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Tazewell County sheriff summarizes operations, cites mental-health strain and staffing pressures
Summary
Sheriff Robert (first name provided in transcript) gave a detailed overview of the sheriff’s office: four divisions, roughly 130 staff, about 100 people in jail on average, high call volume, mental-health challenges and staffing shortfalls.
Sheriff Robert provided a high-level overview of Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office operations, saying the office handles patrol, corrections, civil process and court security and that mental-health needs and staff shortages are current challenges.
Sheriff Robert told the board he has worked in the sheriff’s office for 36 years, including 30 years as a deputy and the last six as sheriff. He described four divisions — patrol, corrections, civil process and court security — and said the department has about 130 employees. “They do an outstanding job on patrol, the civilian personnel, and in the jail,” he said.
The sheriff reported that the patrol division answered 25,024 calls last year, covering everything from traffic stops to homicide investigations. He said the office’s average daily jail population (ADP) is reported at 150 by state formula but that the facility typically houses about 100 people a day; the transcript recorded 90 at the time of the meeting. He said staffing shortages and overtime are problems: the jail was “about four people short” of full staffing and several employees were out on workers’ compensation. He also said two deputies were set to retire soon.
Mental-health needs are a recurring pressure, the sheriff said, noting limited availability of treatment beds outside the county and that jail staff frequently must provide a range of care: “you’re not only mother, father, mental health counselor, nurse…you name it. Whatever that person needs, we have to provide it.” He called the jail workforce’s work “thankless” and said the detectives and bailiffs are respected by local judges.
The sheriff characterized Tazewell County as comparatively safe, referencing an internal study he conducted years earlier that found the county’s average crime rate about 15% lower than a national comparison; he said that lower rate affects staffing needs. He said an increase in average crime to national levels would require roughly 10 more deputies.
No formal board action followed the presentation; the remarks were given as an informational briefing.
