Pierce County experiencing shortage of deputies

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — It began with the recession.

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Facing a tightening budget the Pierce County Sheriff's Department was unable to replace deputies and investigators as they retired or quit. Now an independent study shows the department's ranks have dwindled so much it affects their ability to police unincorporated Pierce County.

“We need to have a safer county. The public in the county need to be safer. My people need to be safer,” Sheriff Paul Pastor said at a Tuesday news conference.

The study, conducted by the Public Safety Strategies Group, shows the department shrank from 235 deputies in 2007 to a low of 179. Staffing is now at 189 with new hires.

But PSSG says more are needed. The study recommends hiring another 40 patrol deputies, 12 to 18 sergeants, and three to seven lieutenants.

"What we found here in Pierce County is that it's a very, very lean organization," said PSSG Director Kym Craven.

The cost of the new hires would mean increasing the department's budget $9 million to $11 million per year.

But Sheriff Paul Pastor says the county of more than 800,000 is among the fastest growing in the nation and could top a million people in less than a decade.

“Do we have the criminal infrastructure, do we have the public safety infrastructure for a million-person county?” he asked.

The results of the $45,000 study were presented to Pierce County Council members during a study session on Tuesday. At this point there is no timeline for a vote on recommendations to hire more patrol deputies.

Cox Media Group