In August, Ruth Ann Dickerson was sworn in as the Cape County interim sheriff, and on Nov. 6 she will become the first elected female sheriff for the county as she is running unopposed.

Dickerson was sworn in after former sheriff John Jordan resigned over the summer to become a federal marshall.

As the first female to hold the office, Dickerson said the expectations are no different.

“I put on the same badge and the same uniform as anybody,” Dickerson said. “I am a female, and that brings its own positive attributes to the position, possibly, but everybody that works here is expected to carry on and fulfill their duties, and that’s what I feel like this position is. It’s fulfilling the duties that this position requires.”

Dickerson took her first job in the sheriff’s office as a clerk some 40 years ago.

“As time progressed, more females were starting to show up in the jail system and there was a need also for females to do interviews for child abuse cases, different things like that,” Dickerson said. “So as I worked in the sheriff’s office there would be times that they would have to call on females to assist with arresting a female or addressing a female.”

It was at this point that she decided to take the next step, earning certification as a law enforcement officer. She attended the St. Charles County Police Academy and partook in the training courses and testing to earn her certification. Dickerson added that she has worked for five sheriffs in her career.

“Each sheriff came in with different ideas of how they wanted things to work,” she said.

She noted that she had to move her way through the ranks of sergeant, lieutenant and captain before earning her current position as interim sheriff.

She said she aims to work with all of the agencies — municipal, county, federal and state — so they are all on the same page and working together.

“Cape Girardeau County is very fortunate that we do have a good cooperative with many of our other agencies and we work together. That is a definite goal to see that continue,” Dickerson said.

Dickerson’s daily duties entail checking on all that happened the night prior to her coming into work, checking on all the officers — if there are any issues that need to be dealt with in regards to their line of work she deals with that — and attending daily meetings and briefings that occur.

Previously Dickerson had been the captain of business operations, meaning she oversaw the 911 emergency operation center, the clerical and business division staff and the maintenance in the buildings and on the grounds.

Dickerson said she has been busy since taking on the role of interim sheriff. She said the responsibilities and duties tend to accumulate from anyone who has been in the sheriff’s office as long as Jordan, and that part of her job now is to ensure those duties continue.

Dickerson is running unopposed and does not have to do any last-minute campaigning, so she said she will be going to work as usual on the day of the Nov. 6 election.

She mentioned the challenges that accompany an ever-changing population.

“This is a growing community and along with growth and development comes, of course, the crimes that go along with that,” she said.

She said she is interested in seeing how amendments and propositions fare, so she plans to follow the election results closely that night.

“You know, I’ve been in the sheriff’s office for approximately 32 years, so I work in this business and you think you might see it all, but you learn that you never see it all,” Dickerson said. “An obstacle that would have been an obstacle five or 10 years ago may not be so prevalent now because every day is a new day and there’s always new obstacles coming along. You have to be prepared.”