The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office is working to find ways to combat a lack of staffing after continued recruitment and retention issues.
The approach
At a July 10 Fort Bend County Commissioners Court meeting, FBCSO officials urged county officials to act fast regarding staffing shortages, citing poor working conditions and noncompetitive pay as reasons why the department is struggling to hire and retain detention employees.
To allow the FBCSO to reduce the stress of overtime on short-staffed employees, FBCSO officials recommended either:
- Increasing detention staff pay and benefits by 11% to 15%
- Entering into an agreement with a private correctional facility to manage 322 inmates for a three-year period at a cost of $10.57 million per year
- Jailers leaving for higher-paying jobs in school districts after the passage of House Bill 3, which requires school districts to hire armed guards
- The potential increase of inmate populations due to Texas Senate Bill 4, which is on hold in 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and would allow law enforcement to arrest people illegally crossing the Texas-Mexico border
