With 15 years of law enforcement experience under her belt, Detective Sergeant Lauren Griffith now oversees the Westwood learning community, working each day to keep students safe and foster positive experiences with the police force.
Inspired by her uncle, a Texas Ranger, Sgt. Griffith began her journey in the force by working as a secretary at a sheriff’s office near Houston, Texas. As a secretary, she gained a different perspective of law enforcement, and realized it could be more than she originally thought.
“[My uncle] always wanted someone to follow in his footsteps, and up until I got involved in law enforcement, no one in the family had done that,” Sgt. Griffith said. “I only thought law enforcement was patrol and giving tickets back then, so I got to see a bunch of different sides of law enforcement and [realized] it was really cool and interesting.”
With her new perspective, Sgt. Griffith decided to join the police academy in 2010, stepping into five months of rigorous full-time training, learning, and testing to become a police officer.
“[In the academy], you have to study at night, you have to be working out for physical fitness tests, and we were doing runs and pushups every day, so it was tough, and the tests were hard,” Sgt. Griffith said.
Before becoming a police officer, Sgt. Griffith attended St. Edwards University, then transferred and graduated from Texas State University in 2005. She majored in studio art, honing her skills in darkroom photography, the hands-on process of developing film and printing images in a completely dark room, as well as painting and ceramics. Despite currently working in the law enforcement field, Sgt. Griffith still enjoys using her knowledge of art in her spare time.
“I still do photography on the side, and I haven’t painted in a while, but I do really enjoy painting when I do it,” Sgt. Griffith said. “I [also] like hiking and fishing.”
Now working as a detective sergeant for RRISD, Sgt. Griffith oversees all officers in the Westwood community and fills in for them when needed. She also supervises detectives in the agency, supporting any investigation-related needs.
“Westwood is my homebase, but it’s very possible I could be filling in at Grisham [Middle School] one day, or headed to help out another officer another day,” Sgt. Griffith said.
Each day looks different for Sgt. Griffith, with new situations arising all the time. Often, her and other officers’ work days are extended when they are required to attend extra events in need of security, like football games or band performances.
“That’s my favorite part of the job — seeing all the kids thriving in their extracurricular activities,” Sgt. Griffith said. “Whether it’s a musical or a football game, it’s all so fun to watch everyone thrive.”
To Sgt. Griffith, her job is centered around the students, focusing on being a positive role model and mentor for them. While she is aware that some students may harbor negative opinions of law enforcement, Sgt. Griffith finds importance in changing their viewpoints of the police force.
“Watching the students grow as people is probably the best part of the job,” Sgt. Griffith said. “My favorite thing to do is find a student who has a bad experience with law enforcement and show them that there are cops out there who are good people, who care about you and want the best for you.”
