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Department of Public Safety reports hiring gains, highlights dispatcher shortages and evidence management needs
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Summary
Nevada Department of Public Safety officials told the Assembly Judiciary Committee the department has made hiring progress after a marketing campaign but still faces vacancies in dispatch and records; the department also reported high call volumes and outlined technology and training needs.
George Tagliotti, director of the Nevada Department of Public Safety, told the Assembly Judiciary Committee that the department is seeing hiring improvements but continues to face vacancies in key units, especially dispatch and records communications.
"We have over 1,300 employees and multiple divisions," said Christie Defer, senior fiscal officer for the Nevada State Police, who gave the committee an operational and fiscal overview on behalf of the agency.
Defer and other DPS leaders described an All Stars marketing campaign funded in part with ARPA dollars that raised applicants for sworn positions by about 71 percent from 2023 to 2024 and produced 294 candidates who passed both written and physical exams (a 38 percent increase). Officials credited targeted recruitment, a marketing vendor and recent salary increases with slowing separations and improving retention.
At the same time, the Records, Communication and Compliance Division reported a high volume of work: DPS said its dispatch account handled over 1,461,007 calls for service in calendar year 2024. The agency also pointed to continuing challenges recruiting and retaining dispatchers and high vacancies in records and communications.
Tagliotti and Defer described core departmental services that include the Evidence Vault (three main vaults and ten interim lockers statewide), the Office of Professional Responsibility (internal investigations and use‑of‑force reviews), highway patrol and interdiction units, parole and probation oversight, the digital forensics unit and the Nevada Threat Analysis Center (NTAC), the federally designated fusion center.
Defer outlined technology and program lines handled by the department’s research, planning and technology unit (RMPT), including body‑worn cameras, in‑car cameras, tasers, radios, computer‑aided dispatch (CAD) and BRAZOS citation software, and public‑records management tools. She noted difficulty accepting live‑scan fingerprints from out of state because each life‑scan installation requires technical vetting, on‑site audits and secure network connections.
The department identified several bill concepts and rule or reporting changes it is supporting or tracking, including BDR 25A655‑321 (a background check/fingerprint program), SB 26 (revising access to criminal history records for people working with vulnerable populations) and AB 55 (traffic crash data reporting changes) as items the committee may see during the session.
Committee members asked about retention drivers, parity with local law enforcement, PERS and retirement policy, and dispatcher recruitment. Tagliotti and Deputy Director Sherry Bregerman said salary adjustments, improved morale and the marketing campaign helped reduce separations and attract applicants, but that dispatch recruiting remained a national and state challenge.
DPS concluded by inviting committee members to follow up with specific questions and to request more detailed accounting of staffing, vacancies and program budgets.
