SBI Agent Sarah Robinson’s call to serve
Sarah Atkins
seatkins05@gmail.com
Full of energy, Kiraa greets those she meets with a wagging tail and a smile. She loves to play, but she also loves working with her handler, Sarah Robinson.
Robinson is a special agent with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. Within her role as an SBI agent, Robinson also works as a fire investigator, drone operator, and human remains detector K-9 handler.
When Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina in September, Robinson and Kiraa received requests from several counties that needed help searching remote areas. Robinson and Kiraa worked nearly every day for four weeks, often going on boats to search lakes and spending many days searching the woods for bodies.
“Kiraa got to do a lot of work in the aftermath of the hurricane,” said Robinson. “That was definitely the most taxing and intense assignment that I have had so far.”
A Spruce Pine local, Robinson’s interest in joining the SBI began in high school, when she was shadowing an SBI employee for her senior project. Influenced by that experience and inspired by her mother, who went to college for criminal justice, Robinson began pursuing a career in law enforcement.
Robinson studied criminal justice at Western Carolina University and interned with the SBI the summer before her senior year, continually growing her desire to work with the bureau.
After graduating from Western, Robinson went into basic law enforcement training with McDowell Tech. She eagerly applied for a position with the SBI but was denied. For the next year, she worked as a school resource officer with the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office, giving her valuable experience in law enforcement.
Determined to work as an SBI agent, Robinson reapplied and was finally accepted into the bureau. Robinson has now worked for the SBI for five years and has been Kiraa’s K-9 handler for two.
Kiraa, a three-year-old Belgian Malinois, is trained to find human remains in miles of woods. Kiraa and Robinson train for 16 hours each month, simulating the real-life circumstances they may, and have, encountered.
Robinson and Kiraa were awarded for their efforts during the aftermath of Helene, receiving a commendation of merit for their “dedication, resilience and professionalism.”
“Having a K-9 is a very rewarding job,” said Robinson. “Helping the citizens of North Carolina and helping bring closure to families is part of what motivates me to do this job every day.”
While her work with Kiraa is critical and fulfilling, Robinson’s main role with the SBI is as a fire investigator.
This role takes Robinson across the state to determine the origin and cause of fires. Her findings help agencies and citizens more accurately assess risk and take the proper preventative measures in the future.
When she first started working for the SBI, Robinson’s trainer encouraged her to apply to the National Fire Academy, a training program in Maryland operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Her trainer cautioned her that the program was highly competitive, and it was unlikely she would get in right away. Robinson applied with no expectations but was shocked when she learned she got accepted on her first try.
“I had no fire experience coming into this job,” said Robinson, “so being able to get accepted into that class, to pass it and to have instructors saying, ‘you’re going to do great in this profession’ was a huge encouragement.”
That experience pushed Robinson; it reinforced her commitment and showed her she had the capability to excel in her work, no matter the challenge.
“Being a female in law enforcement is never easy. You feel like you have to prove yourself more than a man might have to,” said Robinson. “It pushes you to be better at your job.”
That drive to excel continues to pave Robinson’s path in her career and will soon be taking her and Kiraa to Charlotte, where she will be running calls with the Charlotte Fire Department’s task force.
“At least for the next five-to-10 years, I see myself staying in the SBI and just really honing in on my skills as a fire investigator,” said Robinson.
From small-town roots to statewide investigations, Robinson’s career has taken her far, and she looks forward to seeing what this next chapter holds.