OREGON, USA — The Washington County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) is dealing with a staffing shortage at the county jail. That has resulted in a reduction in jail capacity and temporary changes to policy.
In recent years, applications have not kept up with retirements and departures, according to WCSO. The jail division currently has 41 deputy positions that "urgently" need to be filled, the sheriff's office said. For some non-violent misdemeanor crimes, suspects are receiving citations to appear in court instead of being arrested and booked in jail.
The Washington County Jail is too small for the size of the county, according to Washington County Sheriff Patt Garrett.
"It is the second smallest jail as a facility in the state of Oregon per capita. Even when our jail was fully staffed at 100% capacity, we were having some over crowding releases," Garrett said. "So this current reduction in our capacity, because of staffing constraints, does make that worse," Garrett said.
He plans on retiring after 12 years in December.
Caprice Massey will be taking over Garrett's role after he retires. Her first day as the Washington County Sheriff will be Dec. 1. All three sheriffs serving in the tri-county area will be women once Massey takes on her new role.
Anyone interested in the open positions can visit the WSCO's website for more information.
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