How to Become a Deputy Sheriff in Washington

King County
Kitsap County
Pierce William
Snohomish County
Thurston County

King County Sheriff Department Jobs

The King County Sheriff’s Office has over 1000 employees serving residents of the unincorporated areas and twelve contract cities. Sheriff Deputies even provide such high-tech services as bomb disposal and helicopter services. Here is a listing of all the steps on how to become a Sheriff Deputy in King County.

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7 Steps to Become a Sheriff Deputy in King County:

Meet the Basic Qualifications
Submit Your Application and Take Written and Physical Examinations
Interview
Mentoring (voluntary)
Background Check
Interview, Medical/Psychological and Polygraph Examinations
Attend Sheriff’s Academy for Training

Step 1. Meet the Basic Qualifications for King County Sheriff Deputy Candidacy

To be considered for King County Sheriff Deputy jobs, you must meet certain requirements:

You must be a U.S. citizen when you apply.
You must be fluent in English.
You must be at least 20 years old when you apply and 21 on the date you are hired.
You must be able to obtain a driver’s license for Washington State if you do not have one.
Your must have a high school diploma or GED equivalent.
You cannot have any of the following convictions:
- Felony convictions as an adult
- Misdemeanor convictions as an adult involving crimes or violence or theft
- Crimes related to sex
- Soliciting a prostitute
- Possessing alcohol as a minor within the past three years
- Any drug crime as an adult
- DUI within the past 10 years
- More than one DUI
- Hit and Run
- Attempting to Elude
- First degree Negligent or Reckless Driving within the past 5 years
- Domestic violence
You cannot have used the following drugs within the past 10 years:
- Marijuana more than 25 times as an adult
- Hallucinogens (excluding mushrooms), Ecstasy, GHB, methamphetamine, cocaine, or opiates
- Illegally used controlled substances 4 or more times (including marijuana)
- If used under 21 years of age, you cannot have used mushrooms or marijuana within the past 5 years.
- If used after 21 years of age, you cannot have used mushrooms or marijuana within the past 3 years.
You cannot have used any drugs illegally:
- While you were employed in a capacity involving criminal justice
- After you had submitted any law enforcement application
- Any injections of cocaine, methamphetamine, amphetamines, heroin, valium, or barbiturates
You cannot have ever used false pretenses to obtain a prescription.
You cannot have ever cultivated or manufactured illegal drugs to sell or distribute them.

Step 2. Submit Your Application and Take Written and Physical Examinations

You must submit your application on-line at National Testing Network. You should also schedule a time to take the physical and written tests. Be sure that location you pick offers both the physical and written tests for Washington State. You have the option of taking the tests on separate days or on the same day.

The psychical test and the report writing segment of the written test are pass or fail. For the video segment, you must get a score of at least 65%. Your score on the written segment must be at least 70%.

Step 3. Interview

Once you have passed the physical and written tests, you will receive an e-mail with an invitation to eSOPH. This contains the paperwork that is needed for your background check. After you have submitted your documents and you have nothing on your record that would disqualify you, Personnel will contact you to schedule an interview. You normally get 3 to 4 weeks notice for this.

The interview will be given by a three member panel consisting of detects, deputies, and possibly sergeants. You will be evaluated on these criteria:

Background
Communication skills
Community involvement
Integrity
Experience
Interpersonal skills
Motivation
Problem Solving

If you are a veteran seeking preference points, you should bring your DD-214 to the interview.

Step 4. Mentoring (voluntary)

Your scores from the Interview will be combined with those of the video segment of the written test. After you have achieved a high enough score, you will be placed on an eligibility list.

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Kitsap County Sheriff Department Jobs

The Deputy Sheriffs of Kitsap County have had a hand in helping to decrease crime according to an analysis of the crime index that looked at crime rates in comparison to the number of deputy sheriff jobs in the county.

Here you’ll find a listing of the steps to take to join these deputy sheriffs and help to fight crime in Kitsap County:

Meet the Basic Qualifications
Written Examination
Physical Agility
Interview
Background Check and Polygraph Examination
Medical and Psychological Examination
Attend Law Enforcement Academy for Training

Step 1. Meet the Basic Qualifications for Kitsap County Sheriff Deputy Candidacy

Here are the requirements you must meet to be considered for a position as Deputy Sheriff in Kitsap County:

You must have completed 2 years of accredited college (at least 60 semester hours or 90 quarter credits)
You must be a U.S. citizen.
You must have a driver’s license that is valid in Washington State by the time you are employed.
You must be at least 21 years old.
You must be fluent in English.

