STUART, Fla. — Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said the agency is facing a critical hiring shortage across the board, from dispatchers to deputies on the street.
"Dispatch here at the sheriff's office is one of our most critical functions, and we are facing a critical shortage as we speak," Snyder said.
Snyder said the sheriff's office budgets for 34 dispatch positions. Out of those, 13 are now open.
"These are unprecedented shortages," Snyder said. "We are actually struggling to keep our mission in dispatch functioning.”
Dispatchers said on a busy day, they make take close to 100 calls for help. With nearly half of the staff missing, keeping up becomes a challenge.
"We now have mandatory overtime, we have to draw from other elements to plug holes," said Snyder, who added he's now worried about burnout for his dispatchers. "Every day a dispatcher goes in, puts a headset on, and starts answering 911 calls, it's a stressful day. And then to add on that mandatory overtime, we’re all worried about [burnout]. We have meetings about it all the time."
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Snyder said the open positions go beyond just dispatch. The agency has 13 open positions for sworn law enforcement officers, 15 open positions for corrections officers, and eight open positions for school crossing guards.
"This is a big industry and this is a public safety nightmare if I can't get adequate staffing," Snyder said.
Snyder said he's now working hard to recruit more qualified candidates.
"We're working very hard on recruitment, we just increased their pay," he said. "Their pay is now just below a starting deputy, so we think we’ll be competitive."
St. Lucie County also has several openings.
According to the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office, they have 14 openings for sworn law enforcement officers and nine openings for detention officers.
In the county, there are 20 dispatch positions open, which the county's Public Information Officer Erick Gill said is about 20% of their total positions.
"I think our shortages are for the same reason that other parts of our industry are facing shortages," Snyder said. "There’s a general feeling in the country, a kind of an antipathy towards law enforcement, an anti-police bias. The whole profession is under some pressure."
Snyder also said he believes the job market itself is also playing a factor.
"Unemployment is at historic lows, and there are still unfilled jobs everywhere, so every industry is struggling to get more people," he said.
For the Tonucci family in Stuart, it's an issue that hits home. Both Art Tonucci and his son A.J. have had their lives saved thanks to first responders, including dispatchers.
"It was January 25, 2020," said A.J. Tonucci. "I had a drug overdose."
“February. February 29, 2023," said Art Tonucci. "In my case, after suffering heart failure, my life was clearly saved. We both have two incidents that were live saving for each of us that were the results of the first responders, the dispatchers."
In A.J.'s case, Art said he and his wife, Ann, came home to find A.J. unresponsive on the floor. When they tried Narcan, it didn't work, prompting them to call 911 frantically.
"It was panic city, I had my son on the floor, not responding to anything, it was terrible. Firefighters with Station 18 were here in seconds along with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office and to our amazement and happiness A.J. revived," Art Tonucci said.
In the father's case, he got a notification on his Apple watch that he may be going into heart failure. His wife immediately called 911.
"In literally three, four, five minutes firemen were at the door," said Art Tonucci.
Art Tonucci said doctors later told him seconds made the difference between life and death that day.
"Dispatchers play such a vital role that they answer that phone immediately," he said.
And it's not just how quickly they answer the phone, but how calmly.
"You're the calm when someone needs that help," said Sgt. Duleo, a deputy who oversees the Martin County Dispatch Center. "Thing about dispatchers, when someone is having the worst day of their life, they’re going to call, and they’re going to get a dispatcher."
Ann Tonucci, Art's wife and A.J.'s mother, can attest to that. She's the one who dialed 911 both times.
"She knew what to do, what to say," said Ann Tonucci.
She was grateful for that dispatcher, and for all of them.
"Thank you. You saved my son's life," said Ann Tonucci.
"I'm absolutely grateful for this second chance that I got," added A.J. Tonucci, now three years sober.
"The Martin County system, I can only describe it as awesome," said Art Tonucci, thinking of what could have happened if not for the dispatchers. "It's very clear, my wife would have been a widow and she would have lost her son.”
All three said they have faith the Martin County Sheriff's Office will hire qualified people, and Snyder said he believes with the round-the-clock recruiting and pay increase, he will turn it around.
"We can"t do less. We have a job to do," said Snyder.
If you believe you are a qualified candidate for a position in Martin County, click here.
