As staffing has dropped and overtime costs have ballooned, a long-simmering problem at the Denver Sheriff Department only has gotten worse in recent years.
A Denver Sheriff Department deputy stands guard in a hallway at Denver City Jail on Oct. 13, 2022. For nearly three decades, Denver sheriff’s Deputy Mike Jackson has worked at the Denver County Jail on the far northeast side of town.
Staffing levels have dipped so low at the Denver Sheriff Department that the agency is pulling deputies from all sorts of assignments to cover mandatory overtime shifts at the department’s two jails. And as staffing has dropped, overtime costs have ballooned, aIn 2020, the Denver Sheriff Department averaged about 85% of full staffing in sworn positions — deputies and uniformed leadership. That dropped to 79% in 2021, to 69% in 2022 and to 67% so far in 2023.
The department doesn’t have the authority to investigate crimes or make arrests, and relies on Denver police to respond to crimes committed inside and immediately outside the two jails, Denver police spokesman Doug Schepman said. Police were called to the sheriff’s department’s two facilities 307 times in 2021, 328 times in 2022 and 392 times so far this year, according to statistics Chief Ron Thomas shared during a public meeting in mid-September.
Deputies can, however, volunteer for overtime shifts and schedule those shifts two weeks in advance, Diggins said. Deputies told The Denver Post they volunteer for overtime shifts in order to avoid mandatory overtime, which can be required with little-to-no warning. In 2022, 100 Denver sheriff’s employees retired or resigned, compared to 113 in 2021 and 79 in 2020, according to data provided by the department. In the first eight months of 2023, 33 employees have resigned or retired.
“There is no help. Nobody is coming,” he said. “We’ve been doing forced overtime for three years now.”
México Últimas Noticias, México Titulares
Similar News:También puedes leer noticias similares a ésta que hemos recopilado de otras fuentes de noticias.
Tensions over Denver's proposed $2 billion budget for 2024 ramping up at Denver City HallTony Kovaleski is the contact7 Chief Investigative Reporter.
Leer más »
OC Sheriff's Department release bodycam video of Trabuco Canyon mass shootingThe body cam video of the gunfire that killed three people at Cook\u2019s Corner Bar in Orange County in August was released Friday by the Orange County Sheriff\u2026
Leer más »
Sheriff’s office looking for community to help identify woman in Clay County incidentClay County Sheriff’s Office is asking the community to help identify a woman seen in several surveillance photos.
Leer más »
A chilly end to the week for the Denver metro area FridayLisa provides the latest First Alert Weather forecast on Denver7 starting at 4:30am every weekday morning.
Leer más »
Evictions surge in Denver as council members, advocates call for aidSeth Klamann is a statehouse reporter at the Denver Post, covering policy, state government and the legislature. He previously worked for the Gazette, the Casper Star-Tribune and the Omaha World-Herald. He's a graduate of the University of Missouri and a proud Kansas City native.
Leer más »