Fulfilling and challenging work

Flathead County Jail Commander Jennifer Root has worked with Northwest Montana’s most troubled citizens for nearly 20 years, but it’s clear she still loves her job.

“We work in a negative environment, so it’s good to avoid a negative attitude,” Root said. “You get to hear the whole story and you see people differently.

“We have former inmates come back to tell us they are clean and sober and they’ve been able to get their kids back. That means a lot.”

Root, a fourth-generation Montanan, graduated from Flathead High School in 1999 and went to work at a big box store for a year before an opening popped up for a corrections officer in the county jail.

“Then, I looked at a job in the jail as a stepping stone to a law enforcement job, but after learning it, working here became a passion for me,” Root said.

While Root’s parents and grandparents didn’t have careers in the law or corrections, her great-great-grandfather, Joseph Langcake Asbridge, did.

According to usmarshals.gov, after immigrating from England, Asbridge arrived in Billings on June 1, 1883, homesteading the 160-acre Lazy X Ranch in what was then Fergus County, west of Roundup.

Asbridge was elected to the state Legislature in 1910 and later served as a United State Marshal from 1915 to 1923.

“I still remember the stories my great-grandmother told about him,” Root said.

The marshal and his family left Helena and moved to the Flathead Valley after he left the service, settling in the Somers area.

Root rose through the ranks and became a sergeant in July 2012. She credited former longtime Jail Commander Kathy Frame, former Chief Detention Officer Dave Cooper and former Sheriff Chuck Curry for helping her learn the hows and whys of running a jail.

“Kathy was very inspiring. She just loved her work,” Root said.

Then, nearly four years ago, she was approached by Curry about an upcoming opening for the commander position.

“I didn’t think I‘d be ready, but Chuck saw something in me and I’m thankful he did,” Root said. “It was a little overwhelming at first, but we have such great team support here, it certainly made a big difference.”

She is also thankful for the support of new Sheriff Brian Heino.

“He didn’t have to keep me, he could have went with someone else,” Root said. “But we have worked well together and he has helped me with my vision of what we’re trying to do here.”

Root has no qualms about being a woman working in a difficult environment, noting she was pregnant with each of her four children while working at the jail. But there have been a few encounters with inmates.

Four years ago, she was assaulted by a male inmate.

“He tried to pull me into his cell, but another guard and I fought him off,” Root said. “It was a close call, very scary.”

For Root, that incident was memorable as well as negative, but there have been more positive ones.

“We’ve helped deliver two babies here,” she said. “It’s a very scary time for them, but it was humbling to help them get through it.”

Root said the challenges of running the jail are working with people who have mental-health issues and those addicted to drugs.

She estimates 95 to 98 percent of the people who enter the jail have drug problems.

“Drugs coming into the jail are a big problem and heroin use is growing, so getting through their detox has become a big issue,” Root said.

Those issues are why Root still wants to see a jail expansion, despite the county commissioners’ decision in 2018 to put it off. According to her statistics, the jail booked 3,141 people in 2018. In 2015, 2,105 people entered the jail.

“We don’t want to house more inmates, but we do need the space so we can offer more programs to help people end their addictions,” Root said. “When they are here, we have a captive audience. We can start the treatment here, that’s part of the vision we have,” she said.

Additional space would also allow the jail to offer programs related to mental health and for parenting.

Another goal Root has is to have a drug scanning machine in the jail.

“We just don’t have the space. They aren’t small, there needs to be space for them,” she said. “It can be frustrating because while inmates are here, they can begin to get clean, but then someone smuggles drugs in and they relapse.”

Root is also a board member of the Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. It is a group that keeps track of what is happening in state government and lobbies for improvements to the criminal justice system.

When she’s not at work, Root stays very busy as a single mother of four kids, ages 15, 13, 9 and 5. They play sports, including soccer, track and field, volleyball and basketball.

“That keeps me on the run quite a bit, getting to all of their games,” Root said.

Root credits an extremely supportive family, whose members have helped her raise her children while juggling a demanding career.

“I’m very fortunate to be close to my mom and dad and my three living grandparents; they do so much,” Root said.

Root said the key to working in the jail is treating people with respect.

“You treat people with respect, you’ll get it back. I’m proud of the fact that we haven’t had any suicides in the jail in 20 years and it’s owed to the staff we’ve had here.

“We’re not here to judge and condemn people,” Root said. “They are still presumed innocent, they haven’t been convicted yet.”

Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 406-758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.