Across the country, law enforcement agencies are working to fill the gaps in their labor force.
Granville County leaders are working to train new hires and make the job attractive for prospective employees.
Sheriff Robert David Fountain Jr. says his office is experiencing “growing pains.” However, he says he’s willing to work through them.
“We, as a community, and we, as an agency, are working together to get it done,” he said.
Since Fountain took office in December 2022, Fountain said several deputies have left, especially within the patrol division. He believes pay disparities was one main reason.
"Because we had an exodus of people with a newly elected sheriff, some people wanted to find pastors greener somewhere else, which we then had to start looking at recruiting people that were new to the game," Fountain said.
To fill the gaps, Fountain implemented a Field Training Officer Program, pairing investigators with younger staff members.
During the program, the department is able to “utilize [the investigators] because they’re seasoned certified deputies, to be in the performance of their duties for them to ride along or shadow, for them to serve civil papers, domestic violence papers…so, they would learn two processes at the same time, and be able to do patrol duties and answer calls for service,” Fountain explained.
“It’s a benefit for the community, because we will now have more people on the ground, and we’re training these younger ones before we release them from...
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