GREENSBORO, N.C. — Jails are seeing dozens of job openings. In Forsyth County, there are 77 open detention officer positions our of 249.
The sheriff's office said, "Detention Officers are an integral part of the FCSO Family. Our Detention Officers are responsible for the safety, security, and well-being of everyone within the walls of our Detention Center. The Detention Officer is an often overlooked role because it’s not one that is highly visible to the general public. It’s a 24/7/365 responsibility and an invaluable service to our larger community."
In Rockingham County, there are eight open positions out of 51 detention officer positions.
Rockingham county Sheriff, Sam Page, said it's a tough job to recruit for.
"Detention jobs, they are dangerous because like I said when you go into a detention setting, when you're working in a pod you generally don't have any weapons, again it's your communication and your skills there, but our detention officers are trained in defensive tactics and they do have less than lethal equipment on them to protect themselves, however it's not like when you're out there in the field on the uniform side," said Page.
Page said years ago, deputy's would be hired as a detention officer and work their way to other positions. He said now recruits can instead begin their careers in the community by going into the uniform division.
He said a detention officer is a great first job for those looking to start in law enforcement, because it teaches communication skills.
Page said while they are several open positions, increasing the starting pay by 2000 dollars and opening the jobs up to out of county residents has helped. He also hopes to add retirement health benefits in the future as well.
Page said their ramped up recruiting efforts will help them fill the gap.
Guilford County Sheriff's Office is also understaffed. Deputies recently went before the board of commissioners and said they think current staffing levels make their jobs dangerous.
It's something the Kaminsky family understands first hand. Candy Kaminsky is the wife of a detention officer that was assaulted in the Guilford county jail by an inmate.
It's been 11 months since the incident and Candy said he is recovering but it will be a long journey and isn't sure whether he will come back to the job or now.
She said it's a tough job and one where moral is low. She said pay increases would help, but moral needs to improve as well to keep retention up.
"These officers get called names all day long, they get spit on, have things thrown at them and their under the threat of violence you know anyone of these guys can go off at any time, and it's not for everybody and you have people that come in that have never done this work before and their not prepared for it," said Candy Kaminsky. "It's just a tough job and bringing people just in off the streets who have never dealt with this kind of situation, yeah naturally there's going to be a higher turnover, but especially when there's not the pay."
Guilford County commissioners recently passed a new budget, including longevity pay and increased bonuses for jail staff and first responders.
Candy said it's important the officers feel recognized and hopes that something changes.
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