Hiring Backlogs and Pipeline
The Apache County Sheriff’s Office has a large backlog of deputy openings, with little prospect of filling those vacancies. The Sheriff’s Office faces a number of fiscal and social problems that interfere with law enforcement hiring, including low salaries, public backlash surrounding racial inequalities and law enforcement, overly strict state hiring policies surrounding polygraph examinations and the use of marijuana, and a generally low view of law enforcement as a profession by the public. Using evidence based solutions, Josh will enact policies that will start more youth and community members towards a career in law enforcement, such as creating a law enforcement explorer post, expanding the use of Sheriff’s volunteers and fast-tracking interested volunteers into full time employment, and fighting for common sense state laws and policies in order to eliminate the polygraph requirement, as well as relax state regulations regarding the legal use of marijauana by peace officer applicants.
