WESTOVER, Md. — The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office resumed around the clock patrols throughout the county Thursday, ending a nearly four-month period where the agency did not have any patrols during the weekend.
The office announced that starting April 30, they would be pausing patrols from 7 a.m. Saturdays to 7 a.m. Mondays due to staffing issues. On August 7, the agency confirmed they would be bringing the full-time patrols back on August 20 after “several positive hiring developments,” according to a press release.
Somerset County Sheriff Ronnie Howard said that the Somerset County Commissioners worked with the Sheriff’s Office to adjust the budget in an effort to attract high-quality candidates for hire.
“The commissioners have been very good to work with. They increased the starting salaries and benefits package for the deputies, and we were fortunate to have some certified officers from other jurisdictions apply and they will be joining our ranks here very soon,” Howard said.
The sheriff’s office said they have laterally hired one deputy with the ability to hire two more, hired three deputies currently in the police academy who will join in April 2027, and got two deputies back from extended medical leave.
Howard said the community felt the absence of the patrols.
“I had spoken to some business owners probably when we were 24/5 and they said they definitely missed the coverage and they were quite frequently asked, ‘Sheriff, when do you think we’re going back?'” Howard said. “And I stressed to them, I said, it depends on our manpower, the applicants, and once we can hire from that.”
The sheriff added that his staff were getting stretched thin from the months before the increase in staffing.
“The deputies are saying to overtime was nice, but it was it was starting to get to them. The stress of it. And they are very excited about going back to 24/7 and the additional help that we’ve recently hired,” Howard said. “They’re very excited and very appreciative that we’re able to go back to that.”
Community members shared their reactions to the patrol resumptions with WMDT.
Chris Weimer, the general manager of Happi Daze in Princess Anne, said that the business is in a safe area, but the extra eyes coming through are always welcome.
“As a business, Happi Daze doesn’t have that concern for the safety just because we’ve got such a secure premises, but knowing the community has extra eyes, who wouldn’t want that?” Weimer said.
Heather Ross, the executive director for the Crisfield Area Chamber of Commerce, said that for their members and local business owners, having added patrol coverage is important.
“Business owners, they take pride in their business, and they work hard for what they have. Community members, we all contribute to this community. So, we just want to make sure that everything’s on the up and up and hold people accountable for anything that they might not do that’s right,” Ross said.
