Georgia deputies working up to 80 hours a week with department down 59 officers: 'Doing the best we can'

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Georgia sheriff's office nearly 60 deputies short

Douglas County, Georgia, Sheriff Tim Pounds and Lt. Col. Tavarreus Pounds explain how the staffing shortage has impacted their agency.

The Douglas County, Georgia, sheriff’s office is operating with 59 fewer deputies than needed as staffing shortages hit communities across the country.

Sheriff Tim Pounds said on "Fox & Friends" Tuesday that officers are leaving in droves due to conditions following the pandemic, while also in search of better pay. 

He said loyalty is the only thing holding his office together.

"They work diligently, just as hard as they can week by week, by week," he told host Ainsley Earhardt. "They know a light is going to come, we just don’t know when that light is going to come." 

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Some Douglas County deputies are being forced to work up to 80 hours per week to make sure the department is able to respond to the calls that come in.

Lieutenant Colonel Tavarreus Pounds, Sheriff Pounds’ nephew, praised the deputies for putting in the long hours to keep the community safe. 

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While command staff aren’t allowed to work overtime, Sheriff Pounds has instructed them to work on the street occasionally to give the deputies some relief. 

In a recent effort to fill open positions, the agency held a two-day job fair and chose 77 candidates to move forward in the hiring process.

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Lt. Col. Pounds explained that not every candidate will be offered a position, as some may not pass a polygraph or a physical agility test. 

"There’s a number of things that they have to do before they actually can get hired," he said. "They have to go through a psych eval, got to be able to pass a medical evaluation."

He said the community has offered great support and very little backlash despite the staff shortage. 

"Hopefully, like the sheriff was saying, we can get some of these people in this office and take the stress off of these frontline workers that have been really giving their all," Lt. Col. Pounds said. 

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"We’re doing the best that we can, and we are doing far and beyond what we can."