Broome County Sheriff’s Office hires 29 new corrections officers to address staffing crisis

BINGHAMTON (WBNG) -- The Broome County Sheriff’s Office hired 29 corrections officers to address a staffing crisis at the Broome County Correctional Facility.

The new officers will begin training with the corrections department on March 20.

Broome County Sheriff Fred Akshar said the department was short around 40 corrections officers when he entered office at the start of the year. Current officers have been working significant overtime to make up for the shortage, Akshar said.

Akshar said he is proud the new class is both large and diverse.

“It is the largest class this agency has seen in recent history,” said Akshar. “It is a very diverse class which we are incredibly excited about. There are seven females as well which is critically important to our day-to-day operations.”

A goal of Akshar’s upon entering office was to increase programming that has positive effects on incarcerated individuals like faith-based programming, life skills and parenting skills. He said the new influx of employees at the jail will allow for these programs to return to full force.

“The additional staff that we are hiring is going to allow us to open back up programmatic opportunities to 100%,” said Akshar.

The sheriff’s office will continue to interview new corrections officers throughout the coming weeks.

Akshar said the department plans to hire more officers in April.