Cosgrove named national Correctional Supervisor of the Year
Garland County sheriff’s Capt. Belinda Cosgrove has been named Correctional Supervisor of the Year by the American Jail Association, Sheriff Mike McCormick announced Tuesday.
“This is a great honor and accomplishment for Capt. Cosgrove and the Garland County Sheriff’s Department. I am extremely proud that her hard work and dedication are being recognized on a national stage,” McCormick said in a news release.
“Capt. Cosgrove sets an excellent example and embodies the hard work of the employees and volunteers who have created such a success story at the Garland County Detention Center,” McCormick said.
“This award validates that we as a department are moving towards the goals that our community set for us when they voted to build this facility,” Cosgrove, who is operation commander of the detention center, said in the release.
“While we exist to carry out the sentences of the court system, we also exist to give a hand up to those in our community who need course corrections in order to become successful and vibrant contributing members of our society,” Cosgrove said.
Cosgrove is responsible for over- seeing the Alternative Sentencing Unit, Juvenile Detention Center, classification, health services, food services, programs, services and volunteers at the Garland County Detention Center. Under her leadership, the detention center offers more than 20 programs and has more than 100 volunteers, the release said.
Cosgrove will receive the Correctional Supervisor of the Year award on April 24 at the AJA’s 37th Annual Conference and Jail Expo in Sacramento, Calif. She was nominated for the award by Garland County Detention Center Chief Deputy Steven Elrod and was chosen from among jail and detention center supervisors throughout the country.
Cosgrove joined the department on Oct. 1, 1996, and was promoted to captain on Jan. 8, 2017. Cosgrove was the first female to serve at the rank of captain within the sheriff’s department, and the first woman in Arkansas to receive certified jail manager status through the American Jail Association.
She was also the first detention center employee to be appointed by the governor to serve on the Arkansas Coalition of Juvenile Justice Board.
Cosgrove also serves as vice chairwoman of the Ouachita Children’s Center Board of Directors.