Deputy Sheriff

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The Deputy Sheriff is the entry level sworn peace officer class in the San Diego County Sheriff's Office. Like a police officer, a Deputy Sheriff enforces the local, state, and federal laws within their area of jurisdiction, serving the public through crime prevention and intervention, but because the Sheriff's Department serves a much larger geographical area and provides other services, like the maintenance of detention and court facilities, Deputy Sheriffs typically work in larger, less densely populated areas and have a wider variety of duties, including the supervision of detainees and security at a court.

At the San Diego Sheriff's Office, our Deputy Sheriffs work in one of three bureaus: the Law Enforcement Services Bureau, the Detention Services Bureau, and the Court Services Bureau. We therefore hire and train for two different classifications of Deputy Sheriff — Law Enforcement and Detentions/Courts:

They both undergo a similar hiring process but have different Physical Agility Test requirements and attend different academies — a 25-week academy for the Deputy Sheriff Cadets in Law Enforcement and a 16-week academy for the Deputy Sheriff Cadets in Detentions/Courts.

We also bring in Deputy Sheriffs as lateral hires from other law enforcement agencies, paying premiums for specialized skills and experience, and like the Deputy Sheriff Cadets, we hire laterals in two classifications as well — Law Enforcement and Detentions/Courts:

The biggest difference between the two classifications of Deputy Sheriff — whether they are hired as a cadet or hired as a lateral — is in where they get ultimately assigned in the Sheriff's Office. All Deputy Sheriffs in the San Diego County Sheriff's Office get the opportunity to work at a detention facility and/or in court services, but Deputy Sheriffs in Law Enforcement also eventually go on patrol.

Regardless of which path a Deputy Sheriff takes, the opportunities are endless. The command staff at the San Diego County Sheriff's Office are made up of both Law Enforcement (LE) and Detentions/Court Services sworn officers. That's why our recruiters often recommend that candidates apply to both at the same time — in the event that you fail to pass the LE version of the Physical Agility Test (PAT), you can continue with the hiring process for the Detentions/Court Services classification.

For those in Detentions/Court Services who still dream of going on patrol, we offer a Detentions-to-Law Enforcement career path as well.

Promotional Opportunities and Professional Growth

The career paths for a Deputy Sheriff in the San Diego County Sheriff's Office are numerous and far-reaching. Because the Sheriff's Office serves such a geographically large and populous county, the opportunities for promotions and transfers are more readily available than at other law enforcement agencies.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Office also offer various mentoring programs that foster career growth at all levels, among both sworn and civilian staff.