Multiple officers alert county of ‘critical’ staffing shortage at Doña Ana County Detention Center

UPDATE, Dec. 15: The president of the Doña Ana County detention center officers' union on Tuesday alerted commissioners to dangerous conditions within the jail.

“Has anybody ever threatened to kill you or rape your sister, mother, daughter?” asked Sgt. Alex Segura, the union president.

His words confirm the safety concerns that ABC-7 reported on last week, citing the fears of an anonymous employee within the jail.

“People don’t feel safe anymore, so they’re resigning from their positions because they don’t feel safe," the employee said.

Other employees emailed ABC-7 anonymously, making multiple allegations about safety conditions in the jail, including shortages of officers in mental health day rooms and pods.

One employee asked "Why would a person put their lives on the line day in and day out, when they can go to Target or Walmart and get a higher starting pay for an entry level position?"

Director Bryan Baker answered nearly every question by email Wednesday afternoon.

Jail Director Bryan Baker’s Response to Officer Allegations by Katie Bieri on Scribd

ORIGINAL REPORT, Dec. 6: LAS CRUCES, New Mexico - An employee within the Doña Ana County Detention Center worries that the safety of inmates, staffers and the public is in jeopardy due to 'critical' short staffing within the facility.

"The safety with the populations, not only with the detainees, but with staff as well is going downhill," said the staffer, who asked to remain anonymous. "The county isn't doing anything to help alleviate any of the problems that we're having here."

In an email dated Dec. 2, Detention Center Director Bryan Baker described "critical staffing situations" within the facility.

"While I had hoped we would see a surge in hiring post-September following the discontinuation of much of the federal unemployment support offered during the beginning of the COVID pandemic, the reality is the situation has only proceeded to get worse," wrote Baker in the email obtained by ABC-7.

In that email, Baker asked administrative employees to train in the event that they must take on the role of a control station "officer," although he stated they would not have direct contact with detainees. County Manager Fernando Macias confirmed the validity of the email. He stated that none of those employees have had to take on the officer role.

"I am hoping that this turns out to simply be a period of cross training and it doesn't have to be put into action," Baker wrote in the email.

In a statement to ABC-7, Macias said the staffing level is "above the required operational minimum," which is 15 staffers for the adult facility and 8 for the juvenile facility.

"Though a fluctuation of staff levels is not unique to Doña Ana County, we are taking measures to ensure that we can reach these minimums on a consistent basis regardless of the day-to-day changes in staffing," Macias wrote.

To maintain the safety and welfare of employees and detainees, he wrote "to be proactive, we will train our civilian staff as a safeguard against our staffing levels falling below the optimal levels. This is just one precaution we are taking as a contingency, and not one we actively seek to put into action."