Darnika Mayfield is one of a handful of women who work for the Warren County Sheriff’s Department, but to her, she’s just another one of the guys.

“The guys have treated me with nothing but respect,” Mayfield said. “They treat me like one of the guys and that’s what I like about it.”

She was just one of four women to graduate in her class at the Mississippi Delta Law Enforcement Training Academy at Moorhead. Women are often overlooked in law enforcement, yet they play a special role. As a court bailiff, Mayfield is often in the courtroom any time a woman is a defendant.

“It makes them feel more comfortable. That’s very important,” Mayfield said.

As a court services deputy, she is one of the most public faces of the sheriff’s department often holding the door or saying hello to visitors at the courthouse.

Court services deputies are also assigned to special events such as parades, National Night Out and other community oriented projects.

“I love to talk and I love to get to know different people,” she said. “We build a public relationship and secure whatever’s going on.”

Mayfield began her career with the sheriff’s department in 2012 where many deputies begin.

“I started off in the jail. I did the jail for a year and a month and then went to the academy,” Mayfield said.

Mayfield said her time working in the jail was a great learning experience for her following career in law enforcement.

“You treat people with respect, and they treat you with respect,” she said.

Before making the transition to law enforcement, Mayfield worked as a teacher’s assistant in the GED program at Grove Street Alternative School. She must have had a no-nonsense attitude about it.

“My students, they always used to tell me ‘Ms. Mayfield, you’re the police.’ I told them ‘no, I’m not the police.”’

Mayfield is a native of Hollandale but has lived in Warren County since 1996.