Rush has long history with police

Not easy being a female officer She has come a long way in the past two decades, since she began her career as one of Philadelphia's first female patrol officers. It has not always been an easy trip, but outgoing Director of Victim Support and Special Services Maureen Rush wouldn't have it any other way. Rush is slated to begin a new role as director of police operations, handling the day-to-day operations of University Police. Rush's post is a new one, created as part of Managing Director of Public Safety Tom Seamon's reorganization of the police department. Earning the respect of male colleagues like Seamon has not always been easy for Rush. She joined the Philadelphia Police Department in 1974, in the aftermath of a Justice Department lawsuit over the lack of female patrol officers. "I was one of the first. When I started out, there were no female role models, no one to talk to about whether or not I liked the job," she explained. "But the longer I was there, the more I liked it." Rush said male police officers were "skeptical" at first about the abilities of female officers to handle patrol duties. "They didn't think we could do the job," she said. "There was a lot of distrust." Rush started out in the 25th district, where officer Lauretha Vaird recently became the first female Philadelphia Police officer killed in the line of duty. "Any time a cop is killed or wounded, every officer has flashbacks," she said. "You can only sympathize with the family, and remember all the times your own family preached safety to you. "That's part of what I intend to do in my new job -- preach safety," she added. Rush said she takes pride in having increased the number of Victim Support staffers and the amount of hours that they work, as well as holding regular public awareness and crime prevention seminars. Additionally, under Rush's direction, Victim Support has begun posting crime alerts in places such as Almanac and the World Wide Web home page maintained by Penn Watch, a student run crime-prevention group. "Victim Support shouldn't only be reactive. We're not only here to help people after they've become victims," Rush said."Our main goal is to prevent people from becoming victims in the first place." Rush said that after almost two years at Victim Support, she will miss the human side of her job the most. "When I was with the Philadelphia Police Department, I had no time to be involved in the lives of the people I came in contact with," she said. "I was able to do that here." In particular, Rush remembers a Penn student who was involved in a serious auto accident. "We helped both the student and his family. After he recovered, he came by to say hello," she recalled. "He looked so good that I didn't recognize him. " We've seen people here across a whole range of emotions," Rush added. "We've helped people through the lowest times of their lives, and seen them through to happier times." She said she looks forward to a "growing experience" in her new job. "We're going to move this department forward. [Managing Director of Public Safety Tom Seamon and new Director of Police Administration George Clisby] understand each other and work well together. "This will be a real good combination," she said.