St. Louis, MO

Betty Jane Taylor is a former Chief of Police for the City of Winfield, Missouri Police Department. She was honored as the Lincoln County Law Enforcement Officer of the Year in 2001. An expert on criminal justice and sexual assault, she is now an adjunct professor of Criminal Justice and teaches courses on sexual assault investigations.

Betty Jane began her law enforcement career in 1997. She joined law enforcement to assist sexual assault victims. Before working her way up to Chief of Police, she served as a Deputy Sheriff for the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department and the Ripley County Sheriff’s Department, and a Police Officer and Gang Investigator for the City of Louisiana.

“My law enforcement career made it clear to me that the war on drugs is useless,” Betty Jane says. “The energy wasted on the unwinnable war on drugs needs to be shifted to more important issues such as sexual assault cases. Law enforcement has limited resources. Those we have should be re-routed from the dead-end war on drugs.”

While serving as an adjunct Criminal Justice professor, Betty Jane is completing a Doctorate in Instructional Leadership. She holds an MFA in Writing and an M.S. in Criminal Justice Administration. She is active in her community and has served as a member of the Citizens Advisory Board for the State of Missouri Probation and Parole.