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Washtenaw County Jail suffering shortage of corrections officers

Posted at 11:43 AM, Apr 29, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-29 17:23:05-04

WASHTENAW COUNTY, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office addressed critical staffing issues with the Washtenaw County Jail.

The sheriff said there is a desperate need for corrections officers inside the jail, and says they cannot maintain the jail at the shortage it is currently at. The sheriff said there is a level of vacancies that is significantly beyond what is normal and acceptable.

The vacancies have resulted in an increase of mandatory extra shifts for staff, increasing stress and burden, the sheriff said.

Multiple inmates say they are on lockdown more often due to the shortage, meaning they cannot get to court-ordered classes to secure their release. The sheriff said there is a small pool of qualified candidates that meet their standards, and said they will not lower the standards for the kind of individuals they are seeking to hire and retain.

For anyone interested in working at the jail, there will be a Corrections Hiring Expo on May 18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The expo will be held at the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Offfice in Ann Arbor.

At the expo, officials will hold informational sessions for potential employees, jail tours, complete required paperwork and hold on-site interviews.

To apply for openings, click here.