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Delaware County sheriff reviews staffing, jail population and school safety programs
Summary
Sheriff Craig Dumont presented the Delaware County Sheriff's Office 2024 annual report to the Board of Supervisors, outlining staffing changes, rising jail boarding and inmate counts, traffic and drug-enforcement trends, and the county's school resource officer and K-9 programs.
Sheriff Craig Dumont told the Delaware County Board of Supervisors that the Sheriff's Office remains focused on public safety while grappling with staffing shortages and higher jail populations.
Dumont said the office launched a new website, maintains a sheriff's app and an active Facebook presence. He highlighted recruitment challenges and a number of new hires and promotions in 2024, including a new full-time school resource officer in the Stamford Central School District and several corrections hires. Cody Tremblay was promoted to criminal investigator and assigned to work with the district attorney on child-crime cases; Kyle Karchar was promoted to corporal; Jeff Clark was promoted to sergeant. The sheriff also noted one jail retirement and said the office recognizes outstanding employees quarterly.
Why it matters: Dumont said corrections staffing and jail custody levels affect operations and county costs. He reported a 38% increase in jail population from 2023 to 2024 and a 92% increase in the female population. The office housed state-ready inmates and significant numbers of U.S. Marshals Service detainees; federal and marshal boarding revenue rose substantially in 2024, which Dumont said offset operating expenses but did not cover ancillary costs such as transportation and medical care.
Dumont described financial terms the county receives for state inmates (noting the state pays $100 per day) and said boarding revenue in recent years had helped offset jail costs, with one slide listing $1,870,000 in boarding revenue for the prior year. He said federal inmate boarding and transport revenues increased 126% and 77% respectively for 2024 versus 2023.
On law enforcement activity, Dumont said arrests and uniform traffic tickets were up, traffic accident reports rose 27.6% (462 reports), and the office answered 15,496 calls in 2024. He identified a strain on criminal investigations tied to bail and pretrial-release changes, saying that shorter or immediate releases make it harder to develop confidential informants and lengthen drug investigations. He described a 10-month drug investigation that led to seizure of multiple AR-style rifles, eight illegal firearms (including two ghost guns), and large quantities of fentanyl and other narcotics.
On corrections and training, Dumont said the county ran two corrections academy sessions in 2024 and aims for another this year to recruit corrections officers and reduce outsourcing costs. He also reviewed training highlights, county and statewide honors for deputies, and engagement in community events.
Dumont emphasized the school resource officer (SRO) program and the K-9 unit. He described the value of Sgt. Jeff Clark and K-9 Edge in schools, saying students and staff have responded positively and that the SRO program improves relationships and school safety. He noted demand from additional schools for SRO coverage but said the limiting factor is available personnel.
Board members thanked the sheriff and affirmed continued support.
The presentation was informational; no board action on policy or new funding was recorded during the sheriff's presentation.
