Folks, it’s bad,’ says Merced County’s sheriff on staffing issues, public safety
AENN
California, from San Diego to the Oregon border is a war zone.
“In an almost 10-minute-long video posted to social media on Thursday, Sheriff Vern Warnke and Undersheriff Corey Gibson detail the problems being faced by the Merced County Sheriff’s Office.
“My hands are now being tied by the county supervisors and CEO’s office,” said Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke. “I’m no longer going to be able to produce the quality patrol, the services that we’re so used to. And it goes from patrol to corrections to dispatch.”
Warnke warns that, at some point, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office will have to say no to calls for service.
The first responsibility of government is to protect its citizens. In California, government has prioritized protecting criminals and illegal aliens. Feel safe?
‘Folks, it’s bad,’ says Merced County’s sheriff on staffing issues, public safety
by: Dom McAndrew, KSEE, 2/16/24
MERCED, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A scathing attack on Merced County’s executive office was made by the Sheriff of Merced County on social media, alleging that a lack of support “from some local leaders” is putting Merced County residents in danger.
In an almost 10-minute-long video posted to social media on Thursday, Sheriff Vern Warnke and Undersheriff Corey Gibson detail the problems being faced by the Merced County Sheriff’s Office.
“My hands are now being tied by the county supervisors and CEO’s office,” said Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke. “I’m no longer going to be able to produce the quality patrol, the services that we’re so used to. And it goes from patrol to corrections to dispatch.”
Warnke warns that, at some point, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office will have to say no to calls for service.
“So when you hear from my office, the answer is no, we’re talking about no to cleaning up homeless encampments. We’re talking about no to taking reports for theft. We’re talking about no to taking reports for you getting beat up. That’s what it’s going to come to,” said Sheriff Warnke. “You might call into dispatch and it might be a while before somebody can answer the phone.”
Sheriff Warnke made a similar call to the Merced County Board of Supervisors at the end of last year. At the time, the Merced County Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott Silveira said he is fully committed to public safety as evidenced by budget priorities year after year.
However, Sheriff Warnke says he is not receiving any help from the County Executive Office to maintain public safety.
“We hear from staff what the challenges are,” said Undersheriff Corey Gibson. “They’re telling us the reason we’re not retaining staff and it’s not because of you or me or anything, anything we’re doing individually within the agency. It comes down to compensation of benefits from the county. And so the county needs to listen to these people. We’re losing a lot of quality individuals.”
Merced County is yet to respond to a request for comment.
