Last October, Yvonne Duke became both the first civilian and first female jail administrator the Long Beach, California, Police Department had ever seen.  With over 20 years of experience working in different facets of corrections, Duke was the agency's top choice to run the jail, an endeavor she is excited about.

Recently, The Corrections Connection Network News talked with Duke about her climb up the corrections ladder as well as the challenges she has faces along the way.  Duke also offered some advice for those starting out in the corrections field and embarking on a new career.

Q: How did you become interested in the criminal justice field?

Duke: It was my father who got me interested in it.  He worked for the Department of Sanitation and he was an inspector for the town of Hempstead [in] Long Island, [New York].  When I was getting ready to graduate [from high school] he said [to] look for something that is in civil service because you want job security and benefits. I went to, at that time, the World Trade Center and looked for the available jobs that were posted.  The three jobs I was interested in doing [were for] the New York State Department of Corrections, the New York City Housing Police and the Transit Authority.  I applied for all three and the DOC was the first agency that contacted me.  I graduated [from high school] when I was 17 and I took the job with corrections when I was 18 [in] April [of] 1981. 

Q: How did you feel when you first started working in corrections?

Duke: It was an overwhelming experience.  I'm 5'3" and at that time I was just about 100 lbs.  It was, at that time, still pretty much a male dominated field.  There were five women in my academy class.  I don't think that they had the expectation that [the women] were going to do well.

Q: What types of positions have you held in corrections?

Duke: My first permanent duty assignment was working at Fishkill Community Correctional Facility in Beacon, New York.  [I have been a] correctional officer, program officer, program administrator, regional coordinator and a substance abuse program assistant.  I got laid off after 9 and a-half years.  New York State had some financial deficit and, of course, there were cutbacks in the department.  They actually did away with my whole division. 

I went back to school and I went through what they were calling at that time a retraining program because I was unemployed.  Part of it was to go back to school.  I spent 11 months - almost a year - on the layoff and they finally called me back. 

I got called back off the layoff [and] I took a temporary position as a substance abuse program assistant.  I interviewed for a position with the New York State division for youth and accepted the job as a youth division counselor.  I stayed there for a year and after the year was over, my family was from South Carolina and I decided that I wanted to move [to] be closer to [them].

I started from the bottom [there].  I started as a detention officer.  I worked for the Charleston County Sheriff's Office.  I held the positions of detention officer, detention officer first class, corporal, sergeant, lieutenant and captain.  That was my last position with that agency was a captain.

Q: How did you become the jail administrator in Long Beach?

Duke: I had met the chief of [the Long Beach Police Department] about five years ago when we were at a conference.  A couple of years later, I saw him again at another conference.  At that time, he was in charge of the bureau that had [ran] the jail.  He told me if I ever [came to] California, because of my experience in corrections, he would like me to come and do a walk through of his facility.  About two years ago, I did that and I typed a two or three page review for him of the things that I saw.  A year or so after I did that, they had an inspection and the points that I saw were the points that were brought to his attn on that inspection.

When the [jail administrator] position became available, the agency contacted me and asked me if I would apply for it.  That was in June of this year.  My official start date was September 30.

Q: What is the greatest challenge you face in your current position?

Duke:  The building is currently undergoing construction so it's [difficult] just to maintain the standards that the sate has while undergoing construction, which is challenging because things just change on a daily basis. 

Q: What does it mean to you to be the first female jail administrator in Long Beach?

Duke: Actually, I was very excited about it.  This is what my career has been about.  I have worked with the dream of actually having this position - being the administrator of a facility.  This was my goal and now that I have reached it, I am setting other goals for myself.  But this is what I always wanted to do.  This is what I was working towards.

 I've never really tried to look at my gender as something that limits me.  They didn't hire me based on me being a woman.  They hired me based on my credentials and me being able to do the job.  This has opened the door up for other women to have the same opportunity.  I love the fact that I get to be a model - that I get to open the door up for other people to follow behind me. 

I was the first female to be appointed to the position of captain with the Charleston County Sheriff's Office in the Detention Center.  The highest-ranking woman had been a lieutenant.  They did bring in a female administrator, but I was the first female to go through the ranks and obtain the pos of captain.

Q: How does it feel to be the first civilian to hold your position?

Duke: I think this agency has embraced the fact that they can take a broader look at what it takes to run this facility.  They are on the cutting edge of looking at things in a [different way].   I think that it is wonderful that they did not limit themselves to just looking at sworn law enforcement personnel to do this job.  It's quite a compliment that they looked at me and said this is something [I] can do.

Q: What advice do you have for people who are starting out in the field?

Duke:  The first thing I would say is not [to] believe the sensational stories that you see on TV.  The media does their job on painting a picture for what to expect, but there is nothing like seeing and observing for yourself.  There are plenty of opportunities in the field of correction for mentoring [and other jobs and] places like The Corrections Connection that actually [are] very informational and [help people] to be able to be more connected with this field.  I would tell them go to school - their education is important, but there are a lot of opportunities out there.  It used to just be the prison guard and that was it, but now there are so many career opportunities in the field of corrections.

Q: What are some of your goals for the future?

Duke:  I think the first goal that I have set for myself is to prepare the staff that works here to someday take over my job.  I want this to be something that they can have as a career opportunity.