Katrina Ball first female detective for Grant County Sheriff's Office

Mar. 22—EPHRATA — Katrina Ball said there was more she could do for her community.

Ball is a military veteran, having served 15 years, and still serving, in the U.S Army Reserves. Looking at other career options, she took classes at Big Bend Community College, she said — but there just seemed to be more she wanted to, and could do.

Then she saw a job ad. The Grant County Sheriff's Office needed a corrections deputy.

"Luckily, I ended up getting that position," she said.

The job turned out to be a good fit.

"My passion was to serve my country (in the military) and be around my peers," she said.

That flowed into serving her community through the sheriff's office.

She applied for a patrol deputy position in January 2015, and took care of all of Grant County for more than five years.

On March 8, she was promoted to detective, the first female detective in the sheriff's office. She's the only female detective in Grant County, she said.

As a patrol deputy, she had the chance to participate in some investigations, and she liked the work.

"I've handled some pretty crazy cases," she said, and she liked the in-depth nature of the investigations.

"I loved building rapport," especially with crime victims.

She's stayed in touch with the victims in some of those cases.

"I'm still a part of their lives," she said.

The GCSO's continuing education program allows deputies to focus some of their training in areas that interest them. Ball took classes in interview techniques and interviewing children, detective field training and other subjects that would be useful as a detective, she said.

Ball said her experiences as a woman don't seem to make much difference when it comes to her job. She establishes good rapport with victims, but she's not sure how much being female has to do with that, she said.

It's different from the patrol job, she said, because she's not responding to calls for service. But in other ways, it's similar, such as spending a lot of time traveling around Grant County.

"It's just a more in-depth process," she said.

So far, it's been the right choice.

"I love it," Ball said.

The role is widely portrayed on television and in movies, of course.

"It never is like it is in the movies," Ball said. "A detective looks at a case, starts from the beginning, works diligently, works closely with the victims to try to solve a crime."

Detectives work to find the perpetrator and keep future victims from being targeted, she said. They investigate crimes ranging from homicide to fraud, sexual assault, serious assault, "and the list goes on," she said. Usually, detectives investigate crimes that are very serious in nature, she said.

The detectives aren't the first officers on the scene, but they arrive soon after.

"We do what we can to keep the integrity of a crime scene," she said.

The sheriff's office has four detectives and a sergeant as a supervisor.

"The detectives have a very, very heavy caseload," she said.

She's learned even more as a detective.

"There was a lot to Grant County that I didn't know existed," she said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.

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