'We are desperate,' Essex County Sheriff's Department lowers hiring age amid staffing shortage
MIDDLETON - There is a problem brewing behind the fences and barbed wire at the Middleton House of Correction. Essex County Sheriff Kevin Coppinger says his department is facing a staffing crisis.
"We are desperate," Coppinger told WBZ-TV. "We have like 62 openings, vacant positions."
The sheriff has tried signing and referral bonuses, tuition remission, and more to keep and attract new correctional officers.
"We have advertisements everywhere from movie theatres to billboards to train stations, etc., social media. Everything we can think of. But we're also competing with a lot of other law enforcement," he said.
Now, Coppinger is employing a new tactic by lowering the hiring age for correctional officers from 21 to 19.
"We're going to focus on the individual. Thorough background checks, detailed interviews when they are in front of an interview board. We run our own correctional academy," Coppinger said.
Coppinger is not alone in his staffing struggles. Police chiefs all over the state have opened up about the challenge in attracting new hires.
Newton Police is down by 12 officers. Newton Chief John Carmichael argues increased scrutiny of officers is shrinking the applicant pool.
"We do expect it because we're public servants, we're public safety so you do expect a certain level of scrutiny on the police department, but it's become to the point where it's really debilitating," Carmichael said.
He also says there is a generational difference with new candidates.
"The officers that come on nowadays they want a better work life balance," Carmichael said.
Staffing woes are impacting major departments too. Boston is down by roughly 400 officers, according to the Boston Police Patrolman's Association.
The city of New Bedford just announced a $5,000 signing bonus for new police hires.
"As has been widely reported, police departments across the country are facing staffing shortages as they struggle to recruit and retain officers and unfortunately, New Bedford has not been spared," said New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell.