Sheriff: Sanchez is one driven cop

Thinking back, she can't remember a single female commander when she first started. Now, when she goes to meetings, she sees more women in upper management and in the ranks of law enforcement than ever before.

"There was a fair amount of women when I started." Sanchez, 40, said. "The highest ranking female was a lieutenant. I credit the women in law enforcement in the '70s for breaking that barrier."

In the '70s, when law enforcement was first required to hire women officers, it was very much a male-dominated world. The perception that women couldn't quite control people or investigate crimes as well as the men, ran through the department, said Sheriff Don Horsley.

"Law enforcement was regarded as a cowboy operation dominated by an older group of men who started back in the 1950s and grew up in a system where women weren't considered capable," Horsley said. "If an officer had a woman partner, he'd say 'I need backup.' Women had a difficult transition."

Over the years, women have proven that it's not necessary to have physical strength to control an individual. Horsley observed women have better verbal skills to defuse a situation. They tend to not feel challenged by confrontational people. And they're better report writers, a necessary skill for good detective work, he said.

As a jail lieutenant, Horsley remembers Sanchez bouncing in with a blonde ponytail in stark contrast to the fading facilities of the old jail. Sanchez has broken a number of barriers. She was the first female assigned on patrol and to achieve the rank of captain in the Sheriff's Office.

"She's very focused," Horsley said. "Some would say she's driven. People who want to advance will show a broad range of interests and volunteer for high-risk assignments. Trisha is a cut above in law enforcement for both men and women. She has an unusual tenacity for academic achievement."

Ever widening her experience, Sanchez has worked in Corrections and Detentions, Patrol Bureau, Search and Rescue, Detective Bureau, Narcotics Task Force and Vehicle Theft Task Force.

Within a few days of assuming command of the Narcotics Task Force, Sanchez had to deal with a shooting in a drug bust that went bad. That was three years ago.

"The task force is a complex unit," Commander Mark Wyss of the Narcotics Task Force and Vehicle Theft Task Force said on Tuesday. He assumed command after Sanchez was transferred to the correctional facility two months ago.

"In conducting investigations, there's high liability dealing with informants and drug transactions. She came in with no narcotics experience except as a deputy in the Patrol Bureau and did a fabulous job of running the unit," he said.

Wyss credits her excellent standing with the governing board and the chiefs of police and her ability to obtain funding for the then struggling task forces.

In the coming months, Sanchez will have to juggle a number of administrative challenges. One that weighs heavy on Horsley's mind is jail overcrowding and the need to build another facility.

There are approximately 900 men and women in the jail. Overlying the sheer numbers of people in a confined space are gang-related problems, more than in the past, substance abuse and the mentally ill. Then, too, jail is a hot bed of litigious clients with nothing but time on their hands, Horsley said.

The best advice Sanchez would give to young people contemplating a career in law enforcement would be, "Don't give up. It's challenging at times. Enjoy yourself. Strive at the extra challenges along the way. It will pay off not necessarily in rank but in being able to make a difference. Most of us went into the business to make a difference."