On May 29, Jackson County Deputy Jennifer Lindsey was promoted to Patrol Sergeant, which made her the first female Patrol Sergeant in the history of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
Lindsey, a fifteen-year veteran deputy, is proud to be the first women patrol sergeant, but she likes to focus on her goals of doing a good job.
“I think in general,” she said, “wanting to be a good officer, a good investigator, man or woman, is my personal goal, to do the best I can do.”
Lindsey started out in the dispatch center as part-time dispatcher and part-time jail officer. She was hired fulltime in 1994 as a jail officer.
What got her into law enforcement, as a long-term goal, were two things: the investigation aspect of the job and helping other people.
In 2008, Sergeant Lindsey graduated from the world-renowned National Forensic Academy at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.  The 10-week course focused exclusively on advanced crime scene investigation.
Upon graduation, Sergeant Lindsey successfully tested for acceptance into the prestigious International Association for Identification.
“It was a very good program,” she said.  “It had a lot of in-depth hands-on experience with crime scenes, blood spatters, vehicles, and, as you can image, a lot of bodies. It was a difficult program.”
There are 52 Crime Scene Investigators in Illinois certified through the IAI, and Sergeant Lindsey is one of them.
“There are a lot of interesting incidences [in this job],” she said.  “Most of the scenes I find interesting are the death scenes, to figure out what happened, how it happened, how long it’s been since it’s happened, and who did it. They’re always a puzzle.”
Lindsey, who is originally from the south side of Chicago, lives in Jackson County with her husband and daughter.
“I’m proud to work here,” she said. “I work with a lot of good people and we have a very professional department.”