Sheriff says hiring overhaul cut jail vacancy to 7% as of April 18, 2025

At the April 18 Budget & Finance meeting, Sheriff Hall told council members the sheriff’s office had overhauled recruitment and retention for jail staff and had reduced the correctional officer vacancy rate to 7% as of 04/18/2025.

The plan matters because corrections makes up the largest share of the sheriff’s budget and staffing levels affect facility safety, supervision and costs. Chief Ruby Joyner told the council the office pursued a “multi‑phased approach” that included a dedicated recruiter, a retention specialist, an accelerated onboarding that pays recruits while they shadow officers, and a tiered pay structure that raises pay as trainees complete the academy and probation. “With the changes to the pay structure, our enhanced recruiting efforts and shadowing opportunities, we have watched our vacancy rate drop to 7% as of 04/18/2025,” Joyner said.

Sheriff Hall and Chief Joyner described specifics the office changed: the hiring timeline that previously took “three to four months” was shortened, new hires (called onboarders) begin a roughly two‑week job‑shadowing period while continuing background checks and pay begins during that phase. The office shifted to tiered pay—trainee, CO‑1 on probation, then CO‑2/corporal after probation—to make entry pay more competitive and to provide step increases tied to training and experience.

Officials said the office also used focus groups of recent hires to adapt recruitment: younger applicants prioritized immediate pay and scheduling flexibility over long‑term benefits such as pensions and healthcare. To attract candidates who prefer higher hourly pay over long‑term benefits, the office offered part‑time roles that allowed hires to waive pension and health coverage in exchange for higher hourly wages; the sheriff said the change drew a large number of applicants, including a majority of women among those hires. “We had a hundred people. You couldn't—we had to say no,” Hall said of the part‑time option.

Joyner traced the vacancy trend: about 15% before the COVID era (through April 2018), about 25% during COVID (to July 2020), about 28% post‑COVID (to October 2021), and then the decline to 7% after the recruitment changes. She emphasized that the approach balances getting people into positions quickly and evaluating reliability during the paid onboarding period: “For two weeks they are required to show up on time … we get to evaluate them on factors like their attendance and the level of maturity they could potentially bring to this profession.”

Sheriff Hall stressed that the staffing work was ongoing and tied to other operational demands: corrections is about two‑thirds the size of the sheriff’s office and the office also provides courthouse security, transportation and civil process. He said the goal is to remain competitive in the field and to keep vacancy levels low. The sheriff and chief asked council members to consider changes in broader Metro hiring and benefits policy—such as the threshold that triggers mandatory pension and health benefits for part‑time workers—to make recruitment outside traditional full‑time models easier.

Council members asked about metrics for retention and the operational impacts of the changes; officials said they would supply additional budget details and follow up data to council staff. The sheriff said the office had shifted training and recruitment practices based on what recently hired staff said they wanted, and that the changes had measurably reduced vacancies.

Less critical detail: the sheriff noted corrections housing units of about 64 beds are typically staffed by one officer, and that non‑housing duties (for example, hospital watches) create additional staffing pressure.