Walworth County sheriff reports near‑completion of radio system, plans encryption of law enforcement channels; HR details hiring challenges

Walworth County’s sheriff’s office told the executive committee on Monday that a new county radio system has been turned on, testing has identified two coverage gaps, and county law enforcement channels will be encrypted when the system moves to full operational status.

Captain Todd Newman, who led the radio project for the sheriff’s office, said crews have been testing coverage around the county and found two locations where reception remains inadequate: a deep hospital basement and a heavy‑manufacturing facility. “We spent the last couple weeks, driving around the county, testing in various buildings. And so far, I have found 2 places in the county where the radios do not work,” Newman said.

The sheriff’s office said the target for migrating all users onto the new system is roughly June–July, pending completion of fine-tuning and any final remediation work. Sheriff’s leadership also announced plans to encrypt law‑enforcement radio channels so only authorized radios with the encryption key can decode transmissions; fire and EMS channels will remain unencrypted to preserve public access and interagency response.

The sheriff explained the rationale for encryption: operational security, officer safety and protection of sensitive information. He said the county’s police chiefs discussed the issue and “unanimously, every chief and myself voted in favor of encryption.” Committee members asked about public access to calls and were told that channels used for public works and fire/EMS will remain open on scanners and public feeds, while law‑enforcement channels will not.

Separately, county human resources staff presented an overview of hiring and retention in the sheriff’s office. HR and sheriff’s office staff described a multi‑step recruitment process that includes eligibility screening, interviews, a suitability (pre‑psychological) test administered at the interview, in‑house background investigations, and post‑offer physical and psychological exams. Backgrounds are prepared by investigators and require multiple supervisory sign‑offs.

HR said the process can be time‑consuming: in 2024 the deputy recruitment pool included 69 applicants, of which 6 were hired and others fell out of the process at various stages (did not meet minimum qualifications, did not follow up on testing or interviews, failed suitability or background checks). Over the last 10 years the sheriff’s sworn division recorded 35 retirements; staff emphasized that lateral hires (experienced officers from other agencies) have been an important component of staffing. “Laterals have been a huge success,” HR said, noting that 29 of 73 hires in the last 10 years were lateral hires.

HR staff also described targeted recruitment steps taken in recent years: elimination of some written exams, on‑site suitability testing immediately after interviews, ongoing job postings rather than short eligibility lists, paid social‑media advertising and video campaigns, and attendance at career fairs. Corrections and communications units previously received pandemic‑era pay adjustments and bonuses; those increases and uniform allowances were noted as retention tools.

Sheriff’s office and HR staff told the committee that hiring shortages, an aging workforce, changing worker expectations and childcare and work‑life balance pressures are industry‑wide challenges that affect recruitment and retention.

No committee action was taken on the radio or hiring presentations; both were provided as informational updates.