KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Wyandotte County Sheriff told the Board of Commissioners for Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, Thursday night his department needs more help.
Mayor Tyrone Garner called a special session so commissioners could listen to presentations from Sheriff Daniel Soptic and on the 2023 budget.
Soptic told the commissioners his department needs another 30 deputies.
Not having enough trained law officers makes it less safe for those already on the job, he said.
"The job is dangerous every single day whether they are serving paper or working in the jail," Spotic said.
He also pointed out working in detention is not any less dangerous, just a different kind of dangerous.
A big reason the department finds itself woefully understaffed is how much its pays its employees.
While the sheriff praised the benefits package for employees, he said it always comes back to money and residency requirements.
Garner said he understood the sheriff's problem and pointed out deputies now patrol and investigate crimes in the county's parks.
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