Paula Crouch sworn in as first female Sangamon County Sheriff

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) —History was made when the Sangamon County Board selected Paula Crouch as the newest Sheriff Wednesday evening following the retirement of former Sheriff Jack Campbell. She is the first woman to serve as Sheriff for Sangamon County.

23 members of the board voted yes, zero voted no, and two voted present.

Her appointment is effective immediately, and her term ends December 2026.

Paula Crouch SPD award — Paula Crouch pictured on the far right receiving an award in 2019.
via Springfield Police Department

Crouch holds a Master's in Law Enforcement and Justice Administration from Western Illinois University. She started her career as a 911 dispatcher before joining the Springfield Police Department in 1999. Prior to her retirement in 2023, Crouch was the Sangamon/Menard County Crime Stoppers Coordinator, a neighborhood patrol officer, detective, and the Child Advocacy Center Officer.

"I think my resume shows that I have a little bit of knowledge about a lot of things, and a little bit of experience about a lot of different topics of law enforcement," said Crouch. "You know what the police may think are important, and what the community thinks are important sometimes aren't always the same thing, but I've been fortunate enough to to have experience in both of those avenues."

While Crouch acknowledges that she is entering this position when frustration and mistrust from the public is high, she says it is important to her mission as an officer. He number one priority is to protect the citizens of Sangamon County, and agrees all officers should have the same goal.

"I understand that criminals need to be held accountable, and you got to take people to jail sometimes, you got to write tickets sometimes," said Crouch.

"But I think that it's important to also understand that that teaching the community how to not be victims. Working with the community to put themselves in a better place so that they minimize the contacts they have with police is also crucial to helping the jobs of police officers and agencies."

Crouch said she won't make any recommendations for hiring policies or other practices until she is able to learn more about how the sheriff's office operates.