person, and neither is her husband and children.
“We are more mountain people. Our kids live in the woods,” she said.
Madden is married to Ryan Madden, a real estate investor, and they have three children: Ryan, Trinity, and Rory.
All in all, Madden said she is still happy to be working in North Wildwood and making an impact.
Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
