Suffolk Sheriff Open House Off Due To COVID-19, Retirements

YAPHANK, NY — The Suffolk County Sheriff's office is postponing its Open House and Family Day at the Yaphank Jail on Oct. 3 due to staff constraints at the correctional facility, as a result of infections among staff and an increase in retirements, a spokesman said.

Sheriff Errol Toulon's office is "navigating the turbulent waters of this wave of the pandemic," as the numbers of residents currently infected with COVID-19 continuing to rise, and "the delta variant is proving to be highly contagious," according to a news release.

"As a result of [COVID-19] infections among staff and an increase in retirements, we are presently facing staff constraints at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility," the news release stated.

"The Sheriff’s Office Open House and Family Day is an extremely popular event that is attended by thousands of people," the statement continues, adding, "This requires a large amount of staff members to run it safely and effectively; staff members that, due to the staffing shortage, we simply do not have. Therefore, we must postpone the event until next year."

The Sheriff’s office is currently recruiting new correction officers for its facilities in Riverhead and Yaphank to address the staffing shortage, according to the release. The Civil Service exam for the position will be given Nov. 13. The deadline to register to take this exam is Sept. 29. For more information, go to SuffolkSheriff.com.