Laurie Smith (1952-) was the Republican Sheriff of Santa Clara County, California from 15 December 1998.
Biography[]
Laurie Smith was born in Lansing, Michigan in 1952, and she relocated to San Jose, California in 1969 for college and for a career in law enforcement. She became a deputy sheriff in 1973 and became one of the first female permanent undercover vice cops, variably posing as a prostitute, a fence, and a drug user. She went on to serve as Assistant Sheriff from 1990 to 1998, and, in 1998, she was elected to serve as California's first female county sheriff.