By Julie Poppen
The Rocky Mountain News
ARAPAHOE, Co. — Sgt. Shauna Volz launches into the 2:30 p.m. briefing at the start of another 10-hour shift at the Arapahoe County Jail.
Newly hired Sheriff’s Deputy Anthony Daly and 25 other employees are waiting.
At 4 a.m., a milk deliveryman noticed that a plastic crate had been damaged near the handle, Volz reports. Staff worry that an inmate broke it to make a crude weapon. Deputies are told to be on the lookout.
Another inmate is on suicide watch because he has been overheard saying he is going to die today.
Volz praises Daly and two others for busting cellmates with hooch — booze made from juice, sugar, bread and fruit hoarded from lunch and fermented in plastic bags.
Daly, who was sworn in in August, is in the vanguard of a wave of people beginning law enforcement careers. Arapahoe County is planning to hire 25 more detention deputies early next year.
For Daly, being a deputy in his home county gives him a sense of accomplishment.
He took criminal justice courses as he bounced between Colorado State University and Metropolitan State College of Denver, but he never earned a degree.
Daly fell into real estate — his parents’ profession. At 28, though, he decided to quit and undergo the testing required to become a deputy. He was certified as a peace officer at Community College of Aurora. The process took about a year.
“It can get grueling,” he said. “But the end result is worth it.”
Daly was hired at a starting salary of $40,800, working four shifts a week and some overtime.
Now 29, he hopes eventually to work in the canine, SWAT, narcotics and investigations units.
He envisions a 30-year career and figures there’s no better place to start than at the jail.
“If you can handle a day room with 60 people by yourself, I think you can handle about any situation on the street,” he said.
Interpersonal skills are essential, since guns are left at the door. He carries a flashlight, a radio, keys and pepper spray.
During a recent shift, Daly is asked to check an inmate’s tattoos. There are three dots on one of the man’s hands. The inmate denies any gang affiliation.
“You have to be conscious of what is going on around you ... The absolute goal at the end of the day is to make it home safely,” he said.
Copyright 2007 Rocky Mountain News