CCJ Directory

Christine Elow became the first woman ever to lead the Cambridge Police Department when she was named permanent police commissioner in January 2022. She was previously in charge of the Operations Division having administrative oversight for the entire patrol operations section as well as the Community Service Unit. Community Service is a newly formed unit and includes both Youth & Family Services and Community Relations. Both units have embarked on innovative approaches designed to address the needs of the city’s youth and families, the homeless population, those suffering from chronic mental illness, and senior adults. Each of these initiatives incorporates collaborative partnerships with a wide array of city departments, community-based organizations, and social service providers.

Superintendent Elow has been with the Cambridge Police Department for more than 20 years. She previously served as Deputy Superintendent for Day Patrol and Community Services. Prior to assuming her duties in the Operations Division, she was the commanding officer for the department’s Professional Standards Unit. She has been actively engaged in developing approaches designed to integrate the philosophical underpinnings of “Police Legitimacy” and “Fair & Impartial Policing” into the culture of the police department. She has provided a number of trainings in both of these areas to other police departments locally and nationally and is the principal instructor at the department’s regional police academy. She is currently developing a similar approach for other municipal departments in the City of Cambridge that is designed to transfer these concepts into a variety of disciplinary approaches.

Raised and educated in Cambridge, Superintendent Elow is dedicated to the City continuing to be a safe and healthy community for its residents and visitors to live, work and study. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Curry College, holds a Master of Arts Degree in Security Studies from the Naval Post Graduate School and the Center of Homeland Defense and Security and served in the United States Navy between 1987 until 1991. Today she balances her career in policing with her role of mother to sixteen-year-old twin sons, Justin and Jordan.