Study finds DASO not understaffed, deputies fire back

A study paid for by Dona Ana County finds the sheriff’s department is not understaffed, they just need to coordinate things differently. Those findings had dozens of deputies and officials firing back during Tuesday’s commissioners meeting.

As ABC-7 has reported, DASO says their department is severely understaffed. The problem has forced them to cut services. The department says they have a low retention rate because other agencies can afford to pay their employees at a more competitive rate.

The staffing study, which cost the county $47,000, suggests re-evaluating the way deputies respond to 911 calls, saying many hang ups are false alarms.It also found if deputies switch from 10 to 12 hour work days, their shifts will overlap and more deputies will be available during peak hours.

But DASO says deputies have other mandatory duties outside their shift, and a 12 hour day could take a toll on them. They also said the study had no mention of sick days or vacation days.

“When that deputy is at 12, 13 and 14 hours and you expect them to come to the next shift that night are you in their best interest?” Ken Roberts, President of Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Deputies Association, said.

The sheriffs office told commissioners the staff numbers presented in the study didn’t add up. They say if the sheriffs office has to follow through with the recommendations, their department will suffer.

“I believe this was orchestrated from the very beginning,” Sheriff Kiki Vigil said. “They hired a contractor, paid him $47,000 and everything was basically against the sheriff’s department.”

County Manager Julia Brown said she reached out to Sheriff Vigil numerous times, asking him to participate in the study, but he declined.

“This wasn’t some witch hunt where we put this together just to be able to do a hatchet job on the sheriff,” County Manager Julia Brown said.

Sheriff Vigil said he did not want to participate because he did not feel the company contracted by the county was neutral. He added that if it wanted to, the company could have reached out to his deputies for input.

Brown says findings from the study may possibly be used when deciding next year’s budget.