Fulton County sheriff hikes pay in effort to fully staff jail
Fulton County incentives to work in jail
Fulton County Sheriff Patrick "Pat" Labat is taking extraordinary steps to try to hire and keep officers at the troubled Fulton County Jail. Manpower has been so stretched that Labat has acknowledged some regular guard posts have gone unmanned. He explains his new efforts to turn all of that around with FOX 5 in a one-on-one interview.
ATLANTA - Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat hikes pay again in an effort to close a manpower gap at the jail.
"We are now the highest in the Southeast," said Labat, about the new measures he put in place.
And billboards are going up all over the county seeking applicants.
Starting deputies can receive $60,000; detention officers, $54,000 and all are eligible for a signing bonus of $10,500.
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"We have to turn the tide," Labat reflected on the turbulent last 12 months.
There has been violence and deaths at the jail.
Manpower has been extremely low. At a recent meeting of the Fulton County Board of Commission, the sheriff revealed some regular posts inside the jail go unmanned at times.
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The areas include the observation towers "above the jail floors." He has hired a private security company and plans to use civilians as access officers. The tower guards open and close the electronic doors.
"We are not just going to give them the keys and keep going," Labat said. "They will be trained."
The sheriff said other departments in the southeast have been able to provide the function successfully.
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Labat believes a turnaround is underway. Fewer staffers have left. A big reason, the sheriff believes, is overtime pay. Labat decided to pay double time. That extra compensation has been welcomed and the current vacancies number less than sixty.