Marion County Sheriff's Office in need of more staff ahead of Community Justice Campus opening

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office wants to hire about 80 more people before a new jail opens at the Community Justice Campus at the end of the year.

If the positions are not filled by the time the jail opens, staff members will need to work overtime, said MCSO Capt. Mitch Gore. The new jail will have space to detain about 3,000 people, and Gore emphasized that the 24/7 operation needs a full staff to carry out duties.

“As in any workplace, you want attentive, vigilant, well-rested employees because those are the kinds of employees that perform their duties at optimal levels,” Gore said. “It helps to have as many eyes as possible on the jail floors of course, so a fully staffed shift is optimal for us, as one can imagine.”

The sheriff’s office has held several recruitment and hiring events in recent months, Gore said. Despite these efforts, the sheriff’s office – like other workplaces – is impacted by the national workforce shortage.

Most of the open jobs are detention deputy positions, which involve supervising and guarding jail residents. Gore said no prior experience is needed, and new recruits will be trained after they are hired.

“We really want you to be community oriented, with a passion for wanting to serve your neighbors. If we can get that, the rest we can teach you,” Gore said.

Gore said those interested in applying can go to joinMCSO.indy.gov.

Contact WFYI criminal justice reporter Katrina Pross at kpross@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @katrina_pross.

Pross is a Corps Member of Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project.