Carlos Lopez: Hire more officers to work at the jail
The people of Merced County should be aware of a problem plaguing the Sheriff Department. I spent 26 years in the U.S. Army military police. I worked with the DEA, the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, the German Polizei, the Italian Carabiniei, Korean National Police and other agencies. When I ended my tour of duty, I joined the Merced County Sheriff Department in 1997 as a deputy sheriff in corrections.
Our department has been plagued with incidents like the discrimination lawsuits, commanders harassing employees, etc. I could go on and on. In my opinion, corrections has been decimated by staff cutbacks. Overtime is costing taxpayers millions each year.
Because correctional officers are working multiple back-to-back shifts, they are being burned out. More officers are being injured on the job; families are being ruined. Now, with AB109 which sends convicted felons to county jails, we are required to do the sme training that state corrections officers must do. The solution is more training and hiring part-time correctional officers. A study showed it would cost taxpayers only $700,000 a year to hire part-time officers vs. millions in overtime. It would also help the staff.
Carlos Lopez, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant (retired), Merced
This story was originally published July 23, 2015 at 10:55 AM with the headline "Carlos Lopez: Hire more officers to work at the jail."