HANCOCK COUNTY — Bridget Foy has always had a drive to serve the community. Still, Foy never imagined her desire to help others would lead to one of the most important positions within the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department — jail commander.
Foy has been selected by Sheriff Brad Burkhart as the new jailer following the resignation of Keith Oliver in early January.
“I just thought, ‘wow.’ What an opportunity, especially with us moving into a brand new place,” Foy said. “It just seems like every road I have taken has led me to this.”
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Burkhart selected Foy, who finished her duties as a detective at the end of January, to take on the new role, making her the first female jail commander in the county.
The highest position for a woman in the jail prior to that would have been the jail matron, Foy said. Historically, that position occasionally was filled by the sheriff’s wife.
The sheriff also named Matt Boots as the new assistant jail commander, a position the county has not had for some time.
“We’re very happy to have Captain Foy in her new role,” said Capt. Robert Harris, public information officer for the sheriff’s department. “She brings a wealth of leadership experience, knowledge and enthusiasm to the position.”
Oliver resigned in early January to take a position with a private company that contracts commissary services for correctional facilities.
Foy begins her new job on Feb. 10.
While the thought of someday being the jail commander never crossed Foy’s mind before she learned of the recent opening, she is looking forward to implementing new ideas and programs at the new jail, which is under construction at a site along U.S. 40 just east of Greenfield.
“I want to look at things and evaluate and see what is working and ask questions like: Should we do something better? What can we do to improve?” Foy said. “Moving into a brand-new facility, it’s a brand-new canvas that I get to paint.”
Foy admits she she has much to learn about the day-to-day operations. She also will be part of major discussions looking at current programming and best practices for jail protocol.
While Foy will be supervising the day-to-day operations in the jail, she plans to look at that part of the job as just one responsibility. Foy said she stresses networking, and she plans to reach out to other jails to find out the best practices elsewhere to learn what Hancock County might do better.
“I’m also experienced in grant writing, so I’m no stranger to that,” Foy said. “Maybe there’s some funding out there we can get through grants to help implement programs, and if so, we’ll do that.”
Foy is one of the people in the county who worked for several years to get the new Zoey’s Place Child Advocacy Center up and running, with doors expected to open this spring at the new center on North Street in Greenfield.
Sheriff’s officials highlighted Foy’s interpersonal skills as a strength and noted she will be a good fit with the jail officers and inmates. Additionally, with her experience as a detective, she’ll be able to assist the jail staff with investigations when inmates commit infractions or crimes inside the jail, Harris said.
Foy is also thinking about letting inmates start a garden at the new facility, giving them a chance to work with their hands and spend time outdoors.
“That’s a kind of positive thing we might be able to do,” she said. “Our overcrowding here now is just such a huge issue for the inmates and the people working in the jail.”
She plans to take what works best at the jail and implement those policies at the new jail, while leaving behind things that don’t work.
Foy joined the department as a merit deputy in 1995. She spent one month training in dispatch, which at that time was housed at the jail building. She also spent another month working in the jail.
“That was actually good experience,” Foy said.
Foy worked her way up through the ranks, including being a lieutenant on the night shift. She became a detective in 2015, the role she kept until becoming the jail commander.
The sheriff’s department will fill her detective spot at a later date, Harris said.
The department advertised the position internally and allowed merit deputies and jail officers to apply for the commander position. They also internally opened applications for the assistant jail commander position for which Boots was hired.
“Matt has a great foundation at the jail and a great working knowledge, and getting to work with him will be huge for me,” Foy said.
