Arizona county could ‘reduce’ jail population if more corrections officers don’t get vaccinated

One Arizona county may be forced to “reduce” the number of inmates being held in jails because of a new vaccine requirement for certain county employees that is affecting jail personnel.

The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted on Nov. 2 to approve a vaccine requirement for county employees who work with vulnerable populations, which includes corrections officers who are employed at the county jails.

According to the approved requirement, the deadline for employees who work with vulnerable populations to get vaccinated is Jan. 1, or their employment will be terminated.

In a memorandum to the board of supervisors, Jan Lesher, the chief deputy county administrator for Pima County outlined that if there are still a substantial number of corrections officers who are unvaccinated by Jan. 1, the jail population may need to be reduced.

“Currently we have a substantial number of corrections officers who work in the Pima County Adult Detention Center, and are therefore subject to this vaccine requirement, who are not fully vaccinated. Should this be the case on January 1, there may be fewer corrections officer, which may result in a need to reduce the [Pima County Adult Detention Center] population,” Lesher wrote. – READ MORE