State law enforcement raises could hurt Ga. sheriffs’ offices

Gov. Nathan Deal’s plan to boost salaries for Georgia state troopers, GBI agents and other state law enforcement officers puts county sheriffs in a quandary.

How can they compensate their deputies enough to keep them?

“Once you get invested in them and get them trained, they’re gone,” Twiggs County Sheriff Darren Mitchum said at Thursday’s Salute to the Georgia Sheriffs in Jones County.

In Twiggs, a starting salary for a certified deputy is $11.50 an hour, less than $24,000 per year. Others on his staff, such as corrections officers, start at $9.50 an hour, less than $20,000.

“If you’ve got a wife and three children, you can’t make it on that,” Mitchum said.

Terry Norris, executive director of the Georgia Sheriffs Association, said the state average for sworn deputies is $29,000 per year and $25,300 for jail officers.

“We don’t think anybody in law enforcement is making too much money,” Norris said at the luncheon at the Walnut Creek Shooting Preserve.

Deal’s pitch to the Legislature next session will increase state salaries by 20 percent, according to his Sept. 8 announcement at the Capitol.

While Norris does not begrudge the officers’ raises, he fears widening the wage gap will make it even more difficult for local law enforcement to hold on to their workers.

“We were already behind a long ways and we’re already had conversations about losing people to the state,” said Norris, who recently surveyed Georgia sheriffs about salaries.

Compensation rates for deputies and police are made at the local government level, but Norris and some sheriffs feel there should be a balance.

“We feel like the citizens of this state deserve the absolute best protection we can offer,” he said.

Mitchum said low wages can impact safety.

“Every one of my people, they work two or three jobs,” he said.

Lack of sleep and fatigue can adversely affect deputies who have to make life and death decisions in a split second.

While population centers may see more crime, small towns are not immune from the dangers of police work.

“They all do the same job. I don’t care if you have five people or 150,” Mitchum said.

At Thursday’s gathering, hosted by Jones County Sheriff Butch Reece, sheriffs paid tribute to this year’s fallen, including Bibb Investigator T.J. Freeman and Eastman police Officer Tim Smith, whose images were shown on the screen along with Maj. Gregory E. Barney of the Riverdale Police Department.

Norris is encouraging the elected law officers to begin conversations with county commissioners and state legislators to see what can be done to equalize salaries and make sure each department has qualified officers.

“We are looking at that whole discussion to extend further into what might be done for our deputy sheriffs and jail officers at home, but not only that, but for our municipal and county police officers,” Norris said.

This story was originally published September 23, 2016 at 6:14 PM with the headline "State law enforcement raises could hurt Ga. sheriffs’ offices."