MACON, Ga. — If you're a retired deputy, or an officer looking for part-time work, the Bibb County Sheriff's office wants you.
In a news conference Monday morning, city officials announced they will be offering part-time deputy jobs.
It's another attempt to address their shortage of deputies and get more officers on the street.
13WMAZ’s Jessica Cha tells us what the new program will look like.
Sheriff David Davis says the Bibb Sheriff's Office has never tried this before. He says this has been in the works for the past year and a half, where this all started as an experiment by hiring part-timers to work in their jails.
They say they've hired 150 full-time and part-time workers in the past 18 months.
"This is a great step in the right direction to get more patrols in our community,” Mayor Lester Miller says.
He says the inspiration to expanding deputy hiring comes from listening to the community at their Macon Violence Program forums about what they want to see in their neighborhoods.
"We've talked to residents all across our community. Victims of violent crimes, clergy members, service providers, law enforcement experts and more, and all they have said that reducing crime and we have to address it from many angles,” he explains. “They wanted deputies riding through their neighborhoods, and this is a common theme we heard throughout the community.”.
Sheriff Davis says hiring part-timers in their jails has been successful.
"We have come a long way in the past year and half in hiring folks, but we still have a long way to go.”.
Davis says they're expanding the new part-time position to patrol deputies.
"This next phase is really a fast-tracking of individuals who may come they're already POST-certified, meaning if they have the basic certification of law enforcement, then we will have them come right on in, come right to the road, and go right to work,” he explains.
Davis says officers working at another agency can make extra money and those who've retired from law enforcement can come back.
He says they're still 75 to 100 full-time workers below full staff, but they've already had people interested.
"It's a lot of opportunities for growth here,” Deputy Warren Bruce says.
Bruce has been a full-time deputy for over a year. He says he was certified in 1996, and was able to fast-track his training to start patrolling the roads.
"It took about two to three months for the entire training process,” he says.
The sheriff's office explains that a new trainee usually takes 12 weeks in mandate school to receive their mandated post-certification, and then will spend three months with a field training officer.
Bruce says he still has required yearly hours of training, but he thinks this is a great, quick opportunity.
"If you have a passion to help people, it's good, and there's going to be opportunities probably in the next four, five years for advancement here,” he says.
The Bibb County Fire Department will also help free up deputies by working security in the court houses and at special events like the Cherry Blossom Festival.
Mayor Miller says county commission will have a more in-depth explanation of what the Macon Violence Program has done, and where they are now Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.- 6 p.m. in the Macon-Bibb Government Center.