Staffing shortage forces California sheriff’s office to suspend daytime patrol services
The daytime patrol services of a sheriff’s office in California are reportedly about to be suspended due of a “catastrophic staffing shortage throughout the agency.”
In the county that is located north of Sacramento and has a population of around 65,000 people, the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office has announced that the patrols will end on November 20.
“Over the past several years, the Sheriff’s Office has had difficulties with recruitment and retention of employees, which have been directly linked to pay disparities,” it said in a statement. “A drastic rise in attrition, coupled with the inability to present enticing recruitment efforts, has resulted in an unprecedented staffing shortage.”
According to the sheriff’s office, additional service reductions are required to manage a catastrophic staffing shortage throughout the agency.
The Tehama County Deputy Sheriff’s Association issued its own statement in which it said it has spoken with the county’s Board of Supervisors on multiple occasions and has warned them several times that there is not enough personnel.
“Rather than take swift and decisive action, they have delayed and allowed too many good employees to leave,” the group added. “Several housing units within the jail have been shut down, the dispatch center was temporarily shut down, and now Dayshift Patrol will be shut down. We will continue to do everything we can for the great citizens of Tehama County.”
During this time, the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office has said that its officials had met with the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to have a conversation about the different aspects of emergency response inside Tehama County.
“While the final details are still underway, the CHP will be responding to life-threatening emergencies during the hours that the Sheriff’s Office is unable to provide patrol services,” it said.
