If you’re not sure what you want to do in law enforcement, talk to Captain Mary Tully. She moved up through the ranks serving in many different areas of the Sheriff’s Office. “Every day is a new day, and any career path is open for you,” offers Captain Tully, who has worked in areas including Field Training and Crimes Against Children. Captain Tully admits the Crimes Against Children assignment was tough in many ways for her, but she stresses that it was also incredibly rewarding.

“I helped families with situations ranging from kidnapping by a stranger to abuse by a family member,” recalls Captain Tully. “In times of crisis, people look to law enforcement for strength and comfort. When you are able to help people through these intensely vulnerable periods in their lives, you find within yourself strengths and capabilities that you didn’t know you had.”

When Captain Tully was part of the Mounted Enforcement Team, her duties included mall security, crowd control and speaking engagements at schools, to which she brought her horse for the kids to see. As Deputy District Commander, she continues to speak publicly on behalf of the Sheriff’s Office. Captain Tully considers it a critical part of her job to continuously meet with groups and individuals to take in their perspectives and concerns.

“Meeting people makes everyday different. As a law enforcement officer, just when you think you’ve experienced all that this profession can throw at you, you are presented with a totally new situation that requires an innovative strategy or method to solve. Sometimes the solution to a problem just takes knowing your staff well enough to bring the right deputies together with the community to address the problem. This profession ultimately is all about people, and to me, that is what makes it the most rewarding career that I could have entered.”