While it is common for a police officer to give more than 30 years of their life to this profession, it is not common for them to surpass the 40 year mark.
Brothers Before Others Member and retired Miami Police Sergeant Genevieve Jones did just that, essentially splitting her time between the Miami Police Department and the Denver Medical Examiner’s Office, where she served as an investigator. She described her experiences in Denver as, essentially, working “Homicide in Miami”, minus the chasing bad guys. Her career reads like a story book.
She began her life as a police officer in 1968, working radio patrol, Accident Investigation, communications, report processing and Homicide for the City of Miami Police Department.
After being promoted to Sergeant in 1980, she began working for the Robbery Unit as part of the Robbery Task Force, also spending time as a decoy with the prostitution detail. The work was obviously extemely dangerous, resulting in her being robbed herself multiple times.
She served as a hostage negotiator for the Miami SWAT Team and trained with both SWAT and the US Army Rangers when the two trained together. She was also invited by the Rangers to serve as an instructor for a Hostage Negotiations course in Key West, Florida.
As both an FTO and an FTOS, she served the FOP Lodge 20 as a Trustee for 6 years and the District 6 Secretary for 10 years. She represented members in matters involving the Disciplinary Review Board, Accident Review Board and Internal Affairs.
In 1986, she was the runner up for the International Association of Women Police ‘Officer of the Year’
https://iawppublic.wildapricot.org
That same year, both Good Housekeeping and the television show, “Fast Copy”, featured stories on her.
There was a Memorial for Fallen Officers dedicated at Tropical Park in Florida. At this ceremony, Genevieve was able to place a wreath in honor of both the fallen and, specifically, her grandfather, Frank A Croff, who was the second City of Miami Police Officer to be killed in the line of duty (EOW 5/22/1921).
https://www.odmp.org/officer/3629-officer-frank-angelo-croff
After retiring from Miami PD in 1988, she began working as a Death Investigator for the Denver Medical Examiner’s Office, ultimately retiring in 2011.
Her involvement in BBO is not her first when it comes to charity. She has worked with Reading is Fundamental in Dade County schools, The 4H and Future Farmer’s of America, Children’s Home Society for Battered and Abused Children and The Heart Association.
As a 501C(3) non-profit, our struggle mirrors that of every charity: raising funds. For BBO, that struggle is magnified by the fact that the vast majority comes directly from our members, who are all active/retired law enforcement. When you consider that our membership has never exceeded 5000 people and that our National Flower Fund ALONE has cost us an average of $50,000 a year, you can imagine what we are up against.
BBO Founder/President Michael Burke said, “We are in a constant state of fundraising. As a charity who is as active as we are, it really never stops. So imagine how much money Genevieve has personally donated for me to have to put her on “Donation Probation”…..TWICE! Imagine being banned for benevolence!! She is very literally that giving. There are few members who have single-handedly turned tides. She is absolutely one of them. We are very lucky to have her in our group as both a member and mentor to the next generation.”
Being a woman in law enforcement has always been a challenge. Being a police officer is a physically demanding job that has always been viewed as a ‘boys club’. Since Alice Stebbins Wells sewed her own police uniform and took the Oath of Office for the City of Los Angeles in 1910 as the first American-born female full duty police officer, female police officers have been fighting for the recognition that justly deserve. Women like Genevieve are mavens in that field, serving as both an example for her profession and her gender. She is among the most accomplished, dedicated and genuine police officers you will ever meet. Michael Burke and the members of BBO thank her for service and her continued dedication to this profession.
