(The Center Square) – Nearly 20% of the commissioned staff at the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office’s Corrections Bureau remains vacant, causing overtime usage to continue to rise in 2025.
Out of 245 full-time positions budgeted for the department tasked with managing the custody, control and care of persons confined in county jail, 39 vacancies remain, which represents nearly 20% of commissioned staff.
As a result of the staffing shortage at the Corrections Bureau, overtime usage is continuing to increase. In 2025, the average number of overtime hours per month is 7,546 through August. That is a 55.7% increase from 2024’s monthly average of 4,487 hours.
Corrections Bureau Chief Doug Watkins presented the latest staffing statistics to the Public Safety Committee meeting on Monday. He pointed to mandatory overtime requirements, which he referred to as a “necessary evil.” Law enforcement agencies, including the Corrections Bureau, are required to maintain a certain number of officers at a time to ensure patrols are at a proper level.
While vacancies continue to be an issue for the Corrections Bureau, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office has hired 23 new corrections deputies while losing 18 so far in 2025. If the trend continues, this will be the first year the sheriff’s department has had a net positive in hires dating back to 2020. Since 2020, there have been 137 hires compared to 168 separations.
Watkins said the county’s current incentives are competitive enough to boost hiring. New entry-level hires are offered a $10,000 hiring incentive, while lateral hires can receive a $25,000 incentive.
However, incentives being offered by other law enforcement agencies in the Puget Sound region are a mitigating factor as well. For instance, lateral hires at the Seattle Police Department are eligible for a $50,000 hiring incentive. Kirk said it’s hard to compete against an incentive that deputies may see as a down-payment on a home.
“I can think of two deputies just this year who went to a different facility and they’ve been here for a couple years – there was an incentive [for them to leave],” Watkins said during the Public Safety Committee meeting. “So it’s hard to argue against it, but – it’s still an issue.”
Future separations are expected for the Corrections Bureau as 42% of staff are 50 years or older.
