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Sheriff’s presentation warns of rising jail assaults, mental-health cases and staffing shortfalls
Summary
Arlington County’s sheriff told the County Board the detention facility is seeing more assaults on staff, more inmates with withdrawal and acute mental-health needs, and that the office needs additional pay, staff and facility updates to reduce mandatory overtime and lockdowns.
Arlington County Sheriff Wood told the County Board at a work session that the Arlington County Detention Facility is seeing higher levels of violent and self-harming behavior among people booked into the jail, and that those trends are straining staff and operations.
Sheriff Wood described a range of operational challenges: an increase in assaults on staff, more people arriving in serious withdrawal, more emergency custody orders and transports to hospitals, and a higher average daily population with a larger share of people identifying mental-health needs. He said those trends have forced the jail to impose lockdowns, divert deputies to hospital transports and dedicate staff to constant observation of persons at risk of self-harm.
The sheriff told the board the sheriff’s office has been expanding medical and behavioral-health services in the facility, including a longer-term medical oversight arrangement and continuing use of Sublocade (injectable buprenorphine) for medication-assisted treatment. He said 86 Sublocade injections were purchased since May 2024 and 26 people had been placed on the program; he noted each injection costs about $2,300. He also described a transition plan from contracted medical services toward a county-run model being implemented in phases with an outside contractor (Falcon) to support the transfer.
Sheriff Wood said the jail’s daily population and acuity are rising. He gave an extended example of an individual who repeatedly harmed himself and required multiple hospital trips, around‑the‑clock observation, diet and shower restrictions and a daily multi‑disciplinary management team. He said those cases pull deputies off other assignments and contribute to mandatory overtime.
On staffing and pay, the sheriff told the board the office’s retention and recruitment are being undermined by what he called pay compression: uniformed deputies received a 3.5% annual increase while other public‑safety and comparator agencies have been more generous. He said the sheriff’s office starting pay increased from $25.72/hour in 2020 to $30.60/hour in the current year, a rise he described as insufficient relative to cumulative inflation and regional competition. He said four deputy sheriffs recently resigned for outside positions and several more are actively being recruited by other agencies.
The sheriff asked the board to prioritize recruitment and retention strategies—pay adjustments, a second special recruit class, and targeted hires for pretrial case management and recruitment coordination—as the office develops its FY26 budget requests. He also requested facility repairs: a refurbished front lobby and upgrades to the medical unit to improve safety and functionality.
Sheriff Wood also listed nonpay efforts intended to support morale and rehabilitation: two additional canines, a micro‑market to provide healthier and more convenient staff food options, a mentorship program paired newer staff with tenured employees, continued use of SUBLOCADE in the medication‑assisted‑treatment program, and expanded wellness referrals for staff.
Board members thanked the sheriff for the presentation and acknowledged the tension between one‑time and ongoing funding. Several supervisors said they found the staffing and pay compression concerns compelling and discussed tradeoffs the county faces when setting the budget.
