Crow Wing Co. Jail Gets Board Approval to Hire Extra Officers During Staffing Shortage

It takes 44 corrections officers to run the Crow Wing County Jail with a full staff. But lately, this has been difficult to achieve. In a proposal presented by the jail and approved by the Crow Wing County Board, officials laid out what residents can expect and how more approved staffing will be safer for officers, inmates, and the community.

Problems with staffing aren’t just affecting the Crow Wing County Jail – it’s also a nationwide issue that has been making it difficult for correctional institutions to hire and retain their employees.

“It’s a very high-stress job, it has a lot of burnout naturally, and then there’s a mental health crisis in the United States as well right now, where those people are all being collected in our county jails and waiting for beds elsewhere,” said Lieutenant of Jail Operations Ron Imgrund. “We don’t have enough beds for them at this point, so they end up waiting in jails for very extended periods of time.”

The jail is only allowed to hire a certain number of officers. To staff its facility beyond what it already has, they have requested a buffer that includes four more officers.

“They wouldn’t necessarily be approved for full-time work, but because of the constraints of how long it takes to hire and train someone in these days, I’m not able to keep up the pace of departures with our current staffing levels,” said Imgrund.

Those applying for the job will need a GED or high school diploma. Applicants will then be put through an interview and a psychological and medical exam. All that has to be passed before an applicant can even put in their two-weeks notice at their current job. Once that has been taken care of, officers will go through two months of training until they can be officially hired.

Although their request to hire extra officers was approved by the county board, jail officials say there is no telling how effective this will be until every position can be filled and stay that way for some time. The jail is currently operating without 11 staff members and encourages anyone who wants a career in law enforcement to apply as soon as they can.