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Randolph County sheriff’s office outlines staffing shortfalls, detention center stress and recruitment needs
Summary
Sheriff's Office leaders told commissioners the agency has lost dozens of sworn employees in the past year, faces recruitment competition from municipal departments, and that the jail is operating with many inexperienced officers; they urged pay increases and other retention tools.
Leaders from the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office told county commissioners Thursday that the agency faces sustained losses of sworn staff and shortages in the county jail that they said reduce public safety and increase liability.
A department representative told the board that in the prior 12 months the sheriff’s office lost about 39 employees and that the detention center has seen 44 officers leave since January 2024. “We have 13 housing units,” Major D’Angelo said, and average daily inmate population was described as roughly 280–320; the facility’s maximum certified capacity was cited as 422.
Major D’Angelo and other presenters said staffing shortages have left housing units, booking and master-control operations thinly staffed. The jail was reported to be roughly 10 positions short on day shifts at the time of presentation, with multiple officers under three years’ experience. Presenters said many recent hires leave within months and that institutional knowledge has declined.
Sheriff’s Office leaders described regional competition: neighboring municipal agencies and county departments offer higher starting pay, sign-on bonuses, longevity and other incentives, leading some Randolph officers to take lateral moves. A slide cited several specific examples of officers who left for higher pay, improved benefits or sign-on bonuses at other agencies.
Speakers laid out the cost to recruit and equip new deputies as roughly $15,642 per replaceable new hire (training, uniforms and equipment) and noted the time to replace a new recruit can be roughly a year when mandatory state training, field training and background checks are included.
The sheriff’s office requested an overall compensation increase on the order of 15 percent to become more competitive. Presenters acknowledged and expressed appreciation for a 2 percent increase in the manager’s proposed budget and a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment proposal, but said an additional increase would be needed to narrow the gap with neighboring agencies. They also noted proposed longevity incentives would help but would initially benefit only a subset of current staff.
Speakers emphasized operational consequences: deputies are sometimes the only available responders across Randolph County’s 800 square miles, and presenters offered an incident example in which a state trooper who was closer provided life-saving care before sheriff’s deputies could arrive. Presenters also described using their armored vehicle in a neighboring-county active-shooter response and said the vehicle’s protective capability was validated when it was struck by gunfire.
Commissioners asked questions about pay comparisons and turnover drivers; presenters said competitive pay, incentives, and changes to training and scheduling would reduce turnover. No formal action or appropriation was taken at the meeting.
Ending: The sheriff’s office recommended additional pay and retention measures be considered in the remaining budget process; commissioners took no immediate vote and asked staff to continue evaluating requests.
