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Jail faced with staff shortages; corrections a stepping stone to law enforcement career

Today’s article is brought to you by Gary Rhinebarger for Howard County Council Dist. 1. Working together to bring politics back to the people.

The Howard County Jail has struggled with overcrowding for decades. The answer to that has been converting gymnasiums, medical detention, and even temporary holding cells into long-term housing. Administrators have found a way to make it work.

But staff shortages? The only fix to that is hiring. Unfortunately, not as many people seem to want to work in the jail these days. Howard County Sheriff Jerry Asher currently is in the midst of a manpower deficit, with 14 unfilled corrections officer positions.

“My goodness, I think we’ve been short-handed as long as I’ve worked here,” said Asher. “I remember reading a story eight years ago talking about the same thing. It isn’t something unusual in corrections. I had lunch with a sheriff near Indianapolis the other day. He is nine officers short. The last time I was at a sheriff’s conference, I think Marion County was about 100 officers short.

“Vanderburgh County was about 30 officers short. This has been a trend across this area, and probably across the state and country. Everywhere you go, you see a ‘Now Hiring’ sign sitting in the window.”