Sheriff’s deputy Kris Anderson earns national certification

• St. Croix County deputy Lt. Kris Anderson

St. Croix County deputy Lt. Kris Anderson has earned national designation as certified jail manager. She is one of 349 professionals in the country to receive the award this year from the American Jail Association. Photo by Jon Echternacht

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Lt. Kristen M. Anderson has achieved a milestone in her 15-year career with the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Department.

She recently finished a rigorous exam for national recognition as a certified jail manager. Anderson is one of 349 professionals nationwide to earn the certificate and one of two in Wisconsin.

Anderson, 39, admitted that working in the jail wasn’t her goal when she took her first job in St. Croix County in 1995. “Over time, my thinking changed and I enjoyed the job. It (jail) wasn’t such a bad place,” she said during a conversation in her office last week.

Traditionally, every deputy started out in the jail and did their time until they could get out on patrol. That model has changed recently with an emphasis on specifically training individuals who want to work in corrections as part of the law enforcement programs in schools.

And there are some perks to working in the jail, Anderson said. “When there is a blizzard and you’re stuck in a ditch, it’s 70 degrees in the jail and when it’s 90 degrees in the shade on patrol, it’s 70 degrees in here.”

She said she’s found her niche in a law enforcement career.

Gaining certification wasn’t an easy road. Anderson had to qualify to take a test by applying and answering an extensive battery of questions before she could be considered for acceptance to the process.

“The test took four hours,” she said. “The hard part was you couldn’t study for it. It was a true test of your knowledge.”

Anderson is used to persevering. She spent a number of years taking classes during the day and at night as her shift allowed while working full-time at the jail to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology and criminal justice at Metro State University in the Twin Cities.

She attended Chippewa Valley Technical School for a law enforcement degree after graduating from Elmwood High School in 1990 and worked in the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.

Anderson said she grew up on a farm between Plum City and Elmwood.

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