Hamilton County's jail is short 89 officers. 'Government is failing us,' union says

Hamilton County's jail is short by at least 89 corrections officers and those remaining are working "excessive" mandatory overtime, according to a union lawyer.

The recommended staffing for corrections officers is 328, but as of Thursday, only 239 officers are working, according to the sheriff's office. That's a 27% gap. Union representatives disagree about the number of officers needed and say the gap is even bigger, closer to 39%.

This is a crisis that puts corrections officers and inmates at risk, according to Dan Hils, who is president of a firm advocating for the union. He said it also means parts of the jail are unable to be used. Hils said this puts the public at risk because there isn't enough room to hold people who pose a risk to the community.

The Enquirer asked the sheriff's office if parts of the jail are not being used due to a lack of staff.

"We do not utilize space in the jail that is not needed to house inmates," the sheriff's office said in response to the question.

Hamilton County's commissioners say they are ready to address the problem but have not announced any plans. Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey, who took office in 2021, said she supported 7-8% raises after she was elected and has initiated changes to improve retention and recruiting. But she also has not announced any specific plans or details to address the current situation.

Mandatory overtime

In a letter to McGuffey dated June 13, lawyer Zachary Gottesman outlined the union's concerns. He represents the Hamilton County Corrections Officer Association.

He wrote that the ratio of officers to inmates routinely falls well below a safe threshold. There is often one or two deputies responsible for an entire floor of approximately 100 inmates, the letter states.

Across the nation, local jails had a 4-to-1 ratio of inmates to corrections officers, according to a 2019 census by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

With 239 corrections officers and a jail population that often exceeds 1,200 each day, that is a 5-to-1 ratio at the Hamilton County Jail. But not all of those officers are working at the same time.

As a result, the officers are required to work overtime, Gottesman said.

Documents that Gottesman said he obtained in response to an open records request show the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office had an overtime budget for corrections officers of $1.8 million in 2022 but spent $3 million.

Despite this overage, the sheriff's office still came in under budget in corrections due to the overall staffing shortage, Gottesman said. In the letter, he states, this shows there is money to pay corrections officers more.

An abandoned fix

In January, the sheriff's office and the union reached a deal to address the use of mandatory overtime.

Officers who volunteered to work overtime would be paid double time, while mandatory overtime only pays time and a half.

If an officer worked 144 hours of overtime in 90 days, that officer would get a $1,000 bonus on top of their overtime pay. That's about an extra 11 hours of work per week.

Hils is the president of Frontline Advisors, a consulting firm that helps law enforcement officers and unions. He said Frontline Advisors is assisting the correctional officers' union.

Hils said the plan resulted in a "drastic improvement" in both staffing and morale.

But the memorandum of understanding enabling the extra pay and incentives expired June 16.

Hils said prior to its expiration the union wanted to get the plan extended. In May, Hils and the board of the union met with Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus, Chief Deputy Jay Gramke and a lawyer for the sheriff's office, he said.

Hils said after the meeting there was no response from the commissioners. When he watched the next commissioner's meeting, he said, there was no mention of the jail at all.

In a statement, the sheriff's office said Wednesday: "With the advice of sheriff’s administration and the county commissioners, it was recommended that the memorandum be suspended for a time because of the influx of 18 jailservice deputies returning from the Police Academy and with a concern for the budget."

The sheriff's office said in the five days from June 17 through 21 there have been 34 hours of mandatory overtime for jail operations. During that time, there were three emergency hospital visits requiring 88 hours of overtime. The sheriff did not say if the 88 hours were voluntary or mandatory.

The Enquirer asked the sheriff's office whether it intends to bring the plan back and what other efforts were being made to address staffing, recruitment and retention. On Thursday, the sheriff's office said it would be "happy to elaborate given an adequate time frame to brief the media on our strategies for recruitment, retention and pay."

Empty beds

Hils is the current Cincinnati police union president, a retired police sergeant and briefly ran for a county commission seat in 2019. He said this issue is affecting everyone in Hamilton County. He said the justice center is already too small for the population of inmates and the lack of staff means up to 100 beds in the jail are sitting empty.

He said that criminals are being released onto the streets because there is no place to hold them.

"Some of the most vulnerable neighborhoods in Hamilton County are suffering more crime, violence and death due to a lack of a functional justice system," Hils said. "Our local government is failing us."

What the commissioners say

The three Hamilton County commissioners oversee the county sheriff’s budget. Exactly what they will do to address the jail staff wasn’t clear Wednesday.

Commissioner Stephanie Summerow Dumas said they are aware of the correctional officer shortage.

“We know we have to address that,” Dumas said. “We’re trying to train more people. We’re trying to get more people in and that’s what we’re doing. We know it can be a safety issue.”

Exactly what the commissioners will do, such as increasing pay and funding for the jail, Dumas wouldn’t say.

“That’s something we have to discuss,” Dumas said.

Alicia Reece, president of the board of commissioners, responded by text that they’ll be “supportive of the sheriff’s funding recommendations” and then referred the matter to McGuffey.

Driehaus said she met with the sheriff and union representatives about the situation. The sheriff hasn’t requested anything specific from the commissioners yet related to staffing, she said.

Driehaus said it’s not about the budget. It’s about a lack of applicants across the board. Staffing issues affect the 911 call center, the county's social workers and other departments as well, she said.

“This is a national issue playing out in Hamilton County,” Driehaus said. “It is not a budget issue. It is a national trend.”

National data back what Driehaus said. The Cincinnati Police Department has also seen significant staffing shortages. As a result, Chief Theresa Theetge and the city raised the pay for police recruits and instituted other incentives.

What the union wants

In the letter from Gottesman, the union asked for the double-time plan to be reinstated "to reduce the potential for further resignations and provide proper support for current personnel."

"Commissioners need to find the money to pay whatever it costs … to make being a Hamilton County corrections officer one of the most desired law enforcement jobs in the Tri-State," Hils said.

The letter says Hamilton County is vulnerable to its corrections officers being recruited by other departments.

The sheriff's office said in its statement that it is continually addressing union complaints, including issues with elevators and locks on cells.

"The administration continues to strive to meet set budget requirements while collaborating with the County Commissioners to improve working conditions and wages for jail service personnel," the statement said. "We respect the Ohio Collective Bargaining process and continue in good faith to address officer safety concerns while being responsible managers of public funds."