Assistant Chief Debra Schmidt has been serving the Harris County Sheriff’s Office since 1985. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Houston and a Bachelor’s Degree in English from the University of Wisconsin. She is a graduate of the FBI National Academy (215th Session), the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas and the FBI LEEDA Command Institute. Assistant Chief Schmidt is a senior fellow of the American Leadership Forum, joining and strengthening diverse leaders to better serve the public good.
Assistant Chief Schmidt has served in various assignments in both law enforcement and criminal justice commands. She has been awarded the TCOLE Academic Achievement Award and is a 2010 recipient of Sheriff Adrian Garcia’s Core Values Award for Ethical Conduct and Leadership. She also received the 2015 Women in Law Enforcement Trailblazer Award.
In her leisure time she enjoys playing ice hockey, scuba diving and is a guitarist in the band The Ghost PepHers. She is also a passionate philanthropist in the fight against breast cancer.
About the Criminal Justice Command
The Criminal Justice Command is the largest command in the Harris County Sheriff’s Office with nearly 2600 employees. The Command’s primary responsibility is operating the Harris County Jail System. Harris County operates the largest jail in Texas and the 3rd largest jail in the United States. The Command is comprised of 3 bureaus: Justice Housing 1200, Justice Housing 701 and Justice Management. Although independent, the bureaus work cooperatively to ensure the care custody and control of over 8700 inmates housed each day.