Women in law enforcement: Phyllis Sims talks about her career

When Phyllis Sims began working in the Cleveland County Detention Center, there was only one other female officer on the shift.

It was in the early 1980s, and there were very few women in law enforcement, let alone Black women who had reached the status of captain.

Sims said she didn’t intend to go into law enforcement, but once she did, she realized she had found her calling.

A Shelby native, Sims said she graduated from Cleveland Community College in 1978 with a degree in executive secretarial management and got a job at the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office as a control room clerk in 1980.

“I got into law enforcement, not necessarily by mistake, but it was not a career I chose. It pretty much chose me,” she said.

After working in the control room for around a year, there was an opening in the jail, and Sims said she decided she wanted to be a detention officer.

"It was neat to see officers in uniform and how professional they looked and I thought, I want to do that, I want to be a part of that," she said.

She liked the family atmosphere and how people had each other's backs.

"At the time it was called a jailer. In '83, Buddy McKinney swore me in as a deputy sheriff," she said.

She climbed the ranks through the years, first being promoted to sergeant, then lieutenant and then captain in 2000, becoming the detention administrator and over court security.

"Back in the early '80s, there wasn't a lot of female officers in law enforcement. You have to earn respect from these guys," she said.

She said for the most part, she always gave and received respect. As a woman in a male-dominated career, she said she had to get used to being one of the only women around and standing her ground on a lot of things.

"I was a female, and you know a lot of times people think females don't know what they're doing," Sims said. "My leadership style was always to be firm, fair and consistent. Not show any favoritism. I make one decision at a time. I try to treat everybody good, try treat everybody fair."

Eventually, she went back to school, earning a bachelor's and then master's degree. She retired from full-time law enforcement in 2012 and currently, she works part-time at the Sheriff's Office and part time at Cleveland Community College helping out with the Basic Law Enforcement Training program and teaching criminal justice.

She said once she got into law enforcement, she found it interesting.

"I knew once I got into it I was going to make a career out of it, but I also realized I had to do a little extra as a female," Sims said. "I'm here because I know what I'm doing, and I want to be qualified in whatever aspect of what I'm doing."

She said she mentored a lot of people because she was continually learning, training and working on her education.

"At one point I was the jail administrator association president," she said.

She said she was the first Black female president to achieve that title. She was also the first Black female captain at the Sheriff's Office.

"I feel like I've accomplished a lot," she said.

Over the span of her long career, she said she has worked under the direction of six different administration.

"Each administration is different, but I feel like I weathered the storm because I knew my job. I knew my task," she said. "Sheriff's elections can get dirty and nasty but always felt if God wanted me in that particular place, I was going to be there. I worked with a lot of great people."

Sims said she enjoys meeting new people, mentoring others, especially women, and giving them advice garnered from her long years of service.

"I love serving the people of Cleveland County," she said.

Sims said if other women are considering a career in law enforcement, to go ahead and do it while they're young, to get all the training possible and keep the door open for opportunities and to not settle.

"Strive for excellence. Do it while you can. Because before you know it, 30 years will be over," she said. "You don't realize how fast it will go, but it's a great career."

This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Women in law enforcement: Phyllis Sims talks about her career