Nearly two weeks have passed since the 2022 National Night Out celebrations occurred across Grays Harbor County, let alone across much of the country. The festivities, which focus on bringing together law enforcement agencies with the communities they’re sworn to protect, gave a slight distraction to a systemic issue affecting nearly all communities: staffing shortages in law enforcement.
Post-pandemic staffing shortages have become hard to miss. Whether it’s retail stores, dining establishments, medical departments, and so on, people have felt the effects of understaffing. Law enforcement is no different. Policing in America has been put under the microscope extensively over the last few years.
In national conversations stemming from the deaths of George Floyd and Breanna Taylor to the Uvalde school shooting, law enforcement agencies have seen dramatic changes due to legislation, funding, and public approval. While law enforcement agencies throughout Grays Harbor County have not been plagued with controversies to that level, the effects can still be felt downstream.
Rick Scott, who serves as the Grays Harbor County Sheriff, says while not having full capacity staffing is normal, the issue of finding recruits has never been higher in his 45 years of service in law enforcement.
“Law enforcement has serious staffing issues right now. We have far more openings than we do people to fill those openings,” Scott said. “It’s a systemic problem that challenges not only policing in the county, but other emergency services.”
Scott continued by noting that in the past he would have “dozens if not 100 people” apply for positions at the Sheriff’s Office. The latest batch of applications Scott received, to fill multiple positions, was only three.
“These are jobs with good wages and good benefits. Funding isn’t the primary issue with these jobs, the issue is job appeal,” Scott explained. “Even with the three that applied there are still a bunch of qualifications and tests that they must pass to join law enforcement. That three could easily turn to zero.”
E911
The critical staffing at the 911 Center (E911) has deep ramifications, according to Scott. E911 serves as the basis for centralized dispatch for Grays Harbor County. Before the 1980s, cities across Grays Harbor used to maintain dispatch relays for when emergency calls were made. Then funding was made available to put together the centralized dispatch, located in Aberdeen, to answer calls made all over the county.
Jaimie Green, who serves as the Deputy Director for Grays Harbor Communications E911, says the dispatch center currently has eight full-time employees and two part-time employees. A full staff would require 20 full-time employees. Scott maintains that the goal of the Sheriff’s Office is to help alleviate pressure for E911 in any way possible and to educate the public.
“People tend to have a bad habit to call 911 and ask questions like it’s Siri. The intent of 911 is for when there is an emergency happening,” Scott explained. “With how little the 911 center is staffed, if they’re having to answer calls for nuisance problems, that takes away time from getting to calls that could be life or death.”
The effects of understaffing at the dispatch center aren’t only a concern for the Sheriff’s Office, but also for municipalities throughout the rural and coastal area of Grays Harbor.
Susan Shultz, the Chief of Police for the city of Elma, reiterated concerns about response times in a recent report to the Elma City Council.
“A lot of calls are going towards emergencies in Aberdeen and Hoquiam given the vast increase of population, but with E911 below half of its full staff currently, if it were to get any worse that could affect response times to people in need within not only our city but other surrounding cities,” Shultz stated.
Fire departments are another branch under the stress test of understaffing. Funding and urban appeal have dramatically shifted job interest away from Grays Harbor County with no solution in sight.
“What a lot of people don’t understand quite how busy Aberdeen and Hoquiam are. We’re the two busiest departments in the county. We run a combined (almost) 10,000 calls a year,” Hoquiam Fire Department Chief Matt Miller said.
“Our people just get tired. They come here, work their butts off for two-three years to get experience, and then go away. Places like Thurston County can offer them more money without doing as much work. So that’s a big issue for us, just trying to recruit people and keep them here.”
Aberdeen Fire Department Interim Chief Dave Golding agreed with the assessment.
“Retention and recruitment have been one of my biggest concerns for three years now. Just like Matt (Miller) alluded to, we just don’t get the candidates we used to. The pool is shrinking,” Golding said.
When asked about what solutions could be available, Scott says there’s only so much money can do, and it comes down to legislation and trust issues. He cites new rules that “handcuff” law enforcement as a result of doing their job in the safest way to protect their communities.
“Throwing money at a problem will only hide it for so long. Law enforcement has gained a bad stigma throughout the last several years and a lot of us are paying a price for a crime we didn’t commit,” Scott said. “You have a lot of people who don’t want a job they know will result in them being disliked, as well as doing a job that doesn’t result in safety. I believe this is an issue that will only get worse before it gets better.”
