In recent years, law enforcement has been one of the most challenging industries for recruitment and hiring. Between 2019 and 2023, law enforcement hiring nationwide saw a 40% increase in job openings and a 39% decrease in applicants per job, creating unprecedented recruitment challenges.

These trends deeply impacted King County’s Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention (DAJD), which experienced a rise in vacancies—from 19 in 2020 to 120 Corrections Officer (CO) vacancies by early 2024—despite record-setting hiring years in 2022 and 2023. The department also saw a high vacancy rate for Juvenile Detention Officers (JDOs), creating ongoing operational stress and over-reliance on overtime.

Overtime for Corrections Officers, which historically was targeted at no more than 10% of total hours worked, was between 20-30% for the previous two years. Excessive overtime was often cited as a reason for leaving in exit interviews.

​The vacancies also impacted residents and their families, as well other agencies that rely on DAJD services, with visitation, programming, officer training, and many other areas affected.

“Recruiting, hiring, developing, and maintaining an effective workforce is one of the most essential areas of focus for the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention,” DAJD Director Allen Nance said.

DAJD knew that it needed to try some new recruiting tactics if it was going to fill its vacant positions—and for its efforts, DAJD’s Closing the Officer Vacancy Gap project is the winner of the 2024 Best-Run Government Innovation Award for People.

To meet the urgent need for staff, the DAJD team rapidly scaled its recruitment and onboarding efforts:

• They implemented data-driven tools like NEOGOV Insight to track candidate progress, identify bottlenecks, and prioritize high-potential applicants.
• Weekly HR scrums and check-ins with the backgrounding and training units were introduced to manage the large volume of applicants and new hires efficiently.
• ​A dedicated Sergeant was assigned to drive outreach, not just at job fairs, but through 1:1 outreach, including offering facility tours where information is shared both about the job and how to navigate the hiring process successfully.
• Outreach was expanded using “geo-fencing” to target candidates, facility tours, targeted events, and other tools.
• New onboarding models and academy partnerships enabled faster ramp-up and training, while collaboration with labor partners resulted in referral bonuses, hiring incentives, and improved training support.

Thanks to these and other efforts, DAJD was able to accelerate hiring and bring new, talented staff into the department. In 2024 alone, DAJD hired 102 COs and 34 JDOs, surpassing prior records. They also led to improved retention of staff, with first-year attrition of Corrections Officers falling to under 16% in 2024, down significantly from previous years.

DAJD’s success also resulted in greater diversity at the department, with people of color now making up 65% of COs (up from 44% in 2021), 78% of JDOs, and 61% of all DAJD staff.

“I am so proud of this team whose individual and collective efforts prioritize this work,” Director Nance said. “They are data-driven, focused on results, and have used creative strategies to attract high quality candidates to do the important work to safely and securely manage people in custody. The team is mission-driven and delivers on their promise and commitment to close the vacancy gap at DAJD!”

While staffing pressures remain, DAJD has made major progress. The JDO vacancy gap has closed, and with continued momentum, the team hopes to make significant progress in closing the remaining vacancy gaps by the end of 2025.

Congratulations to all the people involved in the Closing the Officer Vacancy Gap project: Project Team: MJ Wheble, Jaclyn Smith, Jacob Black, Ursula Mole, Jennifer Eugene, Jasna Rustempasic, Johnson Chao, Darren Stewart, Jennifer Schneider, Kyle Williams, Mark Hanning, Ernesto Vazquez, Fred Graves, Joshua Bott, Marc Divina, Takisha Logwood, Donald Moen, Moses Irungu, Matthew Lewis, Eleanore Batchison, and Jack Valdez.

Your work has helped DAJD and King County ensure that we’re continuing to recruit dedicated, talented professionals who care about the people in their care, their loved ones, and one another.

View all the Best Run Government Award recipients here.