Two new officers mark a first for UND Police

Josie Beltz and Febee Harlow were sworn in Sept. 23, pushing the department’s female officers past 21%, well above the national average

There wasn’t much empty space inside UND’s Office of Safety on Sept. 23. Family, friends and fellow officers packed the room to watch two new female officers take their oaths.

“Two new women joining the constellation of stars here in the Department of Safety is a monumental event,” said Chief of Police Rodney Clark.

Standing shoulder to shoulder, the two women listened intently as Clark reflected on what brought them to this moment.

“These two women have what I consider to be two of the most important things we look for, grit and perseverance,” Clark said.

For Josie Beltz, getting to that moment meant taking on one final hurdle. Clark recalled watching Beltz work to overcome the physical portion of the testing process before joining the department. After several attempts, she continued training until she succeeded, an effort Clark said he was proud to witness from afar.

“In the academy, you don’t really have a lot of room for mistakes, you have to be on top of your game for those 16 weeks in order to pass,” Beltz said. “There are a lot of opportunities for failure, but it was some of the most fun I’ve had in years.”

With the academy behind her, Beltz is eager to put those 16 weeks of training to work on campus.

“I am excited to go through the good and the bad, and to interact with all of the students,” she said.

Febee Harlow’s path to the field started on the other side of the radio. She graduated from the police academy in May 2026. Harlow then spent four months working in dispatch, gaining a different perspective on the work before stepping into the field herself.

“I found myself wanting to get into the field and do more, while also helping the community that raised me,” Harlow said.

With Beltz and Harlow joining the force, women now make up more than one-fifth of the department’s rank-and-file officers and sergeants. Nationally, women accounted for about 14% of full-time sworn officers in local police departments and sheriffs’ offices in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.

“The UND Police Department has officially achieved 21% of officers that are female, which is above the national standard,” he said. “It is a natural result of hiring good people.”

Beltz and Harlow raised their right hands and repeated the oath of office, officially swearing them into the department.

“I will not betray the peace officer’s code of conduct, the trust of a fellow peace officer and the trust of the public,” both women echoed.

Their oath also included promises to uphold the U.S. and North Dakota constitutions and to perform their duties faithfully and impartially. For Clark, watching the two officers take that oath offered a moment to reflect on how much the profession has changed.

“I was thinking about how much we transitioned as a society,” Clark said. “Two local girls came up through high school and are now members of the local police department, carrying on that tradition.”

With the oath under their belt and badges placed around their necks, Beltz and Harlow turned back toward the room, this time as UND police officers. Family, friends and fellow officers gathered around for photos and a roar of congratulations.

“We’re very, very proud of them,” Clark said. “We look forward to all the good work that they’ll do for the greater community.”