Matrix study recommends roughly three dozen new positions for St. Louis County sheriff’s office, prioritizes patrol and jail staffing

A Matrix Consulting Group staffing study presented to the St. Louis County Board on June 10 recommended adding roughly 33–35 positions across the sheriff’s office, with the largest needs concentrated in patrol and the county jail.

The report’s nut graf: Matrix told the board its analysis combined call-for-service data, ride-alongs, manager interviews and an anonymous employee survey to measure reactive workload, proactive time and detention risks. The consultants proposed targeted increases and organizational changes rather than a single uniform lift in headcount.

Matrix founder Richard Brady and project leads John Scruggs and Greg Stewart described a multi-part recommendation. For patrol, Matrix recommended creating a new swing shift and adding six deputy positions focused on the Duluth division to raise usable proactive time during evening hours (when proactive time dipped as low as about 12 percent). The consultants also recommended a two-deputy recreation unit and adjustments to first-line supervision depending on whether…