Is there a shortage of officers in sheriffs' departments across North Louisiana? Find out.

Louisiana is facing a such critical shortage of police officers, that Governor Jeff Landy declared a State of Emergency over it, and the legislature recently held a special session on crime.

Law enforcement agencies in Louisiana are confronted with a dire situation where they are losing officers faster than they can replace them. Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office faces a significant manpower shortage, while other North Louisiana sheriff agencies remain minimally unaffected.

What does the declaration say?

The state of emergency declares that the nation and state are experiencing a police officer staffing crisis, and law enforcement agencies are losing officers faster than they can hire new ones.

Law enforcement agencies saw a 47 percent increase in resignations and a 20 percent increase in retirements from 2019 to 2022. 78 percent of law enforcement agencies struggle to find qualified candidates, and 65 percent have a low number of applicants for law enforcement positions.

Staffing challenges have led 25 percent of national law enforcement agencies to reduce or eliminate certain services, units or positions within their departments, the declaration reads.

The national police officer shortage has impacted Louisiana, resulting in record-low employment rates and longer response times, which pose a significant threat to safety, property and lives of individuals within the state.

The Louisiana Sheriffs' Association estimates that Louisiana sheriff's offices were down approximately 1,800 deputies statewide as of July 2023.

Are law enforcement agencies throughout the region facing challenges with staffing and recruitment?

The Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office is currently facing a staffing shortage of 65 officers in corrections and post, as well as 15 positions in administration, according to Captain Sharon Piggs.

The primary challenge in addressing the staffing shortage within the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office is the need for deputies to work overtime voluntarily to cover patrol shifts and duties at the Caddo Correctional Center.

"The service has still been the same because we have dedicated employees who are willing to work overtime," Piggs said. "Of course they're getting compensated for it but citizens of Caddo Parish haven't suffered on that end because of the dedication of the deputies. We haven't experienced a negative result on that end."

More: John Long sworn in as interim Caddo Parish sheriff

Piggs acknowledged that while other reasons like staff members reaching their pension age or moving on to other career opportunities have contributed to reducing manpower at the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office, they are not operating with full capacity yet because of being hit hard during COVID.

"We haven't fully bounced back from that even when things opened up because we never shut down," Piggs said. "We couldn't have the public come in to hire because of COVID. We were still flowing and going, doing our own recruitment events and attending other recruitment events but the amount of applicants showing up had drastically declined."

To address manpower issues, the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office relies on volunteer reserve deputies and non-threatening case assistance from auxiliary deputies.

Lt. Matt Gaydos, public information officer for the Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office, said the department is always searching for the best recruits that they can find to fill the empty ranks of the Bossier Sheriff's Office.

"The number of openings fluctuates from week to week like any other large organization so it is hard for me to provide an exact number," Gaydos said. "With that being said, Sheriff [Julian] Whittington feels that we are fortunate because we are not experiencing the shortage like some agencies around our state are experiencing."

Despite some vacant positions, Gaydos said the department is continuously processing several potential recruits through the various phases of the hiring procedure to become Sheriff's deputies.

The Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Office is currently facing a shortage, similar to other law enforcement agencies within the state, Public Information Officer Glenn Springfield said. However, the severity of this shortage is not as dire as perceived by most.

"While we do have a shortage in Patrol and Corrections, it is negligible," Springfield said. "It does have some effect, but with careful planning and staffing of personnel, we are able to maintain our services to the public."

More: Bossier Parish saw slight increase in crime for 2023. Checkout the crime statistics

The department has effectively minimized the shortage by providing a competitive salary and benefits package for new hires, actively recruiting through career fairs, and utilizing social media pages to reach potential candidates.

"Once hired, we strive to maintain a positive work environment for employees to retain them," Springfield said. "This includes but is not limited to salary and benefits, but also keeping current with technology, providing proper equipment to do the job and constantly training personnel, all to better serve the citizens of our parish."

Follow Ian Robinson on Twitter @_irobinsonand on Facebook at https://bit.ly/3vln0w1.

This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: Is there an officer shortage in North Louisiana sheriff departments?