The City of Shelby will be getting some extra law enforcement help from Shelby County, through the addition of a part-time Sheriff’s Deputy. The hiring of a deputy was approved last week by the County’s Board of Supervisors. Once hired, the individual will increase protection to the City of Shelby, provide more District Court security, and assisting with the transporting of mental health patients and criminals. The Sheriff’s Office received 11 applications for the position. The next step begins on Friday, with a State required written test for those applicants. Shelby County Sheriff Mark Hervey says he spoke with the Shelby City Council for several months about the need to add a part-time deputy.

Hervey says they City has asked for additional patrols within the City. He says his deputies  currently put in 4-hours per week in addition to the 24-hour coverage. The extra hours are accomplished by those deputies putting in overtime. Hervey says the added patrol in the area is because Shelby has had more calls for law enforcement. The Sheriff says if the applicants who test on Friday score a certain percentage on the written exam, they will perform the agility test that same day, as well. If the applicant passes both the written and physical exam, the top three candidates will be interviewed by Hervey and the Chief Deputy Sheriff. Two finalists will be picked and sent to Des Moines for psychological testing. 

Hervey says as the Sheriff, he does feel added pressure to hire the right candidate for deputy sheriff. He says “Being the deputy sheriff for Shelby County is a great responsibility,” and they always look for the best candidate. Hervey says if they pick a candidate who is not certified by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy, that candidate has to go to Des Moines for several more weeks of training, so it’s quite a process.”  The Sheriff says out of the 11 applicants, two are certified through the Iowa Law Enforcement academy, and will not have to take the written or physical tests. The person ultimately selected for the position will be required to reside in Shelby. The County will split the wages and benefits paid to that individual, subject to wage and benefit increases, with the City of Shelby, and will postpone replacing an existing vehicle until next year.

(Joel McCall/KNOD – Harlan)