Turnover has affected every division of the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.  When experienced employees continue to leave and staffing shortages become a recurring problem, simply hiring replacements does not address the underlying issue.  

The better question is why good employees are leaving, and what leadership is doing to keep them.

Turnover has affected every major division of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office—Patrol, Corrections, and Communications. At different times, staffing shortages have left divisions operating below authorized staffing levels and placed additional demands on the employees who remained.

That cannot be treated as simply a recruiting problem.

We need to stop treating the symptom and start addressing the reasons good employees are leaving.

Hiring good employees matters. Keeping good employees is a leadership responsibility.

When an experienced employee leaves, the department loses knowledge, training, and experience that cannot be immediately replaced. The County then has to recruit candidates, conduct background investigations, hire, equip, train, and supervise replacements before they can work independently.

Meanwhile, the employees who remain are often expected to carry more of the workload.

Turnover costs money increases pressure on staff and weakens an organization when it becomes a pattern.

As Sheriff, I will make retention a priority.

• Talk to employees—and listen. Staff need meaningful opportunities to raise concerns before problems reach the point where they decide to leave.

• Create opportunities to grow. Training, professional development, mentoring, and career-path discussions should be part of retaining good employees.

• Set fair and consistent expectations. Employees should know what is expected of them and trust that standards will be applied consistently.

• Recognize good work. Initiative, professionalism, teamwork, and exceptional service should be acknowledged.

• Conduct meaningful exit interviews. If multiple employees are leaving for similar reasons, leadership needs to know it and address it.

• Deal with workplace problems. Problems do not improve because leadership ignores them. When legitimate concerns are identified, they need to be addressed.

Some turnover is unavoidable. People retire, relocate, change careers, and pursue other opportunities.

But when an organization repeatedly loses experienced employees, leadership should be asking why they are leaving, whether patterns exist, and what can be changed.

Recruitment fills vacancies. Retention protects experience, saves taxpayer dollars, and strengthens the organization.

As Sheriff, I will not measure staffing success simply by how many vacancies we can fill. I will also look at whether we are creating an organization where good employees want to stay