When Jackie Murphy took her first job in Gaston County, she stood out, but not necessarily for her accomplishments. “At first it was intimidating because every meeting I would go to, I’d be the only African-American there,” she said.
As a probation officers with 10 years under her belt, Murphy wasn’t about to cower. Instead, she stuck strong to her ideals and started networking. Four years have passed. This month, Murphy was promoted to the head of her district, and she’s noticed a change in the people with whom she works.
District manager: Murphy is the manager of probation for District 27 which includes Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland counties. She supervises 115 employees. She is the first African-American woman to hold the title in this district.
Murphy started in the district as the chief probation and parole officer in 2009. By 2012, Murphy was promoted to assistant manager. She took over the manager position this month, filling the shoes of Sandy Hallman, who retired in October.
Murphy said she’s proud to be the district’s first black woman in the position. But she’s even prouder of what she’s already seen happening within the system.
Unified system: Probation officers work with multiple state, county and city departments, from the Sheriff’s Office to the courts. Murphy said she noticed in the past, the different entities lacked harmony. There wasn’t enough communication, and there was a lot of pointing fingers. Murphy said she joined committees and worked to open the lines of communication. She feels her strides and the efforts of people in those departments have formed a more cohesive system.
“Everything is just running smoothly,” she said.
To perpetuate that concept, Murphy recently held an employee appreciation cookout. Murphy used her own money to provide lunch for probation officers from the three counties. She said having all of her officers meet one another can only benefit working relationships in the future.
Eye for justice: Murphy grew up in the eastern North Carolina town of Harrells, population 2,157. She aspired to be an attorney. She graduated from college with a degree in criminal justice and found herself in probation. And that’s where she stayed.
Being a probation officer is tough, she said. Balancing 80 or 90 offenders can be a challenge, Murphy said. Legislators recently granted District 27 nine additional positions. That should cut the load to about 60 cases per probation officer, Murphy said.
Change in diversity: Murphy said she’s seeing a change in diversity within the probation system in District 27. Gaston County had a few black probation officers. Cleveland had one, and Lincoln had none, according to Murphy. Those numbers are on the rise, Murphy said.
Murphy said she’s also seeing more women in leadership roles. Probation officers across the three counties manage 5,300 offenders.
No matter the gender or ethnicity, unification and professionalism are key elements to a well-functioning unit, Murphy said. She said that’s happening here. Murphy said she’s thrilled to head up a district that’s doing good work, and she’s appreciative of those who are a part of that. “We’re all working together as a team. It’s like a family,” she said.
You can reach Diane Turbyfill at 704-869-1817 and twitter.com/GazetteDiane.