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Sheriff updates: staffing, call volumes and jail pressures emphasize need for resources
Summary
Sheriff Brian Haino reported steady call volumes, staffing challenges in patrol and detention, active drug and internet-crime investigations, and IT and jail-management system needs; the board discussed proximity benefits of co-located sheriff and detention operations.
Sheriff Brian Haino and his command staff updated the commissioners on staffing, call volumes and operational pressures. The sheriff noted roughly 21,942 calls in 2023 (with additional proactive and 911 calls summarized) and provided an estimate of about 44,000 total incidents when including online reporting and other integrations.
The department is sending conditional offers and trainees to the academy (one in academy, one in field training), has hired an additional front-office person, and selected a detention staff hire. Haino reported working partnerships with federal immigration authorities on an episodic basis; the county temporarily held four individuals prior to federal transfer during recent operations.
Detective Commander Josh Buls said detectives saw an uptick in child sexual-assault investigations, assaults, thefts and mail-fraud-related cases (stolen mail used for fraudulent checks). Internet Crimes Against Children and drug-task-force work continue to generate intensive digital evidence workloads; the department reported IT backup and storage constraints tied to the volume of digital downloads.
Patrol Commander Luke Foster described patrol as “extremely busy” and understaffed on typical shifts (roughly seven to nine deputies on shift, per his report), with mutual-aid relationships with municipal agencies used frequently for violent incidents and search-and-rescue support. Commissioners and staff discussed staffing ratios, shift lengths (12-hour shifts in use), and the serviceable population basis used for comparing staffing levels.
Detention Commander Jennifer (Jenny) reported the detention facility booked 2,465 inmates last year and is currently about four officer positions down. She said recruiting experienced candidates is difficult at current wages; retention affected by higher pay opportunities in patrol. She noted mental-health demand among inmates and that the county is working with a crisis-assessment team for support services and that a new support-services officer should aid operations. Jennifer and the sheriff emphasized strong operational interaction between sheriff’s office and detention (transports, interviews, administrative coordination) and said co-location supports operational efficiency.
The sheriff flagged a need to resolve jail-management software (JMS) programming and backup responsibilities after IT staffing changes; that remains a priority and could require funding.
