Merced County Sheriff’s Office swears in new corrections staff

The Merced County Sheriff’s Office swore in eight correctional officers Monday morning as the department works to boost its ranks.

Karina Cardenas, Javier Chacon Jr., Jason Cooper, Derrick Jacobs and Jason Kirschman were sworn in as full-time correctional officers. Guillermo Alcala, Kayla Johnston and George Zapien Jr. were hired as extra-help correctional officers.

Merced County employs nearly 80 full-time and part-time correctional officers. The new hires leave the corrections department with two vacancies, and the boost in staffing will improve working conditions and increase safety in the county’s jails, Sheriff Vern Warnke said.

“Naturally, safety is always an issue,” Warnke said. “When you’re short-staffed, and someone is working overtime, they’re tired. The danger level increases when we’re starting to work this much overtime. This is definitely going to help augment and put a safer measure as far as our personnel are concerned.”

The eight people sworn in Monday will fill custodial positions, and Warnke said the department still is short on operational staff. Beginning pay for an entry-level correctional officer in Merced County is $40,788.80 to $49,587.20.

The Sheriff’s Office in the past year has struggled with staffing as veteran patrol officers have left to take higher-paying jobs elsewhere. The Merced County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, which represents deputy sheriffs, coroners and dispatchers, has seen a sharp decrease in its membership numbers. The union has been in negotiations with the county for several months.

After being cleared during the application process, the new correction officers underwent a physical agility test and deep background check. The hiring process took up to a year for some.

“I’m not lowering the standards,” Warnke said. “We set the standards pretty high. We had eight of Merced County’s greatest here today. The citizens should be very proud of the fact that these are upstanding individuals, and their character speaks volumes.”

The new hires come on the heels of the California Board of State and Community Corrections approving $40 million in funding for renovations to the county’s John Latorraca Correctional Facility on Sandy Mush Road. Work on the project is expected to begin in 2016 and is expected to last three to five years.

This story was originally published November 23, 2015 at 5:47 PM with the headline "Merced County Sheriff’s Office swears in new corrections staff."