By Mark D. Wilson
San Antonio Express-News
BEXAR COUNTY, Texas — When Laura Balditt joined the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office as a civilian in 1987, there weren’t as many opportunities for women as there are today.
Balditt spent her first years with the Sheriff’s Office as a civilian in the Central Records division.
In 1992, however, she made the transition to become a sworn detention officer.
She steadily climbed the ladder through the next decade, being promoted to corporal, then to sergeant, and finally to lieutenant in 2002.
On Monday, Balditt made her next leap to become the first female captain in the BCSO Detention division’s history.
“It feels wonderful,” she said. “It feels awesome.”
Balditt said she initially felt inspiration to become a detention officer as a single mother of three.
Now, she says her family has been a source of support for her on her rise to captain.
“I had a lot of encouragement,” she said.
Bexar County Sheriff’s Office Spokesman Rosanne Hughes said opportunities for women in the detention division are growing.
“A growing number of (women) who are incarcerated in the Bexar County Jail means that there is a greater number of women needed to work here to care for them,” she said. “They are jobs that only women can do.”
Balditt will celebrate her 28th anniversary with the Sheriff’s Office in February.