Outside recruiting leaves Nevada parole agency shorthanded

Saturday, Dec. 16, 2000 | 10:06 a.m.

Dick Kirkland, director of the state Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety which oversees the parole division, says the agecy has lost 534 workers over the last four years. It's budgeted for 479 positions.

"We're losing 100 (workers) a year," Kirkland told a legislative panel Thursday, adding that at any given time there are 40 to 50 vacancies.

As a result, each officer is supervising an average of 125 persons on parole or probation, instead of the 70 as suggested by the Legislature.

To stop the large turnover, Kirkland said new employees now get 10 weeks instead of 16 weeks of training. He explained that the higher level of training equips the individuals to go to work immediately for a police agency without any additional educational effort.

With the 10 weeks of training for parole officers, "it won't be as easy for them to go to North Las Vegas (police department) or Metro (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)," Kirkland said.

The state spends anywhere from $35,000 to $50,000 giving the employees police officer training, he added.

Deputy Parole Chief Warren Lutzow said the division recently lost employees to the Clark County Juvenile Department, North Las Vegas Police and the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.