Sheriff's office attempts to keep recruitment alive

The Hancock County Sheriff's Office is struggling to keep their number of deputies up as an interest in law enforcement declines. The last time they were fully staffed was May 2020, according to Captain Mark Price. "I'm talking about every opening being filled, but some openings we can operate fully without being filled," he explained. "I can be short one or two places, but it won't affect the coverage of the citizens." It might affect crime prevention or other areas, however. Between the two floors of the sheriff's office, including the county jail, there are 106 full-time employees and one part-time employee. "With staffing levels the way they are, we have to provide some sense of call response before we can add to the command," Price explained. In Hancock County, there is one sheriff, one captain, three lieutenants, 12 sergeants, and staffing under all those positions. The county jail has two full-time clerks and one part-time clerk while the enforcement side has a fiscal officer who oversees five clerks including Human Resources, Accounts Payable and two front desk clerks. In communications, there are 10 dispatchers who are supervised by a sergeant and a 911 coordinator. "I'm currently six lines down in enforcement," Price said. "I'm also six lines down upstairs." There are three in training, but it doesn't count all the retirements that may come up. According to Price, the office is projecting a couple retirements, but no one has officially filed paperwork. "Some of the biggest challenges that we're facing is it seems like we're having a hard time trying to get students, those graduating high school, into the field of law enforcement," he said. "You don't necessarily have to have a degree from a university to get into law enforcement." Price said recruits need to attend higher peace officer training and obtain a certificate, adding that academy levels are low and not a lot of people are attending to become officers. "I think the national opinion of a law enforcement officer is at a low," he added. "I do believe it will go back up. Locally, we're very well supported. However, I think it's taken a toll." Additionally, there isn't an academy in Findlay, but instead in Lima and Toledo. Price thinks it hurts not having a local academy. He said the outer academies are training cadets and officers are promoting their own agencies rather than students returning to Findlay or Hancock County. "Some things we've done is try to get into those academies," Price said. "We've sent deputies and detectives there to speak to them and find ways to recruit outside of the county." Findlay has a lot to offer, he said. In addition to the sheriff's office, there is also the Findlay Police Department. He said the city, and the county, as a whole, is something people should want to be a part of. "This is a situation where you do need to have some type of peace officer certification. But, in corrections, you don't," Price added. "Corrections actually sends you through their own academy here." The corrections academy is 146 hours that is actually paid while employed through the county. To try and bring recruit numbers up, Price said a cadet program is set to kick off soon. The office is working diligently internally to get it going. The cadet program will send future deputies to achieve the highest peace officer certificate with tuition paid through the Hancock County Sheriff's Office. The program will be a local version of a similar program rolled out by the Allen County Sheriff's Office earlier this year. Price said one of the things the program would do is allow current employees, for example, in communications or corrections, to get a paycheck while attending the certification classes with tuition paid for. "That's unheard of," Price said. "It's a program we're hoping to kick off in a few months." Price also added the future deputies don't have to be internal, but it'll be something the sheriff's office can interview from the outside. People will be able to apply just for the cadet program, he explained. "We're finally getting it moving," Price said. "We've talked about it for a while. The gears are moving, not fast yet. There are still a few humps we have to get past. But some of the other municipalities have done this in the past." While the program will help bring people in, the sheriff's office not only has to budget for tuition but time, too. Price said it could take up to a year before a deputy is ready to go on the road, including time at the academy and in other training. "Getting started is where we're nervous," he said. "We need our employees." Hancock County Sheriff Michael Heldman said recruiting is something his office has never had to do. In fact, he said they've always had stacks of resumes. There used to be a waiting list to even get on the road. "It wasn't until late last summer that we finally said we had to do something," Heldman added. "We had to learn how other people were doing it to get started." The office promotes where they can, but they can't pay wages like other agencies. Price said the office can't compare to other municipalities but only to other sheriff's offices. He said they can only pay what is fair to the county. The office sends deputies out anywhere they can, to job fairs or talks at school. Price said they even start as low as they can, to high school freshman. "Anywhere we can find an ear to listen," Price added. While the hours are the worst, and days off aren't always Fridays and Saturdays, Price said there are downsides to every job but law enforcement is still a good career.