PHOENIX — Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone is weighing the unprecedented step of calling on the Arizona National Guard to help run his jails, as the sheriff's office copes with a soaring number of vacant jobs.
"I absolutely believe that using the Guard appropriately is a necessary stopgap," Penzone said in an interview Monday.
"You can't overcome these vacancies I'm talking about overnight."
Penzone said he met with his command staff Monday to review the request for up to 135 Guard members.
The Arizona Republic reported Friday that the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office had rescinded the request.
Penzone said he had asked his staff to recommend how Guard members might be able to fill vacancies.
But the formal request to the Guard had been sent out "before rising to my level and before my review," he said.
"When I found out about it, I retracted it, because I don't want to make a request for anybody to come to this organization unless I understand how they're going to be utilized."
Here's what we know about the request the MSCO has drawn up for National Guard members:
Why the sheriff's office says it needs help
Penzone said MCSO staffing had suffered a big hit during the pandemic.
"The setback is tremendous and it's not unique to this organization," he said. "It is proportionate to other law enforcement agencies across the state and across the nation."
According to data provided by MCSO, in march 2020, before the pandemic, 90 percent of all jobs were filled. Today that number is down to 80 percent.
The biggest losses have been among detention officers. The 87 vacancies pre-pandemic have soared to 441 today.
Overall vacancies have more than doubled, from 348 positions to 777.
According to the request to the National Guard:
"MCSO has reached critical staffing levels across multiple departments. Multiple jails are reaching maximum capacity with manpower shortages and a deficit in overtime funding causing the Sheriff's Office to use badged field personnel to fill vacancies and help with the backlog in numerous departments."
"Are the circumstances concerning? Absolutely," Penzone said. "I am concerned for the safety of the men and women throughout this organization."
What exactly does MCSO need?
The Sheriff's Office already has a working relationship with the Guard.
A small team of flight medics from the National Guard's 996th Area Support Medical Company has been assigned to the Sheriff's Office's Aviation Division, to support search and rescue missions in the desert, according to Maj. Kyle Key, a National Guard spokesman.
Key said the National Guard was aware of the MCSO request.
The new request also focuses on support roles. Guard members would not be used as detention officers.
According to MCSO's plan for the National Guard members, obtained by 12 News through a public records request, up to 135 members are being requested, with 51 of them considered "critical fills."
Most of the jobs - 95 - involve electronically monitoring inmates and controlling inmate housing. The request stipulates that Guard members "will not have any physical contact with inmates' jail activity."
The remainder of the assignments is largely administrative.
Guard members would receive 40 hours of formal training, as well as on-the-job training.
The first training class would start on Nov. 15.
Who would pay for the National Guard?
Penzone said the troops would be paid for by the state, under Gov. Doug Ducey's state of emergency declaration last April.
Ducey declared the emergency in Maricopa County and Pinal Counties, as well as four border counties, to respond to the influx of migrants crossing the border.
Penzone said the request for troops would need only the approval of the Guard commander, Brig. Gen. Kerry Muehlenbeck.
A Ducey spokesman said the governor's office couldn't comment on a request it hadn't seen yet.
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What is Maricopa County saying?
The first stop for MCSO's retracted request for Guard troops was the county's Department of Emergency Management, following procedure for an intergovernmental request, according to Maricopa County spokesman Fields Moseley.
Moseley provided this response to the request:
"The Board of Supervisors does not have a role in this process, but the chairman's office was briefed once we learned of the request.
"Board members remain concerned about the shortage of detention officers and jail staff.
"This issue predates the COVID-19 pandemic."
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