Busy week highlights seasonal struggles for Shoshone County sheriff

WALLACE — It was a busy Memorial Day week for the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office — for all the wrong reasons.

Between 67 traffic stops, four serious motor vehicle accidents, multiple Life Flights and a shooting, the holiday highlighted two major problems for the small agency: overcrowding and understaffing.

Patrol Capt. Seth Green manages the patrol division for the SCSO, which becomes a monumental task when the summer camping season begins.

“We’ve been told on some occasions that people come here to recreate without a heavy law enforcement presence,” Green said. “When thousands of people come here every weekend and we only have 17 full-time road deputies, it just overloads our system.”

Green explained that this creates scenarios where deputies respond to calls alone, instead of being able to call in and rely on backup.

“Unfortunately, with low staffing, it creates very dangerous situations for our deputies,” Green said. “Situations like domestic calls, or situations involving alcohol, can be very dangerous to walk into alone. And these are happening regularly.”

Among other calls, deputies responded to a reported shooting in a remote area of Shoshone County near the G and G Riverstop. In this case, the shooting was deemed an accident, and the victim is expected to make a full recovery, Green said.

“During the summer and these holiday weekends we expect higher-than-normal calls for service,” Green said. “We welcome all to our wonderful county to recreate, but we insist on people following the law while they are here.”