Sheriff seeks more deputies to fight summer rise in crime
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said he needs more deputies before summer to combat a rise in violent crime.
Salazar wants to add 12 patrol positions and five criminal investigators.
In a letter to Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff and the county commissioners, Salazar said he needs to “stay ahead of the curve,” notwithstanding the department’s official budget request scheduled to be presented in a few weeks.
The sheriff cited a rise in shootings, domestic assaults, human trafficking and other violent crimes occurring daily, saying the increase has strained his office’s already taxed resources.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office has seen an increase in firearms being used during crimes, and Salazar is concerned about their presence in the hands of convicted felons and gang members.
“We must increase the number of deputies on the streets actively fighting crime so we can keep Bexar County safe,” Salazar wrote.
He said there have been several recent incidents in which deputies have been shot at by suspects. In one night in April, deputies responded to six vehicle burglaries in Alamo Ranch where the suspects were openly carrying guns during the robberies.
While the sheriff’s office will soon have a 28-member academy class graduating, with another patrol class anticipated to start in the next several weeks, the requested additions would fill the department’s current law enforcement vacancies.
In addition to an increase in sworn positions, Salazar is asking the county to “unfreeze” 41 budgeted civilian support positions so that the department can resume filling them. He said those positions were left vacant as employees left and the Sheriff ’s Office was unable to recruit for them.