JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – There appears to be a police shortage in Jacksonville.
There are officially 217 vacancies within the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and that number is expected to grow.
Right now, it’s taken for granted when you call the police they will come. But there is concern that fewer people want to take a job as a JSO officer. Despite budgeting for new officers, JSO is 77 officers short of where it wants to be.
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According to the president of the local police union Randy Reaves, that could have an impact on Duval County residents.
“We’re understaffed. So those response times keep getting longer and longer. And so yeah, I do believe this is something that can easily start affecting citizens and the response when it comes to police officers,” Reaves said.
But the bigger problem might be happening inside the Duval County Jail. JSO can’t get enough people to apply to be corrections officers. There are over 130 vacancies and that’s causing major problems.
But Reaves believes that number is much higher. He said JSO is short about 200 corrections officers.
“So our correction officers, again, working 12-hour shifts, you can say that they are serving somewhat of a jail sentence just to go to work every day,” he said. “And whether you have a hard job or an easy job, if you’re doing it 200 short, it’s going to wear on you and our guys are severely overworked right now.”
Reaves said the solution is to raise the salaries.
“Our salaries are not competitive as they are with are with our competitors,” he said.
In Jacksonville, starting pay for a corrections officer after training is around $46,000 and requires a high diploma. For police recruits after attending the academy, it’s over $52,500 a year and requires a 4-year college degree or military service. Right now, JSO is offering a $10,00 hiring bonus. (Click here to view openings and apply for a job)
Much of this is going to be talked about again at the end of December as the sheriff, the mayor’s office and the union begin talks for a new contract.
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