Response Time
A conversation with a prominent NJ State PBA member
This month
Plainfi eld Local 19 State Delegate and Vice President Danielle Carvalho
The Vitals
• Grew up in Plainfi eld
• Member of NJ State PBA Peer Liaison and
Shields committees
• On the job since January 2010
• Married to Plainfi eld Local 19 Sergeant
• State Delegate since 2015
Nuno Carvalho
• Local Vice President since November 2018
• Member of the Local 19 Good and Welfare • Parent/guardian of Brianna, Aaliyah and
and Judiciary committees
Michael
F irst Response
You began your career as a Plainfi eld Police Department dispatcher. How
did you make the transition from being the person taking the calls to the
person responding to the calls?
When I started as a dispatcher, I was 19 years old. My sister was previously a dis-
patcher and after listening to her tell stories, I decided to put in an application. After
a couple of years, it got to the point where it bothered me that I never found out
what happened with the rest of the call. I didn’t know if everybody was OK. I never
got to see the ending. I decided that I needed the ending and would rather have the
ending than the beginning. I took the (police) test and got hired.
Conversation pieces
What has been your favorite part of the job?
My favorite part is probably the kids. They’re so innocent. They’re not jaded yet. They
haven’t formed their opinions yet. Our job can be thankless at times. The kids are
still happy to see us. When they come up to us with smiles to say hello and shake
our hands, it makes everything else worth it to me.
At what point in your career did you decide that you wanted to get
involved with your Local and the State PBA?
I’ve been pretty involved with my Local since I got sworn in. My husband was on
the Executive Board for our Local at the time. I’m one of those people who believes
you can’t eff ect change from the outside. You have to have a voice and be heard in
order to make things diff erent. You can’t be unhappy with something and rely on
somebody else to change things.
What’s your approach to a job that is still predominantly male?
It’s diffi cult. Law enforcement is looked at as a male-dominated fi eld, so women in
this fi eld have to prove themselves more than a man would. I feel like men are more
readily accepted as law enforcement. Women, on the other hand, have to prove
that. It can be a hard thing to do. It’s not that you have to impress anybody, but you
want to earn respect.
What sort of advice do you have for female offi cers to gain respect on the
job?
You just have to be yourself. Everybody has their own way. You don’t have to be
tough. You don’t always have to yell or scream – that’s not required. That’s not the
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offi cer that I am. I will be tough when I have to be tough, but I am more the calming
voice. Men know when I come to the scene, I can usually bring everybody down and
it doesn’t have to escalate, which is a very good trait to have.
You were the fi rst female to become a peer liaison. How important is it to
have a female presence in that program?
There’s a lot of women-oriented issues that didn’t necessarily get covered by the
group. They didn’t know how to address certain issues. I like that there is now a
voice. It doesn’t have to be my voice, but there needs to be a female voice. Now
there is somebody (female offi cers) can reach out to and they can feel comfortable
talking to about women’s issues. When I got sworn in (as State Delegate), two
other female State Delegates in the room made sure to come over and introduce
themselves to me because there aren’t that many of us.
What is an accomplishment that you are proud of?
I’m absolutely proud that I was asked to step up as Local vice president when ours
was recently promoted. There were other options and other people they could have
picked for that position – even if it’s just the interim position. To know that they
respect my voice, my opinion and my work ethic enough to think I would be a good
fi t is very rewarding.
Last Response
How would you describe the brother and sisterhood you’ve experienced in
this profession?
We’re a family no matter what. Even in my own department, we don’t always get
along. We don’t always agree. I hope that I’ve instilled in all our members that we
may fi ght, but at the end of the day, we’re family. If one of us needs something, we
all jump in to help.