MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner says he's a people person, as in, he needs people right now.
He's not alone.
"I think right now," the Sheriff says, ".... police work and corrections work is in a crisis right now. We've got to find out the reasons why and change the way we're doing business."
The shortages cost the department money. Which means they cost you money.
Example: they need 30 bailiffs for courtrooms. They need 158 in the jail. Another 58 for patrol.
"We're short in the jail," Sheriff Bonner says. "We run overtime there. We're running overtime in courts, our court officers. We're 30 officers short down in general sessions court, so we're calling 30 officers a day to fill their spaces."
This balancing act gets really wobbly. They pull 30 deputies off the streets, where they are already more than 50 short.
It is why Sheriff Bonner wanted to do away with residency requirements, for at least a little while.
"We're trying to compete against all the municipalities in the area," he says. "And with the smaller agencies around us with no residency requirements - ours and MPD have them - police want the question on the November ballot for voters. We will see what happens."
Shelby County Commissioners have agreed to wave residency requirements but charge every new hire who doesn't live in Shelby County a $2500 penalty, arguing that is about how much they would be paying in Shelby County taxes.
The Sheriff says he needs more than $4 million to take care of his staffing problems.