Sweet Home Police Department’s newest police officer Sarah Grimm comes to town from West Virginia with related experience and a four-year degree in criminal justice.
She began working on Sept. 24 and will attend the Police Academy at a later date.
Grimm, 26, grew up in Parkersburg, W.V., near the Ohio border. She attended Marshall University, earning a bachelor of arts degree in criminal justice with a minor in English.
She has been interested in becoming a police officer since she was about 13 years old.
“My dad and I would go running together,” Officer Grimm said. “We’d always wave at the police officers as they’d go by.”
Growing up, she was instilled with a positive image of law enforcement that later led to her interest.
After school, she worked a year under a grant in a community policing unit. There were two police officers stationed there.
“I wasn’t involved but became aware of day-to-day police activities,” Officer Grimm said. The position was part of Volunteers in Service to America, a sort of domestic Peace Corps. Her work was similar to the local DARE position, recently left vacant by the resignation of Officer Kim Hyde.
“I had the book knowledge,” Officer Grimm said. “From there I realized I didn’t have a lot of experience dealing with the criminal element.”
She took a job at a juvenile detention facility to get that experience. She worked as a teacher and counselor starting at 7 a.m. until the youths went to bed. She also slept at the facility during her work week.
“I liked it,” Officer Grimm said. “To some extent, it really puts you on the front lines.”
The kids in the center had been traumatized and had major problems.
“These people really needed someone to understand them and provide guidance,” Officer Grimm said. During her work she would hear “kids talk about being in handcuffs and talk about seeing their parents in court in handcuffs. It gave me a perspective I just wouldn’t have otherwise.”
Officer Grimm came to Oregon for several reasons. Her grandparents live in Northern California, and she visits them regularly. They would often spend time in Oregon.
“I just really fell in love with the area, ” Officer Grimm said. The area is like her home town. It has the same “small towns and trees” with the “beach thrown in.”
“There are more jobs here,” Officer Grimm, who moved to Oregon in February, said. “West Virginia, I really like it. It was a great place to grow up, but it’s just not really growing. I decided I really wanted to be in Oregon. I was actually in Portland for three months, and that was just too big.”
Officer Grimm moved to Salem and continued to work for Burns Security in Gresham while looking for police work.
Officer Grimm likes Sweet Home’s small town feel and that it’s big enough to have variety. She also enjoys the outdoors, which is readily available in Sweet Home; and it’s close to Eugene.
“I love the size,” Officer Grimm said. “I love the little store fronts. That really reminds of West Virginia.… I like that it’s not a suburb of anything,” that it has its own identity.
As she begins work, Officer Grimm said that she would like to develop a strong patrol background, then perhaps work in DARE and some day try her hand in investigations.
“I’m just so psyched about getting this job,” Officer Grimm said. She is looking forward to focusing on it and learning everything that there is to learn about it. “I’m happy to be here.”
SHPD held testing Saturday for two additional positions. Pending background checks, the department will extend job officers to candidates. The department also is reviewing applications to fill an open sergeant position. Police Chief Bob Burford, ideally, would like to hire a new sergeant by Nov. 1.
Name: Sarah Grimm
Age: 26
Residence: Salem (moving to Sweet Home)
Spouse: Single
Children: None
Education: BA Criminal Justice, Marshall University, W.V.
Hobbies: Running, hiking, swimming watching movies and plans to own a dog after completing Police Academy.