By Merris Badcock
Your4State
WINCHESTER, Va. — When Capt. Patty Barr, a correctional officer at the Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Center (NRADC), tells people she works in a jail their response usually has tones of disbelief. “You don’t look like a typical correctional officer,” Barr said. “It’s not what I expected a female correctional officer to look like.” Barr has heard these kinds of statements countless times since she began her career as correctional officer.
“I just laugh, and I just tell them, ‘What am I supposed to look like? We’re just human. We’re women. We all do the same thing.”
Barr is one of 30 female officers at the jail that make up a little over 20 percent of the jail’s entire sworn-in staff.
“I encourage females to definitely put in applications - it’s not as scary as it seems to be,” said Barr, who is also in charge of recruiting qualified candidates for the jail.
Full story: Va. Regional Jails Hiring More Women Correctional Officers