Question: What is the Sheriff's Office's current vacancy rate? What was it last year? What positions are currently vacant, when are they planned to be filled, and how would a new position be used? (Mayor Justin Wilson, Councilman R. Kirk McPike)
Response:
In FY23 the Sherriff’s Office (ASO) sworn operational vacancy rate was 22%. The Office’s current operational vacancy rate for sworn staff is 25%. This includes 13 vacant positions (outlined in Table A) and 30 filled positions (outlined in Table B) whose incumbents are classified in one of the following statuses and are unable to fulfill their duties as sworn deputy sheriffs.
The 10 vacant deputy sheriff positions will be filled before our next training academy which is projected to start in mid-August. The vacant sergeant, lieutenant, and captain positions will be filled throughout FY24 as we can backfill our front-line deputy sheriff positions.
A new deputy sheriff position would be utilized within the Judicial and Field Services Bureau to fulfill various unstaffed functions. This position would assist with providing courtroom security to our circuit court courtrooms, help facilitate virtual mental health hearings at various mental health hospitals in the northern Virginia region for our Alexandria mental health consumers and provide security for individuals held at the hospital under a civil commitment order due to lack of available mental health beds. We anticipate that this position will be filled in September 2024.