Step 2. Written Examination

Once it has been determined that you meet the basic requirements to become a deputy sheriff in Kitsap County, you will take a written civil service examination to assess your basic reading, writing, and mathematical skills.

Step 3. Physical Agility

After you have passed your written examination, you will take a physical agility test to demonstrate that you have the physical fortitude to become a law enforcement officer in Washington State.

Step 4. Interview

Once you have passed your physical agility test, you will be interviewed to help determine if you are a suitable candidate to be a deputy sheriff in Kitsap County. Your demeanor, appearance, and level of confidence will be assessed.

Step 5. Background Check and Polygraph Examination

After you have convinced your interviewers that you are a good candidate, your background will be thoroughly investigated by the department. This will involve examining your:

Credit history
Criminal history
Employment history
Driving records

Your references will be interviewed, along with your family, friends, and neighbors. You will also be examined with a lie detector to ensure that you have been truthful in your responses.

Step 6. Medical and Psychological Examination

After you have passed your background check and polygraph examination, you will have to meet the medical and physical requirements of the Law Enforcement Officers’ and Fire Fighters’ Retirement System (LEOFF) Plan 2.

This will involve being examined by a physician who is familiar with the necessary standards. You will also be examined by a psychologist to ensure that you are in good enough mental health to withstand the stresses of a law enforcement position.

Step 7. Attend Law Enforcement Academy for Training

Once you have been found physically and mentally fit to become a deputy sheriff in Kitsap County, you will be trained at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission Basic Law Enforcement Academy in Burien. This will involve 720 hours of training in

Communication skills
Criminal investigation
Criminal law and procedures
Crisis intervention
Cultural awareness
Defensive tactics
Emergency vehicle operations
Firearms
Patrol procedures
Traffic enforcement

Pierce County Sheriff Department Jobs

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department is the second largest such agency in the state. 329 officers in law enforcement serve a population of over 813,000 people.

Here you’ll find information on how to become a Sheriff Deputy in Pierce County.

7 Steps to Become a Sheriff Deputy in Pierce County:

Meet the Basic Qualifications
Submit Your Application
Written and Physical Examinations
Interviews
Polygraph Examination
Background Check
Medical and Psychological Examinations
Attend Sheriff’s Academy for Training

Step 1. Meet the Basic Qualifications for Pierce County Sheriff Deputy Candidacy

To be considered for Pierce County Sheriff Deputy jobs, you must meet certain requirements:

You must be a U.S. citizen.
You must have a high school diploma or GED.
You must have a driver’s license from Washington State.
You must be fluent in English.

Step 2. Submit Your Application

You must apply online to become a Sheriff Deputy in Pierce County.

Step 3. Written and Physical Examinations

Once your application has been accepted, you will have to take a three part written examination. It consists of:

Reading Comprehension
Report Writing
Video Test

The physical fitness examination includes:

Push-ups
Sit-ups
Running
- 300 meters
- 1.5 miles

Step 4. Interviews

After you passed all of the components of the examinations, you will be scheduled for two interviews to determine whether or not you are a suitable candidate to become a Sheriff Deputy in Pierce County.

The first interview is with the person who will be conducting a background investigation. You will be asked a number of questions to that will be helpful for the second interview and your polygraph examination. This process will determine whether or not you meet the minimum qualifications to become a Sheriff Deputy in Pierce County.

Once you have passed your pre-oral interview, you will then be interviewed by a panel of three people from the Sheriff’s Department. This interview is pass/fail, and you will be notified immediately after the interview whether or not you have passed it.

Step 5. Polygraph Examination

After having successfully completed your oral board interview, you will undergo a polygraph examination. You can expect this to take approximately 2.5 hours.

Step 6. Background Check

Now that you have passed your polygraph examination, you can expect to undergo an investigation of your background. This involves checks of your:

Criminal history
Driving records
Financial records
Neighborhood
References
Work history

Step 7. Medical and Psychological Examinations

Once you have passed your background check, you will undergo medical and psychological examinations, including an interview with a psychologist.

