DeWitt County Sheriff's staff will receive compensation increases starting December 1, a measure the Sheriff says will help recruit and retain police officers at a time of great turnover for law enforcement across the country.

DeWitt County Sheriff Mike Walker indicates the pay increases come at an unusual time because the department currently has three years remaining on its current agreement but the increases will help keep them in line with not only the Clinton Police Department of other agencies in central Illinois.

According to Sheriff Walker, this shows the Sheriff's staff the County is working in good faith to be supportive of them. Additionally, the Sheriff says unless they hire lateral transfers, they are paying deputies for over half of a year before they can be on the streets of the County.

Sheriff Walker points out one of the other reasons they want to make sure they keep staff around is so the deputies get to know the community and the community gets to know the officers.

Sheriff Walker notes it is way more expensive to bring on a new hire and get them trained than it is to increase the wages of a current officer and provide incentives for them to stay.