Staffing Updates, Trends, and Challenges

Believe it or not the end of June marks two years since I took office, and I thought it was time to share another update on what we have been up to at LCSO as well as some growing trends.

If I had to pick one word to sum up the most important focus over the last two years, I would go with hiring! Two years ago, we were down 12 positions across both sides of the house with almost zero applicants in sight. This was not something we advertised for good reason, but it did prove to be a difficult challenge and we tried just about everything to reach full staffing levels. Heck at one point it wasn't uncommon for someone to come into the office for a CPL renewal and leave with encouragement to apply for a deputy position through civil service. We did finally reach full staffing levels with the support of your county commissioners who voted to fund a competitive benefits package resulting in an increase in applicants for open positions.

Staffing shortages are sadly a growing trend for nearly all law enforcement agencies across the state and nation. I met with a representative for one of the state governor candidates in February who quickly asked what our staffing levels were like. I told him we had been hiring nonstop and finally reached full staffing levels to which he responded, "you must be the only agency in the state."

Since that time, we have lost a couple of deputies and hired to replace those as well as actively continue searching for future candidates as we know the battle we're up against. Unfortunately, law enforcement agencies across the state are beginning to look more like the college basketball transfer portal. The state of Washington still ranks 51st in law enforcement officers per capita and nearly every agency is actively hiring with hundreds of empty positions statewide. It has become a cutthroat business in which one agency attempts to take officers from another through recruiting and signing bonuses. As an example, we recently lost a deputy to a nearby jail who offered $20,000 to come work for them. Lincoln County simply cannot compete with these types of financial incentives; so, we will continue to try to hire those who want to share the lifestyle and pace of life in Lincoln County in hopes they will find this place to be a longtime home.

Another huge challenge in the law enforcement world is the ability to acquire police vehicles let alone afford them. There remains a shortage of police cars across the country and the excuse continues to be "supply chain issues." We placed an order in October for two patrol vehicles and two months later were told the auto manufacturer could not satisfy our order. Spokane PD came out recently that they are well over 100 vehicles short to continue operations at current staffing levels. Like many other agencies, we have resorted to taking whatever we can get when it comes to patrol vehicles rather than waiting two years to fill a need. While you certainly won't see us driving mini electric vehicles anytime soon, you might see one of our newer vehicles and wonder why we switched to a different model. The answer is we bought the vehicle that was available when we needed one.

Other than the challenges associated with vehicles and hiring, your team at LCSO has been very busy with calls, writing grants, updating equipment, and attending training. Calls for service take up the vast amount of a deputy's day, and we have experienced an uptick in larger type events over the past two years, but one type of call seems to stand out as a growing trend and that is juvenile mental health calls.

I point this out to bring awareness to my ongoing concern for the mental health of our youth, but also to let those families who are struggling with similar battles know they are not alone. This is a growing area of concern across the country affecting many families and there should be no stigma in seeking professional assistance. Our children are growing up in a very difficult time and could use every support outlet that we can offer.