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Cass County sheriff reports jail staffing shortfalls, new-pod training and weekend patrol support for downtown Fargo
Summary
At a Cass County Board of Commissioners meeting, the sheriff reported the jail is understaffed by about 20 positions, outlined a two-week training plan for a new jail pod, described recruitment and hiring steps, and said deputies have been providing limited weekend patrol assistance in downtown Fargo amid a recent rise in violent incidents.
Sheriff reported to the Cass County Board of Commissioners that his office is under budget and continues to pursue recruitment to fill jail vacancies while preparing staff to operate a newly completed jail pod.
The sheriff said the office’s year-to-date expenditures were about 52% of the overall budget, below an expected 58% level, and that the department has roughly 20 current openings across correctional and other positions in an agency of 267 positions. “So currently, we should be at 52% of our overall budget or … 58% … expended, and we’re at 52% right now,” the sheriff said. He said the office’s goal is to reduce openings to about 10 or slightly fewer given the size of the agency.
Detective Joe Hedin, who leads recruiting, told the commission the next correctional officer (CO) basic academy starts in October and nine candidates were in background checks and Miranda interviews as of the meeting. The sheriff said stronger pay ranges and targeted marketing have helped recruiting; he singled out an office staff member, Angie, for marketing work and credited Hedin for maintaining frequent applicant contact during lengthy background and polygraph processes.
A captain responsible for the new jail pod told commissioners he expects about two weeks of hands-on training and orientation after the facility is turned over to the sheriff’s office. “He figures about 2 weeks of doing that and doing policies and procedures to see if anything … we currently have in place for our current pods applies to this new pod because the layout’s different,” the sheriff said, quoting the captain.
Commissioners and the sheriff discussed hiring sign-off procedures. The sheriff said staff keep multi-year spreadsheets of turnover trends and can provide more formal baseline turnover and salary-change data on an annual schedule if the commission requests it. One commissioner suggested developing baseline turnover and compensation data by job category to track competitiveness over multiple years; the sheriff said the department already maintains several years of trend information and could provide it.
The sheriff also described several in-custody programs and operational details: the jail continues to offer a GED program coordinated with Fargo Public Schools (students pay a $36 testing fee), though completion depends on an individual’s length of stay; average jail stays vary but were discussed in the meeting as roughly in the low-70-day range. He said some educational programming started in custody can continue on the outside with community partners.
On community policing, the sheriff said deputies have provided short, overtime-supported patrol shifts to downtown Fargo at the request of Fargo officers following several violent incidents. The shifts were typically a four-hour block (about 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.), and the sheriff said the presence of both sheriff’s deputies and Fargo officers appeared to improve deterrence and teamwork. “The Fargo officers … were asking if we can be down there more to help them,” he said, while noting the county will avoid pulling regular-duty deputies from rural responses and will use overtime when needed.
The sheriff acknowledged recent shootings across the region and said intelligence shared among agencies shows a mix of long-simmering feuds and short-term retaliatory strikes. “From the intel that I’ve seen … I think it’s a combination of both,” he said, adding the office is pursuing debriefs and action plans after some recent critical incidents to improve documentation, handoffs and call-for-service procedures.
Commissioners asked for follow-up materials: one requested a clearer hiring-signoff workflow and the sheriff indicated he would coordinate with the county portfolio and HR to streamline approvals without delaying promotions or onboarding. The sheriff also said an after-action review of the county’s tornado response is roughly 85% complete and will be presented to the commission after fire and EMS comments are gathered.
The meeting closed with routine business and an adjournment.
