The Progress-Index
PETERSBURG - Sheriff Vanessa Crawford has been named Vice-Chair of a nonprofit organization dedicated to small law-enforcement programs across the country. The Small and Rural Law Enforcement Executives Association has several goals, from pushing legislation, to collaboration.
Crawford was the first female to be elected Sheriff in the city of Petersburg and was the first female to run an all-male facility in the Virginia Department of Corrections. She has been Sheriff in the city since 2005.
SRLEEA is the only nonprofit in the country dedicated to supporting law enforcement in small, rural and tribal communities. Its website says that more than half of the country s law enforcement departments have fewer than 10 officers, and that those departments face monetary challenges due to the smaller tax base in those communities.