The Mojave County Sheriff’s Office is seeking additional funding this year to address a severe shortage of staff at county jails. And until the shortage is cleared, Sheriff Doug Schuster says his 10-year strategic plan will be put on hold.
Schuster’s plan was implemented in 2019 as an outline of an ongoing effort to address compensation and payroll compression issues within his department. The plan would require the Sheriff’s Office to increase his budget by $1.5 million in the 2020 budget, bringing him an average annual increase of $937,000 over the next 10 years. But severe staffing shortages at the Mojave County Jail have led to an increasing number of resignations, and Schuster said his plans will need to be postponed until those shortages are resolved.
“It doesn’t make sense to look for additional staff if we can’t fill the vacancies we already have,” Schuster said Tuesday.
Schuster said this year’s budget should address projections of current and future staffing levels, as well as increased overtime pay for detainees as a result of these shortfalls. Schuster is now researching and identifying the factors behind high employee turnover in prisons and considering what steps can be taken to further address the issue.
Coronavirus, Cost of Living Rise Affecting Prison Staff Ranks
Schuster wrote to the Mojave County Board of Oversight last week, pointing out the impact this year’s staff vacancies will have on prison operations.
“It’s impossible to overstate how important these vacancies are,” Schuster said. “In addition, these high levels of vacancies have put us at a level where we routinely pay high levels of overtime to ensure adequate staffing. It will undoubtedly lead to burnout, and more resignations, which, combined with significantly higher salaries and better benefits offered by competing local institutions, is nothing short of a recipe for disaster.”
In a statement on Tuesday, Schuester said the exact amount of funding for his request will be made public later this week.
“After the coronavirus hit, we now find ourselves in a position where we cannot attract or retain qualified employees,” Schuster said. are involved, and the cost of living now tops the list.The exponential increase in housing, transportation and food is what everyone is feeling.”
In 2018, the Mojave County Sheriff’s Office commissioned a comprehensive salary survey to determine the county’s coverage rate compared to other county law enforcement agencies. According to the report, starting salaries for Mojave County detainees were 15 percent lower than Coconino County and 6 percent lower than Golden Valley State Penitentiary.
According to the Sheriff’s proposed 10-year strategic plan in 2019, federal agencies set out an ideal inmate-to-detainer ratio of 10 detainees for every 33 inmates. Based on that measurement, Schuster said, ideally, Mojave County Jail should have more than 196 detainees. As of 2019, the county employs 133 of her detainees.
Schuster said prison ranks had increased under his strategic plan, but the county fell behind again in staffing detention officers. is also lower.
“Adult detention facilities have reached critical levels of staffing, and deputy resignations continue to rise steadily,” Schuster said. “We are currently paying detainees and deputies overtime to work extra shifts in prisons to ensure adequate staffing levels. , may be forced to work overtime, which is not a good position.”
Sheriff: Fewer Seek Law Enforcement Careers
But salaries and retention may not be the only issues. According to Schuster, the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office has noticed fewer people seeking a career in law enforcement than in previous years.
“Many factors contribute to this. In my own experience, law enforcement across the United States is portrayed very poorly.”
Stories of police misconduct that have made national headlines in recent years may have created a biased public perception of law enforcement as a profession, Schuster said. And that recognition may have caused the decline in cadets. At worst, it may have created an underlying mistrust of law enforcement among young residents.
But Schuster says these issues may be far removed from Mojave County.
“Thankfully, we live in Mojave County and we don’t have problems like we have across the country. I believe the majority of our citizens support and support law enforcement.
The Mojave County Board of Supervisors plans to discuss and possibly vote on Schuster’s request for additional funding at its board’s next meeting in Kingman on Monday.
