30 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: OCTOBER 2017 Female bosses shattering “glass ceilings” nationwide Dallas, Phoenix, Columbus, Detroit and now Salt Lake County – women making huge gains in LE leadership posts T here’s a new sher- iff in town and her name is Rosie Rivera. She’s slat- ed to be the only female sheriff in all of Utah. Rivera comes with more than 20 years of law en- forcement experience. Recently she’s been in charge of policing for the Unified Police De- partment in its Riverton precinct. Rivera will take over from former Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Wind- er, who left in July to take a job as chief with the Moab Police Depart- ment. Undersheriff Scott Carv- er has been acting sheriff since then. “We together can ensure that there’s equal rights, equal justice and equal op- portunity for everyone,” Rivera told reporters. “We will hire, we will retain and we will make oppor- tunities for everyone.” Dozens of Rivera’s sup- porters applauded and cheered as the county party’s leaders announced Rivera had been selected for the post. Rivera will have a lot on her plate from day one because of tremendous pressure to fight crime and improve homeless servic- es in Salt Lake County. That’s not even consid- ering the overcrowded jail Rivera will be managing. “It will be a change, I think, for the public more than for law enforcement,” Rivera said. “I want them to see that women can be leaders, too.” “My idea is community policing – to bring us all together so we can get together and work on the homeless issue, the jail bed issue, the opioid epidemic.” Rivera also says she thinks there are too many people in lock up. “We want to incarcerate the most dangerous indi- viduals that don’t need to be on the street,” Rivera said. “The other piece is those who come to jail who don’t belong there, such as people who suf- fer from mental illness. If they committed a vio- lent crime, they belong there.” Rivera edged out Steve Anjewierden in a runoff vote. Anjewierden was gra- cious in defeat. “I’m proud of the race I ran and gave it a great ef- fort. I love the sheriff‘s of- fice and our community,” he said. “Congratulations to Rosie.” Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams offered his congratulations. “Congratulations, Sher- iff Rivera! I look forward to working with you,” Cox wrote on Twitter. “We’ve got a lot to do.” “I could not, at any age, be content to take my place by the fireside and simply look on. Life was meant to be lived. Curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.” – Eleanor Roosevelt Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera Come Join Us @ THE OREGON DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY STANDARDS & TRAINING Apply today: www.oregon.gov/dpsst/hr/pages/dpsstjobopenings.aspx MAKE A DIFFERENCE WITH DPSST Our mission is to promote excellence in public safety through the development of professional standards and the delivery of quality training.