Outside Review of Dane County Sheriff's Office Complete
July 16, 2010
Joshua Wescott, Office of the County Executive, 267-8823 or Elise Schaeffer, Dane County Sheriff's Office, 284-6142.
County Executive
Matrix Consulting Conducts Staffing Study, Offers Series of Recommendations
A recently completed outside review of the Dane County Sheriff’s Office offers a number of recommendations for county policymakers to consider.
That analysis, conducted by Matrix Consulting Group, is the result of a 2008 agreement between the Sheriff and County Executive to perform a staffing study of the Dane County Sheriff’s Office. The study started in late 2009 and was completed this week.
County Executive Kathleen Falk and Sheriff Dave Mahoney are reviewing the 250-page analysis and the series of recommendations offered by Matrix as a way to ensure the Sheriff’s Office is operating at the highest level of efficiency and effectiveness.
Falk said she will work with Sheriff Mahoney and the county board on reviewing and implementing the recommendations of the report.
“For example, the review found that Sheriff Deputies respond to almost five times as many calls at 5 p.m. rush hour as they do at 5 a.m. but the same number of deputies are on patrol at both times,” Falk said. “That’s something we want to take a good look at to ensure we’re deploying our team of nearly 500 sheriff’s employees the smartest way possible.”
“For the men and women of the Dane County Sheriff's Office and for me as Sheriff, public safety is job one. We are dedicated to fighting crime, to keeping our roads and communities safe, and to providing the most professional service possible to the people of Dane County. The commitment won't change as long as I am your Sheriff. My responsibility is twofold: to ensure the Dane County Sheriff's Office has the resources it needs to meet our obligation of public safety and to look at the big picture and determine when change is necessary in order to meet the demands of changing times,” said Sheriff David Mahoney.
“Furthermore, As with any report of this length and complexity, there are ideas and conclusions in the study that I agree with, that I disagree with, and that I want to further evaluate. I agree that we should examine and evaluate technologies that will increase effectiveness and efficiency of our deputies on patrol. I disagree that by decreasing investigative detectives that our response to domestic violence and our long standing reputation of victims service will not be critically hampered. And I think we should take a long look at increased methods of cost effectiveness in the wake of the economic climate in Dane County.”
The Dane County Sheriff’s Office has an annual budget of around $63-million.
Matrix Consulting Group is the same firm hired by the Dane County Board for a 2009 outside review of the Dane County Public Safety Communications Department (911 Center).
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