Leaders worry staff shortages in Department of Public Safety put public at risk

The agency that keeps North Carolina safe is struggling to find enough people to do the job. Vacancy rates at the Department of Public Safety – from troopers who patrol the roads to officers who guard the prisons – are in the double digits, with thousands of positions going unfilled.

Department leaders have turned to state lawmakers to ask for help with the hiring.

DPS Secretary Eddie Buffaloe said, "It is very difficult to convince people in today’s society to have a servant’s mind and especially be servants of public safety."

He says law enforcement officers are leaving the state to go work for agencies that offer better pay.

Buffaloe says the State Highway Patrol is losing about nine people each month. "The (North Carolina State) highway patrol has dropped down to like 38th in the nation as relates to pay," he said.

• As of Friday, the vacancy rate for troopers was 12%.
• 31% of State Capitol Police positions are open.
• 40% of correctional officer jobs are unfilled.
• The juvenile justice division has the highest vacancy rate at 53%.

At the same time, the state's juvenile detention centers are over capacity.

"I’m having trouble sleeping at night, I’m going to be quite honest with you, because of safety," said William Lassiter, DPS deputy secretary of juvenile justice. "I’m worried about our staff. These are salt of the earth people. They work hard every day trying to provide for these young people."

DPS is asking lawmakers for additional funding to raise pay.

The department also wants to start a step-pay scale for state capitol police and juvenile justice workers.

"We have people that have been working in these facilities for 30 years and are still making less than $40,000," Lassiter pointed out.

Buffaloe says filling critical positions in the department is vital for the state's security.

"We greatly need them, need them and more, but we’re not competitive," he said.

DPS is also asking for additional positions in the administrative division to help speed up the hiring process for new employees.