LYONS, N.Y. — As departments across the country are grappling with a shortage of officers, one Finger Lakes sheriff's department is taking new steps to lighten the overtime burden on his deputies and address the shortage.

Serve and protect is a mission Deputy T.J. Radka says he takes seriously.

“We deal with people on their worst days,” Radka said. “And sometimes us showing up is exactly what they need to feel better.” 

He’s back on road patrol after being on a different assignment.

“It’s strained,” Radka said. “We’re constantly on the go. There’s very rarely any downtime, and it cuts into your family life.” 

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office is doing some restructuring to address a shortage of deputies, as seen in other departments across the country.

“It’s concerning,” Sheriff Robert Milby said. “But from what I see from the residents, especially here in Wayne County, I believe it’ll bounce back.” 

Milby says deputies are now working 12-hour shifts, which will cut down on overtime and spread out coverage more evenly.

“They’ll work for three days in a row, have a couple days off, they’ll work another couple days then they’ll have three days off," Milby said. "So it’s a rotating schedule that affords them more time away from the job, more time at home with their families, more time to re-energize.”

Milby says they’re currently at about 50 deputies, 20 short of where he’d like to be. But with some being trained and recruiting underway, he hopes this won’t last forever.

“This is just a temporary fix to a temporary problem,” Milby said. “We do have officers now who are in their field training programs, and they should end up available to work on their own towards the end of November.”

Radka says he’s no stranger to 12-hour shifts.

“It’s a long time, so I’m hoping that this will kind of eliminate the amount of overtime these deputies are working,” Radka said.

And less mandated overtime will hopefully mean a safer community.

“Do you want a deputy to show up that’s been working 14 hours, or do you want that deputy that just got a good night’s sleep to handle your calls? Especially in a critical incident,” Radka said.

And it’s the community that keeps him going.

“When you have a random stranger, I’ve never met him before, and to have an interaction with him like that is huge to say stay safe, be safe,” Radka said.