The call-ins were steady. Deputies were out sick. So were dispatchers. Even the sheriff was forced to stay home for five days.
In a month鈥檚 time, the small Sierra County Sheriff鈥檚 Office became a revolving door of isolating and returning staff.
When Sheriff-Coroner Mike Fisher was elected in 2018 in this county of 3,200, community policing and recruiting talented officers were high on his priority list. But on a recent Tuesday afternoon, he had to settle for a less ambitious role: driving a jail inmate to a doctor鈥檚 appointment, about 90 miles away in suburban Sacramento.
Up and down California, the contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus has shaken the state鈥檚 labor market. . Schools are . And law enforcement officers and first responders 鈥� who are increasingly exposed to risky, one-on-one contacts and super-spreader events 鈥� are having to make do with fewer people.
鈥淥ur people are tired.鈥�LT. RAY KELLY, ALAMEDA COUNTY SHERIFF鈥橲 OFFICE
Since the surge began in December, law enforcement agencies have been forced to increase overtime, reduce services and reroute non-emergency calls to online portals, according to a CalMatters survey of more than 30 agencies statewide.
鈥淥ur people are tired,鈥� said Lt. Ray Kelly, the Alameda County Sheriff鈥檚 Office spokesperson. 鈥淭hey are working extra hours; they鈥檙e working extra shifts鈥icking up the slack where they have to.鈥�
Most of the agencies contacted by CalMatters are largely funded by local governments. While state lawmakers have agreed to extend , among other things, no statewide effort has been made to help city and county law enforcement agencies deal with the variant鈥檚 fallout.
State agencies also are feeling the strain.
The California Highway Patrol, the largest statewide police department, would not detail how many officers have been out to COVID but 鈥渨e have not been immune,鈥� said spokesperson Fran Clader. Even so, she said, the 鈥淐OVID-related absences have not impacted the Department鈥檚 mission.鈥�
Recently, the highway patrol has faced. After high-profile retail thefts in Northern and Southern California, to increase patrols near retail areas over the holidays, as the omicron virus took off.
鈥淐alifornia is substantially increasing CHP鈥檚 presence, especially near retail areas, and will be investing even more to aggressively curb retail crime,鈥� Newsom said in a press release. 鈥淎s a small business owner myself, I am resolved to holding these criminals accountable and protecting our local businesses.鈥�
Earlier this month, as COVID cases rose, Newsom also to work with communities to add more testing sites. The governor has called on the Guard several times since the pandemic began to secure the Capitol from and to , among other things.
鈥淚 pulled duty shifts; dispatchers were working seven days in a row. It pretty much took out my overtime budget for the year.鈥�ROBERT GIBSON, MOUNT SHASTA POLICE CHIEF
As state-level law enforcement agencies say they are experiencing outbreaks within their ranks, so are local law departments 鈥� often with fewer resources.
In Yuba County for instance, which has the state鈥檚 , the small sheriff鈥檚 department has recently called in as the virus spread through its ranks.
鈥淪ome are retired, others are not full-time law enforcement officers and can be different 鈥榣evels鈥� of qualifications,鈥� spokesperson Leslie Williams wrote in an email.
In Mount Shasta, after roughly half of its 13-person policing staff was out for COVID, the chief stepped in.
鈥淚 pulled duty shifts; dispatchers were working seven days in a row,鈥� said police chief Robert Gibson. 鈥淚t pretty much took out my overtime budget for the year.鈥�
While smaller agencies struggled, one of the largest police forces in the country said it was able to maintain business as usual after nearly 900 Los Angeles Police Department officers were out last week. A department spokesperson said the agency has maintained its staffing for patrols.
Facing outbreaks and labor shortages, some agencies doubled down on longer shifts and the power of technology.
鈥淚 got to dust off some uniform stuff and head out into the real world.鈥�MIKE FISHER, SIERRA COUNTY SHERIFF-CORONER
Imperial County on the Mexican border has seen it all during this pandemic. The first wave of infections in 2020 . Then, the county boasted by August 2021. Then came the omicron variant, which has there.
By that time, the Imperial Police Department said it was somewhat prepared. The department already had started steering people with non-emergencies to its website to report crimes and neighborhood problems.
鈥淏efore the pandemic, we were responding to people鈥檚 houses for any call for service,鈥� said Max Sheffield, Imperial Police spokesman. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really changed policing for us.鈥�
The Kern County Sheriff鈥檚 Office also was asking the public during this month鈥檚 omicron surge to use the agency鈥檚 online system to report crimes that were in progress, or other non-emergencies,鈥� .
While some duties can be shifted to an online portal, day-to-day policing cannot.
Last Tuesday morning, 400 miles north of Kern County, Sierra County Sheriff Mike Fisher pulled out a familiar wardrobe and hit the road.
Shuttling incarcerated people is not the typical fare for the duly elected sheriff and coroner. But with his transport deputy under quarantine after being exposed to COVID-19, Fisher did what everyone has had to do.
He adapted.
鈥淚 got to dust off some uniform stuff and head out into the real world,鈥� he said.
For now, though, things are looking up. This week marked the first time the Sierra County Sheriff鈥檚 Office has had a full staff in more than two weeks.
鈥淚鈥檓 knocking on wood because that鈥檚 subject to change tomorrow,鈥� he said.
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