— Current and former employees of the Wake County Sheriff’s Office are raising concerns about the number of deputies available to answer calls on any given shift and the impact that has on public safety.

“The staffing there has become critical. There are not enough officers assigned to patrol. There are not enough officers to respond to the calls,” former sheriff’s Lt. Steve Hale said.

Payroll data obtained by WRAL Investigates showed 997 employees in the Wake County Sheriff’s Office as of Feb. 28 – 42 fewer employees than on Oct. 31, which was a week before Sheriff Gerald Baker defeated longtime Sheriff Donnie Harrison in the November election.

The payroll data shows most of the employee losses are among patrol deputies and detention officers, something Hale said he hears about from those on the inside.

"It's enormously top heavy," he said of the sheriff's office structure. "The senior ranks have increased, the executive positions have increased, but the number of officers available to answer calls has decreased.”

Hale said that’s concerning, especially with the county’s growing population and increased traffic.

“It's hard to envision a community where your law enforcement resources are dwindling and that somehow does not affect the safety of the community," he said.

Baker on Thursday attributed the small number of employees to "some reorganizations and some changes," and he said those changes have not put officers and the public at a greater risk.

"They are not, and that’s what I’m saying to you," he said.

WRAL Investigates also received a recent resignation letter from a deputy who raised the same concerns as Hale.

"As with any change of Sheriff, changes are to be expected. Unfortunately, several changes in procedures and policies put forth by Sheriff Baker have made an inherently dangerous job more dangerous," the deputy, who didn't want to be identified, wrote in her resignation letter. "These practices run counter to what the profession has learned about officer safety over the last 20 years. I owe it to myself and my family to further my career in an organization that places value on the citizens and the people that are tasked in carrying out its mission."

Baker downplayed the reasons behind the deputy's resignation, saying, “She’s not in a position to make a statement concerning this entire organization and office.”

He chalked up patrol complaints to disgruntled staff opposed to reorganization, which he said is ongoing.

Hale, who worked for the sheriff’s office from 1977 through 2003, went through two transitions at the top, and, to him, the firings, demotions and promotions under Baker are unprecedented.

“No one’s done this," Hale said. "It’s not necessary.”

"This is not the Gerald Baker I know,” he added, noting that he supervised Baker in the 1990s and found him to be quiet, competent, complaint-free and a deputy who always completed his reports on time.

“He was a good deputy, very good deputy,” Hale said.

Baker said he leans on his past experience as a deputy when making staffing and scheduling decisions.

“I'm very conscious of that [patrol] division," he said. "I've worked it two or three different tours. I understand it. I know what it takes to make sure that those calls are getting answered.”

Eighteen freshly minted deputies will help fill out the ranks, he said, and he plans to request more positions from the county Board of Commissioners in the next budget.

"I know exactly what I'm doing, and I understand information you're getting are from some folks who are not happy. I realize that, too, but we're moving forward," he said.

Hale said he's going to give Baker the benefit of the doubt because of his past experience with him, but he remains baffled about safety and staffing concerns he’s hearing about from current members of the sheriff's office.

“He does not have, in my view, he does not potentially have the proper information to make decisions about the staffing and patrol," he said. “I'm very concerned. This is family. These are women and men that wear body armor to work. It's an inherently dangerous job, and we're making it more dangerous, and it has become more dangerous because there are fewer officers to respond.”