Dallas County Sheriff's Office law enforcement were recently honored by commissioners.
They recognized National Correctional Officers and Detention Services Week from May 5 to11 as well as National Police Week, May 12 to 18.
Dallas County Sheriff’s Office staffs 1,434 correctional professionals.
Commissioner John Wiley Price said exact staff numbers are intentional.
"Those 1,400 officers — they are not a number we pull out of the air," he said. "That is a prescription from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards that says that based on the authorization of that facility, 7,100 is the capacity, that we will have a 1 to 48 ratio. One officer for 48 custody at all times."
Nineteen deputies and three detention service officers have died while serving since the sheriff's office was formed.
"Unfortunately, that jail adult system is larger than 80% of the cities in this state with 254 counties," Price said.
Chief Deputy Fredrick Mark Robinson, who oversees detention services, accepted the honor for the sheriff's office alongside Assistant Chief Deputy Eddy Herrera, who leads the Investigative Services Bureau General Services.
"A lot of people don't understand the difficulties of detention officers in doing this job," Robinson said. "We thank you for this acknowledgment. These officers do a fantastic job in such difficult situations. So, thank you."
Commissioner Price said in court that holding males and females in custody complicates an already difficult job.
"While the public never understands what really goes on, I want to thank you guys because between juggling classification and gender it’s a real challenge," he said.
The fallen detention service officers memorial was May 3.
A fallen deputies memorial will be at 10 a.m. on Peace Officer’s Memorial Day, May 15, at Founders Plaza, 600 Elm St. in Dallas.
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