Josh Bennett, a deputy with the Edgar County Sheriff’s Department, told the county board that the department is operating with critically thin staffing and described several incidents he said showed the limits of current coverage.

Bennett said the department currently works with two full-time day-shift deputies, four full-time night-shift deputies, one deputy on long-term workers’ compensation, one chief deputy and one sheriff, plus three part-time deputies whose availability is limited. He said travel across the county can take 20 to 30 minutes and that relying on outside agencies for backup can delay response times.

"We have had several burglaries that we were unable to investigate properly with no full time investigator," Bennett said. He described a routine trespassing call that left a lone deputy on scene, forcing Chief Deputy Smith to use his car radio to reach dispatch because portable radios had no signal. Bennett said that event and others could have had much worse outcomes if deputies had been injured or isolated.

He recounted a domestic call he handled alone that later produced an attempted murder charge; because of manpower limits and lack of a full-time investigator, he said, the department could not properly secure and process the scene and the case resulted in a lesser plea. He also described past incidents in which outside officers were assaulted while assisting.

Bennett said the county has had to transfer multiple cases to the Illinois State Police for investigation because of the lack of an in-house investigator and that both the coroner and the state's attorney recently told the sheriff's office it needs a full-time investigator. "To help improve our deputy safety and to be able to effectively investigate crimes, we should hire a full time investigator and staff the road with 2 full time deputies at all times without having to rely on our part time," he said.

Board members acknowledged the concerns. One board member said the county would schedule a committee meeting to discuss possible responses and take Bennett's concerns under advisement. No formal action or vote on staffing was recorded during the meeting.

Bennett also noted workforce challenges that complicate recruitment and retention: a deputy on long-term injury who may not return, two deputies near retirement and insurance costs that reduce applicants' ability to bring families on county health plans.

The sheriff’s department is also serving without a full-time investigator, relying on part-time staff and mutual aid for investigations, the deputy said. He requested adding a full-time investigator position and increasing minimum road staffing levels.

The board did not take an immediate vote; members indicated they would discuss the issue further at a committee meeting and review options for recruitment, pay and staffing structures.