Struggling to fill jobs, Durham County Sheriff's Office pays $2.7 million in overtime in 1 year
As the Durham County Sheriff’s Office struggles to fill job vacancies, WRAL Investigates found it has paid $2.7 million in overtime in one year.
More than one-fourth of the positions at the Durham County Sheriff's Office are vacant according to a public records request showing 125 of 468 positions have not been filled.
Among the positions in the sheriff's office, there are 103 vacancies among 228 total jobs available in the Durham County Detention Center, where employees are the ones working the most overtime.
In total, sheriff's office employees racked up more than 66,000 hours of overtime in the 2022 calendar year. The $2.7 million in overtime pay is more than three times what the county budgeted.
“It certainly, on a statewide basis, is a major concern,” said North Carolina Sheriffs Association Executive Vice President and General Counsel Eddie Caldwell.
Caldwell said the staffing crunch is not unique to Durham.
“Just about every business I go in, there [are] ‘help wanted’ signs,” Caldwell said. “I don't think law enforcement is any different than any other employment situation. Everybody is struggling.”
However, Caldwell explained a key difference between a law enforcement officer and the average employee.
“Law enforcement can't hire somebody off the street today and put them to work tomorrow,” Caldwell said. “They've got to go through the basic law enforcement training course.”
Numbers from the sheriff's office show the top 10 overtime earners last year, with at least eight of them working in the jail.
One detention sergeant took home more than $50,000 in overtime alone.
Caldwell said sheriffs need to be mindful of burnout.
“Just because somebody worked a lot of extra hours doesn't mean they're necessarily having burnout issues,” Caldwell said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office wrote, "Nothing from these numbers should be interpreted as an indication that there is not adequate coverage in all areas of the agency."
WRAL Investigates requested an interview with Sheriff Clarence Birkhead several days ahead of the publishing of this story. A spokesperson said Birkhead was not available.
