The DeWitt County Sheriff's Office will be starting the hiring process for two deputies and get close to fully staffed for the first time in a few years.

DeWitt County Sheriff Mike Walker indicates as he starts this process, he is concerned the pool of candidates will be extremely limited. In fact, he knows it will be limited because other hiring efforts before COVID were already challenging.

Illinois has been one of the most progressive states in rolling back protections towards police officers and the Sheriff believes that is not only turning potential officers off to the profession in Illinois but across the country.

The Sheriff grows concerned when only a few seconds to a few minutes of a very long encounter shapes the narrative of incidents involving police are how the public then perceives police. He does not blame potential officers for being hesitant about getting into law enforcement.