The Tehama County Sheriffs Office said in a news release this week that it will be suspending its daytime deputy patrol services beginning November 20th. The are citing staffing levels which is caused by pay disparities.
Tehama County has a population of approximately 65,000 people.
The Tehama County Deputy Sheriff’s Association on Facebook which says they have “warned the county board of supervisors for several years” that staffing levels are low, and that the board has delayed in responding and “allowed too many good employees to leave.”
According to a job posting, a deputy at the department can make $25.23 to $32.27 per hour depending on experience–$52,000 to $62,000 without overtime.
Here is the full statement:
Beginning November 20, 2022, the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office will suspend day-time patrol services to its designated area of responsibility within Tehama County. This added reduction of services is necessary to manage a catastrophic staffing shortage throughout the agency.
Over the past several years, the Sheriffs Office has had difficulties with recruitment and retention of employees, which has been directly linked to pay disparities. A drastic rise in attrition, couple with the inability to present enticing recruitment efforts have resulted in an unprecedented staffing shortage.
Most recently, staffing shortages in the custody division have forced the Sheriffs Office to reassign Deputies from the operations division to fill vacancies within the courts and jail facility. This is unfortunate, but necessary restricting has left the operations division with insufficient staff to sustain 24-hour patrol services.
Sheriff’s officials have met with officials from the California Highway Patrol to discuss the parameters of emergency response within Tehama County. While the final details are still underway, the CHP will be responding to life threatening emergencies during the hours that the Sheriffs Office is unable to provide patrol services.
The Sheriff’s Office will maintain patrol services during the night-time hours. Deputies assigned to night shift patrol will triage and response to the open, non-emergency calls for services that come in throughout the day.
The Sheriff’s Office is committed to continuing all recruitment efforts and working towards restoring patrol services, when staffing levels permit.
Tehama County Deputy Sheriff’s Association says they have warned the Board for several years of low staffing and say rather than taking swift and decisive action, they have delayed and allowed too many good employees to leave. Several housing units within the Jail have been shut down, the Dispatch Center was temporarily shut down and now Dayshift Patrol will be shut down.
You can contact the County Administration and Board of Supervisors at the phone numbers and email below.
- Email: [email protected]
- Gabriel Hydrick, CAO – (530) 527-4655
- Bill Moule, District 1 – (530) 527-4655 ext 3015
- Candy Carlson, District 2 – (530) 527-4655 ext 3014
- Dennis Garton, District 3 – (530) 527-4655 ext 3017
- Bob Williams, District 4 – (530) 527-4655 ext 3018
- John Leach, District 5 – (530) 527-4655 ext 3016