Sheriff warns of understaffing in Clark County Sheriff’s Office, asks residents to press councilors for more deputies

The Clark County sheriff told neighborhood residents the sheriff’s office is understaffed and urged citizens to contact county councilors to press for more deputies and resources.

“ We are a lowest staff, a second lowest Washington state of our new sheriff's office,” the sheriff said, summarizing the agency’s staffing shortfall. The sheriff provided a per‑capita figure: “we're at 0.64 deputies per 1,000 residents,” and said the department has asked for an increase to a staffing level equivalent to about 1.3 deputies per 1,000 — a gap she said would require roughly 40 additional deputies to reach staffing sufficiency over time.

The sheriff said the office serves unincorporated Clark County and a population she described as roughly 200,000–250,000 residents. She asked residents to “call and write all the counselors, not just Michelle Belcock” to express support for more deputy hires and for whatever budget pathway the council chooses, including general‑fund prioritization or other mechanisms.

The sheriff warned that the shortfall has operational impacts: detectives and traffic investigators are stretched, overtime is common and some calls for service cannot be handled as before. “Some calls that are non‑emergency, we just can't get to anymore,” she said. She said the department has been behind staffing targets for years, that hiring and retention are costly and that deputies are leaving for larger agencies that can pay more.

She said the department will distribute the slides and statistics she presented to the county council and offered dates and materials so residents can follow the issue. The sheriff encouraged residents to sign up for the department’s email list and to attend future community presentations.