Request for Additional Communication Officers and Deputy Positions

 Request for Additional Communication Officers 4 Positions

The number of calls for service has steady increased by calendar year, while the number of Communications Officers has remained the same. In addition to dispatching calls for service, answering administrative phone lines, answering 911 phone lines, Communications Officers are also responsible for entry of protective orders, wanted persons, missing persons, stolen vehicles/tags, stolen articles, and stolen guns into a national and state criminal information network system.

Communications Officers are responsible for entry of protective orders, wanted persons, missing persons, stolen vehicles/tags, stolen articles, administrative license suspensions, and stolen guns into a national and state criminal information network system. Additionally, when other agencies encounter an individual wanted by our agency, the Communications Officer must respond to the wanted person confirmation request within ten (10) minutes. Additional related responsibilities includes notifying surrounding jurisdictions when our agency encounters a subject wanted by that agency, clearing of wanted persons served with outstanding paperwork, and sending administrative messages via teletype to other agencies to locate wanted subjects, deliver messages, request be on the lookouts, and respond to messages sent by other agencies.

All calls placed to King George Sheriff’s Office are answered by the two on-duty Communications Officers. Calls are also received for Animal Control, Virginia State Police, Virginia Department of Transportation, and the Game Department. Communications also receives after-hours water/sewer complaints and must contact on-call Service Authority to advise of complaints. In many cases, the Communications Officers is able to transfer the calls directly to the appropriate department, however, in some instances, he or she is required to input into the computer system a call for service and dispatch the call for service by telephone or by radio (example: Animal Control).

With only two Communications Officers on-duty during each shift, some 911 calls become abandoned (or unable to be answered due to call volume). During a high priority situation, calls are not only received on 911 lines, but additionally on administrative lines.

Personal Accountability Each Communications Officer is assigned one of two positions – Law Enforcement dispatcher or Fire & Rescue dispatcher. During daytime hours, the Law Enforcement CO (Communications Officer) is responsible for approximately 23 staff members (including patrol units, court security, Animal Control, and detectives). During major incidents occurring during the dayshift, the CO will most likely have a minimum of seven units (personnel) respond to an incident. The CO will be responsible for ensuring their safety by performing safety checks every four minutes and providing any support requests (such as making notifications to other staff members, contacting VDOT, contacting wrecker requests, contacting Virginia State Police, etc.). During daytime hours, the Fire & Rescue dispatcher is responsible for approximately 20 personnel. During major incidents, the CO is required to dispatch the incident, as well as call other jurisdictions for mutual aid. Additionally, the CO may be requested to call for Helicopters when air transport of a patient is necessary, as well as contact building inspectors, fire investigators, and Virginia State Police. Nightshift CO’s assigned Law Enforcement dispatching duties are responsible for approximately four patrol units and in the event of a major incident, are required to call out additional personnel, including additional patrol units, on-call forensic technician, on-call detective, and on-call patrol lieutenant.

With a minimum staffing policy of two Communications Officers per shift, in the event a Communications Officer calls out sick or requests a scheduled vacation, a full-time Communications Officer or a part-time Communications Officer must cover the shift. Currently, Communications only has one part-time Communications Officer available to cover in the event of sickness or scheduled leave. That Communications Officer is only available evenings and weekends, therefore, requiring full-time staff to cover any other hours.

 Request for Additional Deputies 2 Positions

Calls for Service require some type of action to be taken. These calls are recorded into our CAD system, recording the type of call and the disposition of the call. These calls include Fire and Rescue. We have become a reactive office versus a proactive.

Adult transports consist of arrest or prisoner transports from other correctional facilities other than RRJ. Often transports from other localities to King George for court takes an officer a 8 hours or more to complete.

Extradition of prisoners for court appearances have more than doubled. Extraditions require a deputy to take custody of a prisoner from another jurisdiction and transport them to court or Rappahannock Regional Jail to await court appearances. These transports often take eight hours or more to complete.

The increase in mental cases support the stressful situations many people live in today. Typically, a mental case from beginning to end takes approximately 6 to 8 hours to complete.

Transportation of juveniles has changed over the last few years. Most of our transportation is provided after conviction of a juvenile to a juvenile correctional facility. Many transports are not local transports; they are to facilities in Richmond and Prince William.

Court days are consistent and do not reflect arrests. They are scheduled days for our deputies. This chart is showing how many days a deputy is not on the road patrolling.

Traffic stops reflect the increase in traffic volume. Traffic stops occur for multiple reasons; it is not always a traffic violation. Stops can be investigative, warnings, reported driving behavior, littering, etc. A lot of stops are missed as a result of the officer being out of position.

The increase in traffic violations reflects an increase in traffic volume. Selective enforcement helps support our traffic enforcement. Often a shift goes from call to call and is unable to enforce traffic violations.

DUI arrests remain consistent. A DUI arrest with processing and transportation takes approximately 4 to 6 hours to complete. Often, a second deputy has to assist with standing by for a car tow.

In 2013, there has been an increase in motor vehicle accidents. Again, this reflects the increase in traffic. King George Sheriff’s Office responds to all accidents as they come through our 911 center. Virginia State Police often respond to work the accident, but deputies will remain on scene to assist the Virginia State Police with traffic control. As charted, the King George Sheriff’s Office deputies work one-third of all accidents reports.

Civil paper service requires service to a home, business or workplace. The responsibility is extremely time-consuming. The evictions and foreclosures have increased causing the increase over the last three years.

These cases are worked by our Criminal Investigations Division and are cases such as fraud, sexual assault (child and adult), burglary, and narcotic. Narcotic cases remain consistent due to them being officer initiated and not complaint driven as general cases.

Provided by Sheriff Steve F. Dempsey