African American Woman Makes History

Sgt. Audrey Jackson-Patton celebrated 25 years as a security employee with the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) this year, making history as the first African American woman to achieve this milestone.

Sergeant Audrey Jackson-Patton reaches 25-year milestone with DOC

Sgt. Audrey Jackson-Patton celebrated 25 years as a security employee with the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) on April 29, 2012. She is believed to be one of only a few, if not the only, African American women in DOC history to achieve this milestone in the security series.

Sgt. Jackson-Patton’s career began in 1987 at the former Oregon Women’s Correctional Center in Salem as a Correctional Officer overseeing female inmates. In 1989, she became part of a search team that conducted random and unannounced searches at prisons throughout Oregon. During this time, Sgt. Jackson-Patton trained other staff in drug identification and wrote reports for disciplinary action, criminal prosecution and intelligence operations.

In 1990, Sgt. Jackson-Patton became a transport officer where she was trained in the use of firearms and restraints. She was responsible for escorting and transporting new inmates and parole violators to the Oregon Corrections Intake Center, at the time located at the Marion County Jail in Salem.

Throughout the last 21 years, Sgt. Jackson-Patton has spent her time at the Columbia River Correctional Institution (CRCI) in northeast Portland, where she worked through the security ranks and became a sergeant on January 1, 2000.

As part of CRCI’s security team, Sgt. Jackson-Patton is responsible for ensuring the safety and security of the institution by monitoring inmate activities and movements, performing security inspections and cell searches, redirecting negative behavior, reinforcing positive behavior, and role modeling pro-social behavior.