Amid "catastrophic" staffing issues, Tehama County Sheriff's Office halts daytime patrols
TEHAMA COUNTY, Calif. — Just this week, the Tehama County Sheriff’s office announced they will suspend daytime patrols in the county, starting Nov. 20.
This decision comes amid what the department calls “catastrophic staffing shortages.”
Currently, the Tehama County Jail is at around 60% of its staffing capacity, and the agency is working with the County Board of Supervisors to raise the wages of jail employees, similar to what's happening in Shasta County.
Just in the past year, the Sheriff’s office in Tehama County tells us they have lost over 20 employees, and applicant numbers are low.
The situation has become dire, and there are concerns about the public’s safety.
"Obviously, response times are going to be affected," said Lt. Rob Bakken. "And we’ve made the decisions to limit, as much as we can, the dangers to public safety. But not having deputies on the streets, obviously, is not beneficial to the public."
"Outside of possibly raising the wages, what is the incentive to work for your agency?" KRCR's Sam Chimenti asked.
"This is a small, rural area. There are benefits to working in a rural area; there’s more outdoor activity, it’s a place that you would want to raise your family, as well as being a smaller agency, we are more of a family environment," explained the Lieutenant.
In order to properly allocate the limited resources they do have, Tehama County Sheriff’s deputies will only work night shifts soon. During the day, the California Highway Patrol will help the agency and respond to any life-threatening emergency calls in the area.
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