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Guilford County looks to fill dozens of detention officer vacancies

Guilford County Sheriff's Office is hiring. The agency has a dire need for detention officers. Photo: Screenshot from the Guilford County Sheriff's Office Facebook page.

The Guilford County Sheriff's Office says it is in dire need of detention staff and is boosting recruitment efforts to fill numerous positions.

Currently the department has 65 vacancies. Some officers expressed concerns over pay and staffing at a recent county commissioners meeting.

These positions manage the safety and care of inmates and help oversee the county's jail facilities in Greensboro and High Point.

The agency is stepping up recruitment measures to attract more interest. That includes outreach on social media and providing a $5,000 signing bonus.

Last year, the Guilford County Commissioners approved an across-the-board five percent raise for county employees. This and a step increase model for the sheriff's department boosted starting pay for these positions. 

The new minimum starting salary with no experience is more than $40,600. Those with 15 years of experience would see a starting salary of nearly $57,000. Extra pay incentives are also available for having a college degree, speaking a foreign language or military service.

Captain David Pruitt says an information session was held earlier this week and more are being planned.

“We are asking anybody, even if you haven't applied and you are just interested in learning more about a career as a detention officer to please come," says Pruitt.

The next information event will take place on August 31 from 6-8 p.m. at the Sheriff's Office Administrative Building on West Washington Street in Greensboro.

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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