This year, three women in South Dakota were elected or promoted to leadership positions within law enforcement agencies — a somewhat rare occurrence for the mostly male-driven career.
According to data collected by the FBI, of the reporting agencies in 2019, 87.2% percent of all law enforcement officers nationwide were male. Only 12.8% were female.
New Lake County Sheriff taking over in January
Sarina Talich is currently the Deputy Sheriff for Lake County, but come January she’ll have a new sign on her door.
“I never thought that I would be in a position like this, it was more like I want to be out responding to calls and accidents and stopping cars and making arrests. That was the kind of thing that you were drawn to,” Talich said.
Talich grew up in northwest Iowa where she went to West Sioux High School in Hawarden.
“I went to school at a couple different universities in South Dakota, got my degree in criminal justice, became a certified law enforcement officer in 2007,” Talich said. “Have worked at a couple different police departments, the sheriff’s office in Union County and now Lake County.”
Talich was appointed as the next Lake County Sheriff by the county commission after the current sheriff, Tim Walburg, announced his retirement earlier this year.
“I’m looking forward to continuing the relationships that I have here at our office. We have a good staff here, everyone here is fun to work with, they’re like a second family to me,” Talich said.
New Chief of Police in Vermillion
Farther south in Vermillon, Police Chief Crystal Brady is still getting used to her new role after being promoted this summer.
“I think maybe last year I didn’t even know that I would be sitting here at this point,” Brady said.
Read the full story at the Keloland TV.