In the past four weeks at the Richmond City Justice Center, one deputy had his shoulder dislocated after he was thrown to the ground while trying to stop two prisoners from assaulting another inmate.

Another deputy was head-butted by an inmate after refusing to provide the inmate with another prisoner’s food tray, according to information provided to the Free Press.

In addition, the Free Press has learned another inmate was stabbed during this period, apparently the fourth this year. And early Monday, the jail reported to Richmond Police the third death of an inmate this year, though the identification was not released.

For the second time since late October, an inmate who was transported to the John Marshall Courts Building was found to be carrying a concealed blade, according to information provided to the newspaper.

While incidents like these don’t occur daily, as Sheriff Antionette V. Irving has previously said, the dangers inside the jail appear to be increasing in large part because the number of sworn personnel in her department continues to shrink.

Alarmed, 8th District City Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell, chair of council’s Public Safety Committee, Tuesday filed a formal request with Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin’s administration for a probe of the sheriff’s operations.

In June, Sheriff Irving reported to Ms. Trammell’s committee that she had 160 vacancies. Six months later, vacancies had risen to 175 deputy positions, with more resignations expected, the Free Press has been told.

Sheriff Irving has not responded to a Free Press request for comment on recent incidents at the jail or about staffing levels.

However, the Free Press has learned that the sheriff ordered eight deputies to take polygraphs beginning Tuesday to determine if they provided information about jail conditions to outsiders and is prepared to fire them if they do not pass.

Her effort to maintain strict control of information comes as the total number of sworn employees appears to have fallen to 289, according to internal information the Free Press received on condition of anonymity.

According to a 14-year employee, a major reason is that the sheriff rarely allows deputies to swear out warrants against inmates for attacks on deputies or other inmates. “I left when a friend of mine was assaulted, and nothing happened to the inmate,” said the deputy who spoke on condition of not being named.

He said that deputies who remain are reluctant to leave because their pay has soared due to the mandatory overtime they are working. “Some are doubling their regular pay, and it’s hard to give that up,” he said.

Still, 289 deputies “are too few to provide even minimum staffing,” said William J. Burnett, a Richmond Police officer who previously oversaw jail operations for 11 years for C.T. Woody Jr., Sheriff Irving’s predecessor. Officer Burnett unsuccessfully challenged Sheriff Irving in 2021 in a Democratic primary.

According to Officer Burnett, who plans to challenge the sheriff again in 2025, Sheriff Woody needed about 400 deputies to handle the workload.

In overseeing jail operations, Officer Burnett said he needed a minimum of 190 deputies to provide 24-hour coverage and allow for vacations, illnesses, family leave and other absences.

He said there were usually 35 deputies at roll call for each shift at the jail when he was in charge. “Today, deputies are lucky if 10 show up to roll call besides the supervisor,” he said. “At times, there may be only two or three deputies at the most, including the supervisor, to patrol the floors.”

Officer Burnett said the 190 deputies were only part of the force at the jail when he was there. He said that 80 to 90 other deputies were assigned to the lockup to handle booking and release of inmates; to provide protection for the kitchen and laundry operations, and to transport inmates to and from the jail, hospital or other locations.

Just as important, he said that 80 to 90 deputies were separately assigned to courthouse security, while 12 to 20 others were assigned to serve subpoenas and court papers in civil cases and to handle evictions.

Given the current staffing, he said, booking people that police arrest can tie up officers for hours because only two or three people may be on duty. He said landlords and apartment owners also are having to wait extra days or even weeks to evict tenants because no deputies are available to supervise removal.

As for the jail, Officer Burnett said that Sheriff Irving has had no choice but to have mandatory overtime to have some deputies available. He said deputies also are under more stress because of the increased risks.

“The most important thing for deputies is to know that it is safe when you’re coming to work and that you can leave in the same condition you came. That’s number one, more important than pay,” he said. “But that is no longer the case.”

Sheriff Irving, who easily won her second four-year term in the November 2021 elections after her primary win over Officer Burnett, also has frustrated families who are concerned about the risks to their relatives who are locked up.

Betty Turner-Wilson expressed shock and dismay at the dangers in the jail in a Facebook post on Nov. 28. “My son is in medical right now from being jumped and shanked at Richmond City Jail,” she wrote.

Tyedell Morman also is angry that his brother, Romelo S. Aleong, was scalded with hot bleach on his upper body on Nov. 15. Mr. Aleong has required multiple surgeries as doctors at the VCU Medical Center seek to repair the burn damage he suffered.

“How could this happen? How is it possible someone could get bleach and heat it up so it could be used as a weapon?” Mr. Morman said. “When you go into the jail, you’re not supposed to be attacked. Deputies are supposed to prevent what happened to my brother. It’s just wrong.”