LEXINGTON, S.C. — The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department says law enforcement is experiencing a “hiring crisis.”
Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon told the Red Bank community at a meeting on Monday night they’re wanting to hire more deputies but recently it’s been a struggle.
“We’re in a hiring crisis in law enforcement,” said Koon. “Last year more people left the profession than got in. We’re trying to add folks to keep up with the growth but it’s just a challenge.”
Street Squad Lexington has been following this story because people say they want to see more law enforcement in their neighborhoods.
Recruiting Sergeant Dan Rusinyak has been working for the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department since 2007.
“There is a strain on the department because when one person is not here, the other person has to pick up the load,” explained Rusinyak.
Recently he’s seen a change with the applications.
“Four or five years ago, that’s when we started to see the decrease in applications and ultimately the decrease in hires,” said Rusinyak.
According to the department’s annual report, they had 607 people apply for jobs at the department in 2017. In just one year’s time, that number went down to 500.
In 2018, the department hired 77 employees. 21 of them were correctional officers, 38 were deputy hires, and 17 were for other positions.
“We’re down about 40 correctional officers and about 14 patrol deputies on the road,” said Rusinyak.
Rusinyak says part of the reason for the hiring crisis in law enforcement is the stigma of the job and people not knowing the requirements.
The department has taken several steps to combat this issue, like raising starting salaries.
Rusinyak says their department is one of the highest paid for law enforcement in South Carolina.
“Starting coming in for a patrol deputies is around $39,500 and then for corrections is $36,900,” explained Rusinyak.
While hiring is just part of the process, the department wants to retain deputies for a long time.
They’ve recently added bonuses for new hires and also those who stay for several years with the department.
A new hire would receive $500. Those who stay with the department for two years would receive $1,500. For those who stay five years would get $4,000.
Employees also will received discount memberships to gyms and promotional opportunities in the department.
The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department says they’ve starting running ads at movie theaters to let people know about these positions.
Before you could only apply on paper, but now it’s available online and the department has seen an increase.
If you’re wanting to apply online, you can head to https://joinlcsd.com/.
Lexington hopes you’ll walk through their doors so they can add more deputies to protect the community.
Rusinyak said, “If you have a heart to serve the community and you want to help people and you want to step outside your comfort zone and you want to do something that will forever impact someone’s life, then join us. Join our team and join our family.”
They’re hoping to add holiday for deputies and correctional officers that do shift work and hope to set that in motion by next year.