After 26 Years In Oskaloosa – Officer Barb Says Good-Bye

Oskaloosa Police Officer Barb Saville will serve her last patrol on December 21st. She has been a member of the OPD for 26 years.

Oskaloosa Police Officer Barb Saville will serve her last patrol on December 21st. She has been a member of the OPD for 26 years.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – Saying good-bye can be one of the toughest things to do. ‘Officer Barb’, as she is known to most everyone, will be retiring from the Oskaloosa Police force this month. She will be saying good-bye to the profession she has loved and the community she has helped to protect for 26 years.

“It was a hard decision,” says Oskaloosa Police Officer Barb Saville. “I’ve been debating about it for quite some time.”

Saville says that her internship was with the Ankeny Police Department. She knew that she wanted to be a part of a smaller agency “because you get to be more hands on,” along with having the opportunity to be more involved in the department.

Saville was born and raised in Des Moines, and took up the law enforcement profession at the age of 30 years old.

“When I got here [Oskaloosa], I thought, ‘this is perfect'”, says Saville of her arrival in Oskaloosa. “This is exactly what I wanted.”

Former Oskaloosa Police Chief Mark Diamond hired Saville and sent her to the academy in 1988. During her time, she has served under only one other chief, Chief Jake McGee.

Officer Barb was not Oskaloosa’s first female officer. There was one before, but Saville did not know her.

On her first day at the Oskaloosa Police Department, Saville remembers her first arrest with her training officer Troy Boston. “There was a warrant on this guy, and he [Boston] goes ‘he’s gonna fight’. And he fought all of us.”

“He went to pull back to hit and he looked up and saw me, and I didn’t get hit,” says Saville with a small chuckle. “His momma raised him right.”

Being a female officer has offered a way to help de-escalate and influence some situations just by being a female Saville believes. “Guys are more respectful than the females. Females will fight ya, bite ya, pull your hair.”

Officer Barb Saville is poses with her Grandmother. (submitted photo)

Officer Barb Saville as she poses with her Grandmother. (submitted photo)

Another instance Saville remembers is being able to talk a male subject out of confrontation. Saville and a fellow officer were about to arrest the male when he started to be combative. Saville leaned into him and said, “Your kids are watching, lets not do this in front of your kids. Lets just do this with respect.”

That moment helped to diffuse a situation, and the male complied with Saville and the other officer. That is when Saville knew she brought something different to the table as a police officer.

Another of Saville’s early memories of her time on the OPD is being called back early from the police academy. “Which is unheard of,” says Saville. “It was to do county-wide search warrants.” Officers from multiple departments worked on executing the warrants on multiple drug related cases.

The officers from the Mahaska County Sheriffs Office, the Iowa State Patrol and the Oskaloosa Police Department staged in what is now the Oskaloosa City Council chambers.

That was a long day away from the academy, as her day started by assisting fellow officers at 7 a.m. one morning and not completing the job until 4:30 a.m. the next morning.

Cases involving children are some of those that Saville remembers the most about her time on the PD. “Domestic homicides, they stick in your head,” says Saville. These are some of the things “you go home with,” says Saville. “Then you think of little things you’ve done and you think, humm, did I say and do something that would change that person’s life somewhere down the road,” added Saville. “I may never know.”

Officer Barb has seen many transformations during her time serving Oskaloosa. She served out of the Oskaloosa City Hall where the Oskaloosa Police Department was previously located and utilized the old county jail before the current facility was built in 1996.

Video has also changed things for police officers. It helps officers feel safer about situations they may be in. Interactions that aren’t video recorded are more than likely at least audio recorded. Saville said, “It’s helped out a lot”.

Officer Barb Saville while on duty in 2013.

Officer Barb Saville while on duty in 2013.

Saville welcomes the use of body mics and cameras. “It’s for our protection,” added Saville.

Another noticeable change is the amount of gear an officer carries in their squad. From the days of the Crown Vic that Saville first took to the streets in, to the Tahoe’s of today, filled with gear. That gear includes computers that have the capability to receive secure communications from dispatch and fellow officers. Those computers have enabled officers to go from hand written tickets to scanable drivers licenses that fill in information and print out a citation.

“If we go out on a call, if we don’t have it on us, or in it [squad car], then we must not need it.

“Our training is awesome here,” says Saville. Officers undergo yearly training on everything they use and drive. “We are always learning.”

Today, the job has changed in Savilles eyes. “Today you have more extreme. You have those that still respect people, and then you have a group that is the ‘Me Generation’ and that’s all they care about.” Saville says that she has noticed the difference in behavior in the past 12 to 14 years, where even during her time as DARE Officer, “I could see the change in the grade school. The attitudes and stuff.”

Saville says that the danger level for officers has also increased during her time as a police officer. “I think there is a high disregard for what we do.”

It’s not all negative. Saville says she sees a positive swing that is starting to take place in some aspects of society. “I like that.”

But even after 26 years on the force, “You’ve got to be a people person. You still have to be able to talk with people. You still have to be able to mediate.”

To her co-workers, Saville offers these words. “Stay safe. Go home at night. That’s the main thing.” Saville also says to “listen to your instincts, because they will keep you safe.”

Being a part of the community she helped protect has been important to Saville. “It’s a great community. It is.” Saville offers some advice, “Be a part of your community. Be active in it. If there is something you don’t like, then change it.” Saville points towards the urban park as an example of people making a change in their community. “The kids did that with the skate park,” says Saville. “They wanted it. They fought for it. They got it.”

Oskaloosa residents have interacted with ‘Officer Barb’ for 26 years. During that time she has impacted people’s lives in big and small ways. ‘Officer Barb’ is how she has always wanted to be known by people in town. She introduced herself as ‘Officer Barb’ to the DARE class. “The teachers said Officer Saville, but to the kids it was Officer Barb.”

“I’m Officer Saville to other agencies, but to my community I’m Barb. Because this is my community.”

“I wish I would have started earlier in life,” says Saville of her time as a police officer. “but I wasn’t ready earlier in life.” Saville said that she had to learn her own path and dream. Becoming a police officer was that dream. “I’m glad I was given the opportunity.”

During her time of service with the Oskaloosa Police Department, Saville was named Officer of the Year in 2002 and has been awarded the Life Saving Award and Department Commendation in solving burglaries.

Her plans are to spend more time with family and do some things she has put off. “I really do want to learn how to knit,” says Saville with a chuckle.

“It’s hard to go,” says Saville on her imminent retirement. She’s leaving her profession and the town she has called home.

“I’m moving back to Des Moines,” says a teary eyed Saville. Fighting off the tears, Saville added, “It’s been great. I hate to give it up. I know it’s time.”

 

 

 

 

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