Margaret Mims received a "Breaking the Glass Ceiling Award" from the National Center for Women in Policing.
Margaret Mims (MPA, 2005) has served the public as a police officer and sheriff's deputy for more than a quarter of a century, which gives her a unique perspective on the dramatic changes within her profession and her community.
Today, the National University alumnus is Assistant Sheriff for Fresno County, protecting the peace for almost 6,000 square miles and serving a population of close to 870,000. To her credit, she has risen steadily through the ranks over the years, breaking numerous gender barriers along the way and continuously adapting to ever-changing methods of policing.
The daughter of a deputy constable, Sheriff Mims grew up in the small agricultural towns of Selma and San Joaquin in Fresno County in an era when Andy Taylor and Barney Fife provided popular role models for rural law enforcement. When she joined the Kerman Police Department in 1980, most women with a badge worked in stereotypical assignments such as juvenile units or working with women victims of crime. Women working field patrol was a rarity.
"As a woman in law enforcement, it wasn't always easy," Sheriff Mims recalls. "I wasn't always welcome, especially in the beginning. But with each opportunity to prove herself, and with society in general changing gradually, Mims patiently went about shattering stereotypes and pioneering a professional pathway for other women to follow.
In August 1983, Ms. Mims joined the Fresno County Sheriff's Department. She worked in various capacities, from K-9, sex crimes and domestic violence units to crime prevention and analysis, and as a burglary detective. There was a random defining point in the middle of her career, when she was required to bolt from her patrol car, run down a suspect, tackle and handcuff him, that the gender issue began to fade away.
"At that point I believe I was no longer regarded as a 'female deputy sheriff,' but simply as a deputy sheriff," says Sheriff Mims, who was promoted to sergeant in 1989. At the time, she was the first female in that position to supervise field units
In 1998, Mims was promoted from sergeant to lieutenent, becoming a first-line supervisor. Her area of responsibility was 2,000 square miles and she had about 60 deputies reporting to her. "I loved it," she says. "I had six incorporated cities and worked closely with the police chiefs in those cities." Once again, she was leading the way for other women in law enforcement to follow. As the first female deputy sheriff promoted to lieutenant in the 142 year history of the department, Mims received a "Breaking the Glass Ceiling Award" from the National Center for Women in Policing. In May 2004, Mims was promoted to captain and assigned to the Fresno County Jail, becoming executive commander of four facilities with about 3,000 inmates. Again, she was the first woman to reach that level.
In the fall of 2004, when the Fresno County Sheriff decided to fill three positions at the assistant sheriff level, Mims was ready for her biggest promotion yet. As she notes, every promotion stage in law enforcement is extremely competitive. Fortunately, realizing that experience, competence, professionalism and education all come into play, she pursued a master's degree in public administration from National University, completing the program in October of that year.
In addition to her professional duties, Sheriff Mims Is an adjunct faculty member now. It provides her with the opportunity to share all her experiences with a younger generation of peace officers, providing them with a first hand view of what it's really like to be out on the streets or inside the jail, policing one's community.
Like many other National University alumni Sheriff Mims is a family woman with a husband and a daughter in college. A son, his wife, and two grandaughters round out her family.