Step 8. Attend Sheriff’s Academy for Training

After you have passed your medical and psychological examinations, you may be selected to become a Sheriff Deputy in Pierce County. After your selection, you will undergo 720 hours of training in how to become a Sheriff’s Deputy in Pierce County. You will be instructed at the Basic Law Enforcement Academy.

You will have classes during business hours from Mondays through Fridays. You must pass every exam at the Academy to be able to graduate. You will be given the chance to take a make-up exam if necessary. Your instruction will be in these core areas:

Criminal law, investigations, and procedures
Firearms
Crisis Intervention
Patrol Procedures
Use of Force and Defensive Tactics
Traffic and DUI enforcement
Accident investigation
Operating emergency vehicles

You also will be given simulated training known as mock scenes. You will have to successfully complete each of these. Examples include:

Building searches
Crisis interventions
DUI arrests
Field interviews
Field sobriety tests
High-risk stops of vehicles
Traffic stops

Snohomish County Sheriff Department Jobs

The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office has about 265 sworn officers who patrol almost 1900 square miles in three different precincts. Here is a listing of all the steps on how to become a Sheriff Deputy in Snohomish County.

9 Steps to Become a Sheriff Deputy in Snohomish County:

Meet the Basic Qualifications
Submit Your Application and Supplemental Questionnaire
Written Examination
Keyboard Test
Interview
Polygraph and Psychological Examinations
Background Check
Medical Examination
Attend Sheriff’s Academy for Training

Step 1. Meet the Basic Qualifications for Snohomish County Sheriff Deputy Candidacy

To be considered for Snohomish County Sheriff Deputy jobs, you must meet certain requirements:

You must be a U.S. citizen.
You must be at least 21 years old.
You must have had a high school education and have either a diploma or GED equivalent.
You must have a driver’s license by the time of your appointment that is valid in Washington State and is unrestricted except for vision.
You must be proficient in English.
You must be able to keyboard at least 20 words a minute.
Yu cannot have used illegal drugs within the past five years.
You cannot have had any felony convictions.

Preferred qualifications include one of the following:

AA degree
90 college credits including courses in either:
- Criminal justice
- Law enforcement
- A related field

Step 2. Submit Your Application and Supplemental Questionnaire

You must submit an application for civil service on-line and fill out a supplementary questionnaire.

Step 3. Written Examination

When your application to be a Deputy Sheriff in Snohomish County as been accepted, you will receive an e-mail that contains a packet for your written test. You must fill out the test and return it to the Civil Service Office. It has to be returned within 14 days of the date you received it. To pass the examination, you must get a score of 60%.

Step 4. Keyboard Test

Once you have passed the written examination, you will be tested on your computer skills. You will have to type at least 20 words per minute on a keyboard.

Step 5. Interview

After you have demonstrated your keyboarding skills, you be interviewed by a panel of people from the Sheriff’s Department to determine if you are suitable to become a Sheriff Deputy in Snohomish County.

Step 6. Polygraph and Psychological Examinations

Once you have passed the interview, you will be given a lie detector test. After that, you will undergo a psychological examination to see if you are a suitable candidate.

Step 7. Background Check

After you have been passed your polygraph and psychological examinations, your background will be thoroughly investigated to make sure that you meet the standards to be a Deputy Sheriff in Snohomish County.

Step 8. Medical Examination

Having passed your background check, the next step is to be examined by a physician to ensure that you are in good health and do not have medical conditions that would prevent you from carrying out the duties of a Deputy Sheriff.

Step 9. Attend Sheriff’s Academy for Training

Once you have been cleared by a physician, you will be trained in the techniques of basic law enforcement at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Center in Burlen. You will have 720 hours of the basic curriculum. The topics you will learn include:

Traffic enforcement
Procedures of:
- Criminal law
- Patrol
- Cultural awareness
- Operating emergency vehicles
- Communication skills
- Crisis intervention
- Firearms use
- Defensive tactics
- Criminal investigation

Thurston County Sheriff Department Jobs

The 206 employees of the Thurston County, Sheriff’s Office work closely with the community to help prevent crime throughout this Western Washington jurisdiction. The Patrol Division responds to over 80,000 service calls a year throughout the 714 square miles of Thurston County.

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