Law enforcement agencies across the country have struggled with staffing shortages due to the pandemic and negative attitudes toward policing in America. In Durham County, the sheriff’s office says the shortage is hurting other services.
Durham County allocates 486 full-time employees to its sheriff’s office. But Sheriff Clarence Birkhead said the office is currently 75 employees short.
Birkhead recently spoke with 97.9 The Hill. He said that difference has stretched his staff thin by forcing them to spend more hours in uniform.
“When you’ve got numbers like that, and most of my vacancies are in the detention center, then we have to become creative and make sure we can still staff up and run the business at hand,” Birkhead said.
Birkhead is on the ballot for reelection in 2022. He said part of his platform is increasing salaries within the department to improve recruitment and retention efforts.
The shortage in Durham is part of a national trend. In 2020, the National Police Foundation reported 86 percent of the nation’s law enforcement agencies were experiencing staffing shortages. The report said the reasons for the shortages are lack of applicants and increases in retirements.
The staffing shortages in Durham have been accompanied by an increase in crime. In 2021, the City of Durham said its violent crime rate rose to 40.6 percent, which is 18 points higher than the national average.
Birkhead said the county also saw record highs in gun violence and homicides this year. It’s a problem he said he believes requires policy solutions.
“We’re working with local legislators to increase sensible and reasonable gun legislation and promote responsible gun ownership,” Birkhead said. “It’s going to take all of us really being responsible to try to get these guns off the street.”
Birkhead said he wants to push for gun control policies like red flag laws, which allow police to petition the state for the temporary removal of firearms from a person who is a danger to themselves and others.
Crime has also spiked as a byproduct of other social issues. The national increases poverty and homelessness only exacerbate the problems of police staffing shortages.
Birkhead said because the issues Durham faces are also national, he plans to utilize best practices from other communities to think nationally and act locally.
“Law enforcement cannot do it alone,” Birkhead said. “It’s going to take the community to get involved, have those relationships, be willing to talk with law enforcement, share information. We really push those community relationships here in Durham County.”
For more information visit the Durham County Sheriff’s Office website.
Photo via the Durham County Sheriff’s Office.
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