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Despite deputy shortages, New Orleans Sheriff's Office getting even more inmates

“We are partners in this system. And we're just trying to work out a plan so that the system functions,” Hutson said.

NEW ORLEANS — At a time when the number of Orleans Parish Sheriff's deputies is “at critically dangerous lows,” the shortage has not only hit the city jail, but also has dramatically slowed the pace of prosecutions at Criminal Court.

With fewer deputies to transport inmates and serve as courthouse security, the sheriff’s office had been forced to send incarcerated defendants to each section of court only twice a week, and only six inmates at a time.

But following a WWL-TV story revealing the slowdown, Sheriff Susan Hutson and her deputies last week sharply increased the number of inmates, hitting a high-water mark of 59 inmates transferred last Wednesday.

In an exclusive interview Monday, Hutson said some of her top courthouse deputies have been working with the judges to increase the number of inmates brought to court and accelerate the pace of court hearings.

“We are partners in this system. And we're just trying to work out a plan so that the system functions,” Hutson said.

While working with the court to find solutions, the sheriff also said she has been candid about her office’s severe deputy shortage. Hutson estimated that the jail is staffed at less than 50 percent due to high turnover and resignations during the COVID pandemic. 

Meanwhile, the number of inmates has gradually been creeping up since Hutson took office in May, increased about by more than 200 since COVID restrictions were lifted from about 700 to about 1,000 now.

“We are dealing with 200 to 300 more people, but we are still down in staffing,” Hutson said. “So what does that tell you? That's even more of a serious staffing issue for us.”

Hutson said she realizes that not being able to bring inmates to court could exacerbate the problem as more of them remain in jail longer waiting for their day in court, but she said she can only stretch her staff so far and still maintain proper security at the jail.

“We met with the court and they said they wanted to go back to pre-COVID rules (about bringing inmates to court),” Hutson said. “Well, I inherited this department. I inherited post-COVID. And so that's the reality.

In a letter to the judges dated Sept. 15, Hutson explained she is down from 14 transport deputies to five. She also stated that “OPSO’s staffing levels are at critically dangerous lows.”

Hutson said a lasting solution is to hire more deputies by increasing their pay from the current  $15 an hour to $20, an issue she made into a campaign promise in her upset victory last fall over 16-year incumbent Marlin Gusman.

“My campaign promise was to get people to $20 per hour to start,” Hutson said. “And if lifeguards are making that, surely deputies should be able to make that.”

Hutson said she will soon present her plan to the city council, something that Council President Helena Moreno said she welcomes.

“This shouldn't be something that she deals with alone,” Council President Helena Moreno said. “This is something that we all deal with together.”

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