By Robert Sullivan and Elisabeth Strillacci

SALISBURY — The third annual “Women in Law Enforcement Luncheon,” hosted by the Salisbury Police Department on Friday, saw a tremendous jump in attendance from its first year when there were 12 attendees.

This year more than 62 law enforcement officials from 20 different agencies attended the event, which is scheduled to fall on or around the annual National Police Woman Day, September 12

The event, organized by Master Police Officer and Community Engagement Officer Shakya Jackson, offered attendees the opportunity to network with other law enforcement officials and worked to inspire women already in the field and those who might wish to join it.

“Today’s luncheon is to recognize and show appreciation for ourselves and for other women working in this male-dominated profession. There’s a myth that women can’t do a male-dominated job or that we can’t survive in this line of work. But here we all are,” said Jackson.

That message captures the reason Jackson entered law enforcement almost eight years ago.

“I’m a little different,” she said. “I do want to help people, but what really drove me into this field was the challenge. I saw there were not a lot of women in law enforcement, and I wanted to meet that challenge.”

Attendees came from the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, State Highway Patrol, Department of Adult Corrections, Catawba College’s public safety department, Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office, Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office and the China Grove, Kannapolis, Pineville, Greensboro, Hickory, Landis, Monroe, Concord, Matthews, Statesville, Winston-Salem and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police departments. Jackson said that 62 people attended compared with 12 the first year and 54 last year.

Part of the reason for the increase in attendance, Jackson said, is they opened it up to outside agencies, as well as non-sworn members of departments. That can include crime scene analysts, technicians, anyone who works in the department but doesn’t carry a badge and a gun.

“If any of you were like me, you probably felt once or twice to yourself, ‘I need to do more work, arrest more people, get more drugs,’ just because we want to be seen as equal to our male counterparts in this line of work. I know from firsthand experience that this is not the case. You can make that goal for yourself, but leave the ulterior motives out of it because what you do is enough,” said Salisbury Officer Samira Wolf, who was the host for the day.

Rowan County District Attorney Brandy Cook was the guest speaker for the event and shared some information about the history of North Carolina women in law enforcement as well as stories about exceptional female officers she had met during her career.

“Some of them are here today and one that I still consider a good friend. I watched her work her way up the ranks and retire as captain in a law enforcement agency. I can tell you from my first-hand knowledge that she earned every promotion she received and is a wonderful person and inspiration. I’m so glad that she is still taking time to teach some of these young recruits, especially women, what their roles are and that if a man can do it, you can do it,” said Cook.

Cook also provided stories about her experiences from her own career. She spoke about judges that would address her male co-workers instead of Cook even on cases that were solely hers. By the end of the jury trial, she said that the judge was speaking with her, “so I guess at some point I earned some respect by the end of that jury trial.”

“You can overcome, with your willpower, whatever you want to do. There will be moments where life will seem tough and the challenges can feel insurmountable but you continue to find the courage to take a risk, do what you love and connect with your goals. For this particular group of women in this room, when you live a life of purpose with the work that you do, you help victims. You become a voice for the voiceless. You help our community in one way, shape or form every single day,” said Cook.

Cook became the first woman to be elected to the office of Rowan County District Attorney in 2010.

After Cook’s speech, a panel discussion was held to give veteran law enforcement officials, including Salisbury Lt. Jennifer Moreau, N.C. District 19 Chief Probation and Parole Officer Ashley Chastain, and retired Salisbury Lt. Karen Barbee, the opportunity to answer questions such as how to support other female officers, how officers can display leadership and how to maintain a work-life balance.

After the panel discussion, Wolf posited the question of how law enforcement could better encourage diversity within their ranks to the entirety of the attendees. Dr. Alberta McLaughlin, Salisbury Police Department victim advocate, said that the best way to encourage diversity was for the members of the departments themselves to advocate and speak about the importance of diversity.

“If you can’t sit at the table, squeeze your way to the table somehow. Learn how to get to the table. I make sure I get to the table, I’ll knock on a door and say ‘hey, I’m advocating for this officer today.’ You got to get your voice heard and get to the table and sit at the table,” said McLaughlin.

Captain Shaketia Barnes of the Mecklenburg Sheriff’s Office said that she works to meet children, especially Black females, where they are at, such as at a school event or simply in public, and speak to them about the reality of her work, who she is and how she handles it, in an effort to encourage them and reassure them.

Salisbury Police Chief Patrick Smith provided short remarks at the beginning of the event and said that the department is committed to the 30×30 initiative, which aims to increase female representation in police recruitment classes to 30 percent by 2030. Currently 13 percent of officers in the nation are female and only three percent of law enforcement leadership is female. He said that currently the department’s staff is 12 percent female and he recognized that the department still had work to do in striving to be a more inclusive department that better reflects the community it serves.

The event started under the leadership of former Chief Jerry Stokes, who initially gave the nod “after I explained about the national day, that it really was a thing,” said Jackson. She said at first, some of the male officers were not entirely supportive, wondering why women needed an event of their own, but have come around and are supportive now. Smith has been supportive from the start of his leadership, “giving us room to try a lot of new things.”

“The first few years I was the only female on patrol overnight,” said Jackson, “and that was hard. The other officers were not sure of me, and we had to find our way. Now I think there are at least four females on patrol and just seeing the change is wonderful.”

“If someone comes away from this and tells me they gained confidence, they gained belief in themselves and the idea that they can do this job, I’ll be happy,” she added.

Because the National Police Woman Day is the same date each year, she already knows when she’ll be looking at next year’s luncheon, and this year, she added something to the event that she believes will help her in planning future luncheons that are so close to her heart.

“This is my baby,” she admitted, “and this year we added a questionnaire for attendees to see what they thought. I’ll be going through those this week, to see how we did and what we need to add or improve on for next year.”

Smith has given Jackson a goal of 100 attendees for next year’s luncheon, and she’s determined to meet that challenge, just as she has within all other parts of her career.