Jacqueline Robles makes history as Holyoke Community College’s first Latina police chief

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Jacqueline Robles makes history as Holyoke Community College’s first Latina police chief

HOLYOKE — Springfield native Jacqueline Robles is set to make history as the first Latina police chief at Holyoke Community College.

“It’s exciting to be the first female Latina in this role, and I look forward to being a role model for young women and men, particularly from the Latino community,” Robles said.

Holyoke Community College will hold its first oath-of-office ceremony on Monday at 10:30 a.m. in the Leslie Phillips Theater, where Robles will be sworn in. A reception will follow in the Frost Building.

“Through her leadership, I believe Chief Robles will further strengthen the college’s new commitment to community policing, creating an atmosphere where students, employees, guests, and friends of the college feel supported and secure,” said Marlowe Washington, vice president of People, Culture and Equity at HCC.

Campus police

The HCC Police Department currently has about 15 members. While it is a small force, it is growing, Washington said.

People often think of police departments as municipal, but in higher education, HCC police officers certified by the state’s POST Commission, he said.

“They are sworn officers who carry weapons and perform all the duties that city or town police do, right here on campus,” he said.

When developing the job description for the next police chief, Washington said the college wanted someone who not only had the technical skills of policing but also the interpersonal skills to relate to people and promote inclusion.

Despite conducting a thorough nationwide search and considering well over a dozen applicants, it ultimately came down to choosing from within the department’s own ranks, he said.

“(Robles) fit that bill perfectly and was the obvious choice,” Washington said. “We were looking for someone who could help heal our campus, bring people together, and collaborate with kindness, and trust. Those are core values of our campus.”

He said sometimes all people see is blue uniforms and they can’t see the person behind that uniform.

“But truly these men and women that we have you know the private the kindest of men and women in our department,” Washington said.

Robles excels at bringing people to the table, fostering trust, and being kind but also knows how to switch that kindness off depending on the situation, he said.

Washington said Robles was a well-suited candidate for the top cop position because she has supervisory experience and knows where all the skeletons are on campus.

“She is familiar with the ins and outs and understands the politics and culture of the campus,” he said. “That’s the kind of leader we need at this point at this time for the campus in order to bring about a different type of policing to the campus, what I call peopling.”

Washington said that this new language emphasizes how people relate to one another, focusing on treating each other with kindness and trust.

Robles’ 22 years on the job is nothing to sneeze about and when the road was tough, she stayed, he said.

“We’ve had some challenges as a department. During that time’ people left but (Robles) never gave up. A part of why we selected her is the idea that she had staying power and she perseveres through all of the crisis. I often think that (Robles) is a person who doesn’t run away from crisis. If anything, she runs towards the crisis,” he said.

Robles will be the police chief and executive director of community safety.

Robles succeeds Scott Livingstone, the retired police chief from Amherst, who has been serving as interim police chief at HCC since October 2024.

Robles was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Springfield. She is fluent in Spanish and believes that because the department serves a very diverse community, “it only makes sense to have someone in the department who mirrors the people we serve,” she said.

Robles said her mother moved her to Bayamon, Puerto Rico, at a young age.

“I didn’t know Spanish, so it was a whole culture shock, and I hated it at the time. But as I got older, I realized it was the best thing my mom ever did for me. I learned about my culture, learned to appreciate it, and learned to speak and write Spanish very well,” she said.

Today, she said being fluent in Spanish has been beneficial at work as being bilingual has helped her aid others with language barriers, guiding them through transitions or assisting them when they needed help.

“If they were victims of a crime, I offered to accompany them to the courthouse and provide support,” she said.

Robles graduated from Holyoke High School and Springfield Technical Community College. She comes from a family of police officers, following three brothers and a sister into law enforcement.

After getting her associate degree in criminal justice from STCC, Robles started as a security officer at Smith College.

From campus police to sworn officers

Robles said that back in the mid to late ’80s, the department was called campus police, which was more like public safety security. Later on, she said the HCC Police Department was developed, but it remained unarmed for many years.

When Robles joined HCC in 2002 as a patrol officer, the force was still unarmed. The department became armed in 2013 for many reasons, she said.

One was an increased awareness of societal dangers and issues, particularly around the time of the Columbine High School shooting, Robles said.

“What happened at the time our chief put it into play, and we got a buzz around it. Luckily the college agreed and were supportive of that initiative. We got the training that we needed, and we were able to get armed,” she said.

As time goes by things change people change, but even through so much change the campus police adapted, Robles said.

In 2016, Robles was promoted to sergeant where she supervised police officers, parking lot attendants and dispatchers. She helped start a cadet program for HCC criminal justice students.

Even though it is a college, Robles said the department receives calls similar to those handled by municipal police.

“We handle everything from motor vehicle accidents to domestic calls, numerous medical calls, and unfortunately, drug-related issues are still part of society,” she said.

Her vision

One of the things Robles is looking forward to is getting the department accredited and more involved with the campus community.

“I would love to offer training to everyone, get some of our police certified and having the community come out and join us. Our approach is very humanity-based policing, and we aim to provide the best, most professional service we can as a college community,” Robles said.

Robles said she is looking to empower as many people as she can, especially women of color and the Latino community.

She also wants to show her children that if they work hard, they can achieve anything they set their minds to, she said. She has four children. Her oldest son is a court officer in Worcester.

Robles said she was fortunate to have had many role models growing up, starting with her mother, who instilled strong values in her. As the youngest of 12, with four siblings who are retired, or still active in policing she said she is eager to get started.

Law enforcement officials, elected officials and members of the Holyoke Community College community, along with over 30 of Robles’ family members are expected to attend Monday’s ceremony.

Police chiefs from several state community colleges and Holyoke, Amherst and South Hadley will also attend.

While Holyoke Police Chief Brian Keenan has not previously worked with Robles, he did work with her brother, a recently retired Springfield narcotics detective, for many years, he told The Republican.

“I’d like to congratulate Chief Robles on her promotion. She is dedicated public servant and will serve the Holyoke Community College campus well,” Keenan said. “I wish her success, and we will assist in any way that will help keep our entire community safe.”

Around 75% of colleges and universities in the country have a campus police department, Keenan said.

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