At This Critical Juncture, Every Newly Hired Custody Assistant Is Crucial

With overtime at an excruciating volume and the inability to hire and fill vacancies at an impactful rate, what is being done? And what can be done?

Applications are not coming in at their previous numbers, and some applicants who pass their initial phase and begin their Custody Assistant (C/A) process can get redirected toward the DST process. In that scenario, it’s more advantageous to run C/A academies at a more consistent clip.

The idea may be to run classes more consistently so as to not lose bodies to another agency or another profession while waiting on an academy or a larger class size. Either way, simply committing to the process of getting bodies into the fold is a positive in comparison to the past few years.

With smaller class sizes possibly being a byproduct of classes being more frequent, some may ask, what will a class of 15 to 18 do? First off, at this critical juncture, every bit helps in some manner. However, it’s less impactful if you sprinkle them throughout the Department.

I would recommend targeting facilities as a whole. Send an entire class to one unit, then the next class to another and so on. It should provide more immediate relief, boost morale and reduce a unit’s overtime mandate.

As a periodic reminder, update your emails and contact information as well as your beneficiaries on all of your accounts.

In closing, take care of each other. The job is hard enough without the added stress. A good relief — bringing food for your crew or unit, coffee runs or any act of kindness in a difficult period in our careers — can help.

I appreciate your efforts and wish you and your families a blessed holiday season.