Omicron surge strains California police agencies
The call-ins were steady. Deputies were out sick. So were dispatchers. Even the sheriff was forced to stay home for five days.
In a month’s time, the small Sierra County Sheriff’s Office became a revolving door of isolating and returning staff.
When Sheriff-Coroner Mike Fisher was elected in 2018 in this county of 3,200, community policing and recruiting talented officers were high on his priority list. But on a recent Tuesday afternoon, he had to settle for a less ambitious role: driving a jail inmate to a doctor’s appointment, about 90 miles away in suburban Sacramento.
Up and down California, the contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus has shaken the state’s labor market. Hospitals are understaffed. Schools are low on teachers and substitutes. And law enforcement officers and first responders — who are increasingly exposed to risky, one-onone contacts and superspreader events — are having to make do with fewer people.
Since the surge began in December, law enforcement agencies have been forced to increase overtime, reduce services and reroute non-emergency calls to online portals, according to a CalMatters survey of more than 30 agencies statewide.
“Our people are tired,” said Lt. Ray Kelly, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson. “They are working extra hours; they’re working extra shifts…picking up the slack where they have to.”
Most of the agencies contacted by CalMatters are largely funded by local governments. While state lawmakers have agreed to extend paid sick leave for workers and support for small businesses, among other things, no statewide effort has been made to help city and county law enforcement agencies deal with the variant’s fallout.
State agencies also are feeling the strain.
The California Highway Patrol, the largest statewide police department, would not detail how many officers have been out to COVID but “we have not been immune,” said spokesperson Fran Clader. Even so, she said, the “COVID-related absences have not impacted the Department’s mission.”
Recently, news stories have reflected some of the unique COVID-related challenges and job reassignments the highway patrol has faced. After high-profile retail thefts in Northern and Southern California, Gov. Gavin Newsom enlisted the agency in November to increase patrols near retail areas over the holidays, as the omicron virus took off.
“California is substantially increasing CHP’s presence, especially near retail areas, and will be investing even more to aggressively curb retail crime,” Newsom said in a press release. “As a small business owner myself, I am resolved to holding these criminals accountable and protecting our local businesses.”
Earlier this month, as COVID cases rose, Newsom also activated the California National Guard to work with communities to add more testing sites. The governor has called on the Guard several times since the pandemic began to secure the Capitol from potential armed protesters and to distribute goods at food banks, among other things.