MORRISON, Colo. — Staffing shortages continue plaguing law enforcement agencies across Colorado and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is no different. Now, the agency is getting some help from the Morrison Police Department.
"We are no different than other jurisdictions," said Sheriff Reggie Marinelli with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. "We are understaffed... Budgets are an issue. Staffing can be an issue."
Through a new partnership with the Morrison Police Department, the sheriff's office hopes to ease some of the burden.
"We all work on the same radio frequency or the same radio channels, so I hear how busy they are, so I offered her (Marinelli) the assistance of the Morrison Police Department," said Chief of Police Bill Vinelli with the Town of Morrison.
The collaboration between the two law enforcement agencies stems from the need for more deputies. Sheriff Marinelli told Denver7 that Jefferson County has continued growing more and more in recent years, but the funding for the number of deputies it can employ has not.
The iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre is one location Morrison Police Department officers will begin responding to right away.
"When we have a traffic accident during concerts up at Red Rocks, we have to pull away from other stuff to get up there, and then we sit on that traffic accident and have to wait for state patrol to come and handle it," Sheriff Marinelli said.
Fifteen Morrison police officers were deputized Monday by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and are now able to cross into the sheriff office's jurisdiction to help with calls.
"It's going to be a tremendous help," Sheriff Marinelli said.
The sheriff's office is authorized up to 535 law enforcement personnel and although it only had 14 vacancies at the start of the year, as the community continues growing, so does the need for more deputies.
"We try to do more with less," Sheriff Marinelli said. "We're trying to think outside the box."
