- Video shows Jackson County Sheriff, Gary Schuette, explaining how the $615,000 cut from the Sheriff's Department's budget is impacting road patrol.
- That money was cut during a County Commissioner meeting in December. Those cuts took effect January 1, and according to Schuette, the Sheriff's Department implemented a new system on January 27.
- Schuette says he plans to lean on Michigan State Police for supplementary patrols on nights staffing is low.
"Four from forty doesn't sound like a whole lot. Four from twenty is a completely different story," explains Jackson County Sheriff, Gary Schuette, after a $615,000 budget cut that took effect January 1. Instead of twenty deputies patrolling the county, they're now at sixteen. "That's nearly a quarter, a quarter of our patrol services were cut," says Schuette. He continues to explain that with several deputies in training and out on injury, that number is actually closer to nine.
WATCH: The County Commissioner meeting that budget cut took place
Schuette says the impact is especially felt during the night and when emergencies are spread out. "We could have one serious incident happen in one corner of the county, and a serious incident happen in another part of the county. Which one do you go to? How do you make that determination?" According to Schuette, there will be multiple nights between now and May that there may only be one Jackson County car patrolling.
Schuette says he's reached out to Michigan State Police for supplementary patrols on those nights that staffing is low. I reached out as well, and Lieutenant Rene Gonzalez tells me that if they know Jackson County has minimal cars on the road, they'll send additional troopers out. Gonzalez says, "We do our best with what we have. We do want people to know that, if you have a call going out that's not in progress, you may wait a little but longer, but someone is going to come see you."
WATCH: Jackson County is not the only neighborhood with a lack of patrols at night
As for the future of the Jackson County Sheriff's Department, Schuette says they're navigating a 'new normal.' He says they're planning on implementing a new, online reporting system for the non-emergency type of calls; Schuette says this system will save on manpower. Then, they hope to have an administrative position, when they're fully-staffed, that will handle those calls during business hours. "I think it'll be a good thing, all in all, so kind of a silver-lining on the dark cloud of budget cuts is this online reporting system," says Schuette.
Want to see more local news? Visit the FOX47News Website.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.
Select from these options: Neighborhood News, Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines, and Daily Forecasts.
