Georgia deputies working up to 80 hours a week with department down 59 officers: ‘Doing the best we can’

on Jul12
by | Comments Off on Georgia deputies working up to 80 hours a week with department down 59 officers: ‘Doing the best we can’ |

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

The Douglas County, Georgia, sheriff’s office is operating with 59 fewer deputies than needed as staffing shortages hit communities across the country.

Sheriff Tim Pounds said on “Fox & Friends” Tuesday that officers are leaving in droves due to conditions following the pandemic, while also in search of better pay. 

He said loyalty is the only thing holding his office together.

“They work diligently, just as hard as they can week by week, by week,” he told host Ainsley Earhardt. “They know a light is going to come, we just don’t know when that light is going to come.” 

POLICE CHIEFS SOUND ALARM ON STAFFING SHORTAGES AS COPS LEAVE FORCE FOR OTHER CAREERS

Some Douglas County deputies are being forced to work up to 80 hours per week to make sure the department is able to respond to the calls that come in.

Lieutenant Colonel Tavarreus Pounds, Sheriff Pounds’ nephew, praised the deputies for putting in the long hours to keep the community safe. 

While command staff aren’t allowed to work overtime, Sheriff Pounds has instructed them to work on the street occasionally to give the deputies some relief. 

In a recent effort to fill open positions, the agency held a two-day job fair and chose 77 candidates to move forward in the hiring process.

CHICAGO POLICE LOOK TO RECRUIT US MARINES TO COMBAT OFFICER SHORTAGE

Lt. Col. Pounds explained that not every candidate will be offered a position, as some may not pass a polygraph or a physical agility test. 

“There’s a number of things that they have to do before they actually can get hired,” he said. “They have to go through a psych eval, got to be able to pass a medical evaluation.”

He said the community has offered great support and very little backlash despite the staff shortage. 

“Hopefully, like the sheriff was saying, we can get some of these people in this office and take the stress off of these frontline workers that have been really giving their all,” Lt. Col. Pounds said. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“We’re doing the best that we can, and we are doing far and beyond what we can.”



Source link



Previous postOlympian Mo Farah Says He Was Trafficked to the UK as a Child Next postNHL Free Agency: The latest on Johnny Gaudreau, Nazem Kadri, and more


Chicago Financial Times


Copyright © 2024 Chicago Financial Times

Updates via RSS
or Email