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| Independent Study Commissioned by County Sheds Light on Staffing Levels at Sheriff's Office 06/06/17 04:15pm Updated 06/07/17 07:25am |
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analysis done by the independent consulting firm, The Bonadio Group, this afternoon, regarding staffing at the Lewis County Sheriff's Office. The county commissioned the Bonadio Group to perform analysis concerning the current organization of the Sheriff's Office, including current staffing, workload and responsibilities to the county. The study also looked a current rules, regulations, and standard operating procedures at the Sheriff's Office, as well as the office's historical, current and projected overtime costs, with the goal of identifying options for efficiency improvements. The Bonadio Group began their work in December, conducting interviews with the Sheriff and Undersheriff, deputies, supervisors, administrators, dispatchers, and support staff. They analyzed workflow, management, and departmental organization for redundancies or inefficiencies in operations, as well as the department's staffing needs and the effect of current staffing levels on overtime cost and operational efficiency. The study also examined the systems and software applications that the department uses to manage, document and accomplish its mission and additionally examined the department's evidence storage procedures and records management procedures. BACKGROUND The Lewis County Sheriff's Office provides law enforcement services for all of Lewis County, consisting of 1,290 square miles. The Sheriff's Office currently consists of:
desired level of service to the community, the largest being the department's low staffing level. Several units within the department have minimum mandatory staffing levels, which are common in law enforcement agencies of all sizes. The minimum staffing levels dictate the fewest number of individuals that must be working on a particular shift to provide a level of service the department has deemed adequate. Minimum staffing levels for each unit are as follows:
with a day shift team and night shift team. Under the current staffing model, one of the road patrol shift teams is always operating at the mandatory minimum level, while the other three shift teams have only one additional deputy to cover gaps in coverage caused by vacation, sick days, or other department needs. *The corrections unit uses a similar 12-hour shift schedule, however they only employ enough full-time corrections officers to cover the absolute mandatory minimum requirements for each shift. Operating at the minimum staffing level requires the unit to rely on overtime and calling in part-time corrections officers to cover vacations, sick days, and additional department needs. *The dispatch unit uses an 12-hour shift schedule and also operates on the absolute minimum required staff to meet the requirement of two dispatchers per shift. The report states that collectively, the fact that the department is operating at or near the minimum mandatory staffing level in so many areas has various effects on the department and its members. First, the operating expenses of the department are impacted, as they must rely on calling in individuals on overtime to provide coverage for vacations, sick days, and other department needs. Additionally, operating at such lean staffing levels can be detrimental to department morale and operational efficiency. The report states, for example, when operating at or near mandatory minimum staffing, individual requests for vacation are often denied. Also, low staffing levels reduce the overall quality of service that can be provided, as there is often not enough time thoroughly investigate complaints or follow up on previous incidents. RECOMMENDATIONS: The report recommends the county evaluate the current needs of the department versus the current staffing levels, and consider whether or not it is necessary to hire more full-time positions in addition to those already approved. Staffing levels that are at or near the mandatory minimum levels can have several negative impacts on a law enforcement agency, including limiting when individuals can take vacations; limiting the amount of training individuals can take part in; decreasing general employee moral, which in turn can detract from the level of service provided to the citizens of the county, and can eventually lead to high turnover. Specifically in the road patrol unit, the low staffing level makes it difficult for deputies to perform their jobs to the fullest ability due to the fact they cannot commit significant time to following up on investigations and other duties, as they always need to be available to respond to calls for service. Additionally, the report states, the supervisors in road patrol are rarely able to actually perform supervisory duties, as they are often filling in on the road patrol to meet the mandatory minimum requirements. The report indicates that two unassigned additional full-time positions have been approved, and recommends one be used for a dedicated full-time Parks and Recreation patrol. The report states that the road patrol unit could benefit greatly from additional staffing to their unit with the other position. The county must also consider the needs of the jail and dispatch units as well, the report points out, especially considering those units are at their absolute minimum full- time staffing level. According to the report, the department should also perform analysis to determine if one full-time investigator is enough to meet the demands of that position. The investigator's main responsibilities are to handle cases involving unattended deaths; fatal accidents; drug overdoses; cases involving minors; drug buys; and other collaborative efforts with the District Attorney's office. The investigator is also in charge of managing the department's evidence storage room. Interviews with department personnel noted a concern that, at times, the workload demands of the position are greater than what the investigator can keep up with. The county must also determine if the use of part-time deputies is efficient in covering vacations, sick days and other coverage needs. Recommendations for the evidence storage room are as follows: |
