KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — With staffing down by a third at a time when jail populations are increasing and crime and violence are rising post-pandemic, The Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office is issuing a plea for help.
Kalamazoo County Sheriff Rick Fuller says they have 19-unfilled vacancies in the jail and are down 17-road patrol officers. That’s why he’s issuing a new plea for applicants in the next few days.
“Everyone of these positions have to filled to answer those calls, to take care of the inmate population. That’s twenty-four-seven,” said Fuller who stressed that they are seeing similar manpower shortages in the local Courts, the Prosecutor’s office, and even in those alternative social service and indigent legal defense groups who work with offenders. And Fuller says it’s a problem they have never faced before.
“It’s gonna take us a while to get out of this crisis, because it is a crisis. And we don’t see an increase of people wanting to come into the business of law enforcement, we are gonna have a significant problem greater than what we see today,” said Fuller.
Next week, County Commissioners will get a sneak preview of a pay rate study that could mean raises across the board, but some officials fear the hikes they are talking about still won’t be competitive.
One problem officials say is pay rates, with another being the nature of the work which used to enjoy wide community support but has suffered in recent years for a variety of reasons.
They went onto say that similar manpower shortages at the juvenile home are believed to be contributing to the rise in gun violence the community has witnessed.
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