A Monmouth County town made history this month by swearing it the town’s first female police chief.

Chief Tina Scott became the Belmar Chief of Police during a swearing-in ceremony on Feb. 9. She was joined by her 13-year-old son and her grandfather.

Scott has been a police officer for over 20 years and says that she wants others to know that hard work does pay off.

“It gives me good feelings to be a good role model for young officers – female officers – that, you know, with hard work and dedication you can get to this point in your career,” Scott says.

Former Belmar police officer and current Belmar Mayor Mark Walsifer issued the oath to swear in Scott. He says that Scott, who first joined the Belmar police force in 1998, earned the title regardless of her gender.

“As she went through the ranks, she became my boss. It’s a proud moment for me because I know how hard she worked to get where she was,” Walsifer says. “Tina’s going to make a great chief for us.”

This is not the first time that Scott has made history in law enforcement. She was the first female police officer in neighboring Lake Cuomo – back when the town was known as South Belmar.

There is currently one other female police officer on the 23-member Belmar police force. Scott says that she would like to see more women officers soon.

“Females in law enforcement are an asset I think and it’s very important to have them involved,” she says.

Scott says that she would also like to grow the community policing program and to work more closely with schools.

Scott replaces retiring Chief Andrew Huisman. Scott was sworn in on the 100th anniversary of New Jersey’s vote to ratify the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote.