Sheriff Tim Lane of the Scott County Jail in Davenport, Iowa, is constantly struggling to maintain adequate staffing levels.
Law enforcement agencies in the Quad-Cities are still facing challenges in hiring despite the nationwide rebound of law enforcement officer shortages since the pandemic.
“We recently added seven new correctional officers to our team, which was a significant boost. However, we have faced setbacks in the past few weeks as we are either losing or about to lose eight correctional officers. This means that we haven’t made much progress in addressing our staffing needs at the moment,” he expressed concern.
Last year, law enforcement in the U.S. experienced a 29% increase in resignations compared to 2019, as reported by the Police Executive Research Forum.
In the Quad-Cities, correctional officers are departing for other local departments, or they’re choosing to leave the law enforcement field entirely.
Being a jailer is a challenging and demanding role. Jailers often find themselves at risk of being assaulted and have to navigate through conflicts on a daily basis.
During our investigation, we observed a correctional officer in the highest-security level of the jail using pepper spray on an inmate who refused to enter their cell.
“According to Lane, many employers are interested in hiring former correctional officers due to the valuable skills they possess and their strong work ethic.
These individuals have acquired a wide range of skills and are accustomed to working long hours, making them highly sought after for various job opportunities.”
According to the sheriff, the ability of departments to attract new hires has been hindered by the pandemic and the nationwide police-reform movement. Despite the recovery of smaller agencies, the Scott County Jail continues to face challenges.
“We have reached our maximum capacity in terms of the number of inmates we can accommodate, and this becomes more challenging when the inmates become restless and the correctional officers are inexperienced.”
“I don’t need that problem,” he said, expressing his concerns about the potential complications that could arise from discussing those ingredients.
Scott County currently has a total of 64 positions for correctional officers, but unfortunately, only 54 of these positions are currently occupied.
Scott County supervisors recently approved pay increases in an effort to turn the tide, but Lane believes the county needs to do more to provide assistance.
The Teamsters Union, which represents jailers, is set to begin new contract negotiations with the county in the near future.
The jail is currently experiencing a partial lockdown due to a shortage of correctional officers available to supervise the inmates. To compensate for this shortage, patrol deputies are being reassigned from their street duties to cover shifts within the jail.
The correctional officers are eagerly awaiting assistance to address this staffing issue.