I’ve been told there are over 9,000 unfilled police and deputy sheriff positions in California. Here in this county, it is several hundred. Agencies are trying everything under the sun to attract recruits. There seems to be lots of applications, but it’s very hard to meet the background, character and training requirements to get hired. And the bar must be high because the public puts a great deal of trust and authority into the hands of its law enforcement. So how do we get the right people interested in such a career? I know they’re out there, but we have not yet found the way to get their attention. In the meantime, short staffing is causing overtime costs to skyrocket just to cover bare bones shifts and the people who are required to work those extra hours are getting burned out and need a break.