DETROIT — The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office is currently looking for individuals to join its workforce as there is a 25 percent vacancy among its staff.

This struggle to hire workers has been an ongoing nationwide issue, and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office is aiming to tackle this matter by recruiting men and women to step into these available roles.

The Sheriff’s Office is looking to recruit about 100 deputies, according to Ed Foxworth, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office director of communications.

Wayne County Undersheriff Mike Jaafar told The Arab American News there are job openings within different areas of the county, equipping individuals with various opportunities across the board.

“We’re hiring full-time deputies that have an option to work in the jails, which are priority,” Jaafar said. “And they’ll get an option to become a MCOLES certified officer by going to the police academy during their career, which will afford them the opportunity to work the courts, the road patrol and different various specialized units across the county.”

He also shared that the Sheriff’s Office is moving into a new state-of-the art facility this year. This facility will be the new Wayne County Sheriff’s headquarters as well as provide a new jail, a new prosecutor’s office and a new juvenile justice facility. This allows new hires to work in an up-to-date facility, providing them with a completely new environment.

As Jaafar stated, there are opportunities in numerous different areas within the Sheriff’s Office. These include deputy positions, road patrol, civilian roles, a job in the prosecutor’s office or even in the administrative office at Wayne County.

Various concerns, such as potential exposure to COVID-19 and the dangerous atmosphere that can exist being in law enforcement, can prevent people from stepping into that new environment, taking the oath and putting on the uniform.

“Quite honestly, we’re reaching out to individuals from the age of 18, to 55, in an attempt to try to get them to join Wayne County Sheriff’s Office,” Foxworth said. “And so that means we have a multipronged approach. We’re in high schools, we’re in colleges, we are working with veterans.”

According to reports, county officials are aware of the new climate that exists today and that a different approach needs to be taken to successfully recruit people.

“There’s a lot of work that has to be done,” Foxworth said. “Warren Evans is doing a great job and working with all the elected officials and their departments to figure out ideas on how to fill the vacancies that we have.”