The Item is acknowledging the hard work the Picayune Police Department does for the community, including Detective Christa Groom.
Born and raised in Picayune, Groom described her days growing up in the area.
“All I can remember is playing outside. One thing that I will never forget was playing with my mom’s coffee pot and breaking it. I got in a world of trouble,” said Groom.
She added that she grew up in a neighborhood full of boys, so she would hang out with her older brother and his friends and participate in activities like playing sports, said Groom.
Groom graduated from Picayune High School, and after that attended PRCC before going to the University of Southern Mississippi where she majored in criminal justice.
“If I were not in law enforcement, I think I would be in the military right now. I was in ROTC throughout high school,” said Groom.
Groom was raised by her father, who was a former police officer at the Picayune Police Department, and her mother, who works for a hospital in Gulfport.
The reason she chose law enforcement had to do a lot with her father being in law enforcement.
“I tried other things like the ROTC and even a nursing program but none of that really was me. After I graduated from USM I walked through the front door of the police department and asked ‘how can I work here?’ and here I am today,” said Groom.
From 2001-04 Groom worked as a reserve officer and worked undercover in narcotics. Then in 2004, she worked full-time at the Bay St. Louis Police Department and went to the police academy. In 2005 she became a detective with the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department.
Groom said the worst part of the job is dealing with cases involving children as victims. However, the best part of the job is the camaraderie with co-workers and citizens, said Groom.
“I would definitely recommend policing as a career to anyone wanting to protect and serve. It might not seem like a good thing to do right now, because of the media, but it really is not like that. Police are something we cannot live without,” said Groom.
In her free time, she enjoys crossfit and hunting.
“I hunt with my husband. We go turkey, deer, and dove hunting, whether it be with a bow or just normal hunting,” Groom said.
For those with erroneous assumptions of women in law enforcement, Groom had this to say, “Some people do think that women should not be in law enforcement, but if you can do your job and prove yourself, then there shouldn’t be any issues. It honestly should not even be part of someone’s thought process that a woman can’t do what men do for a living, as long as you’re doing your job. In the society we live in today, anyone can do anything if they put their mind to it,” said Groom.