Photo by Bill Green Frederick Police Department Officer First Class Angela Nibert has spent the past 11 years assigned to the Community Services Division as a school resource officer and working with the PAL program. She is now back on the road as a patrol officer.

"They were hoping I was lying to them," she said. "A couple of them thought I was joking."

Of her 14 years with the Frederick Police Department, Nibert has spent the past 11 assigned to the Community Services Division as a school resource officer and working with the PAL program. PAL is a recreation-oriented crime-prevention program for youth that helps children bond with officers.

"I enjoy working with people," she said. "I've had a great time over here."

Sgt. Wade Brown with the Community Services Division said many faculty and teachers at local schools call Nibert directly when they have a problem.

"They trust her," he said. "They know she can handle any situation they give her."

When the division is working at an event such as In The Street or The Great Frederick Fair, Brown said it is rare that someone doesn't know Nibert.

"Everybody is going to miss her," Brown said.

Lt. Shawn Martyak supervised the division from 2004 to 2007.

"She has a work ethic that far exceeds a lot of individuals I have seen over the years," he said. "She is a can-do person. I would like to have 10 of her. She is a fantastic officer and a real asset to the department."

Nibert dedicated herself to the children she mentored, Martyak said.

"I think she had a very broad impact on the children she has interacted with during her time at community services," he said.

Nibert has been getting ready to go back on patrol.

She has been looking into new protocols that have been put into place since she last worked on patrol such as new paperwork to fill out, officer safety techniques, and procedures during domestic situations.

"I've been mentally preparing myself," she said.

With the PAL program, she mainly worked daylight hours. With her move to patrol, she will work shifts lasting until the early morning hours.

Nibert has enjoyed her time working with children. Many of the children she mentored had a negative impression or were scared of the police before their interaction.

"I like being a good role model," she said. "I like showing them the right thing to do."

Through her years of coaching the PAL track team or in the schools teaching the Gang Resistance Education And Training program, Nibert has tried to help the children stay out of trouble and get them to make good decisions.

She has had children she mentored come up to her years later in their 20s and refer to her as "Officer Angie."

Nibert grew up in the Hagerstown area and graduated with a bachelor's degree in sociology with an emphasis on social work from Duquesne University. She worked as a group leader and supervisor at the Victor Cullen Center in the early 1990s before joining the police department.

She would love to come back to the Community Services Division if she gets the opportunity.

"It's the perfect job for me," she said. The position "was here before me but it was designed for me."