Deputy Sheriff Trainee jobs in the United States

For answers to frequently asked questions specific to recruitments for the Sheriff's Office click here. 

The Placer County Sheriff's Office is currently accepting applications for Deputy Sheriff Trainee, Deputy Sheriff I, and Deputy Sheriff II. Please review individual job postings for the minimum qualifications required at each level. To participate at the Trainee level, I level, or II level, you must complete and submit separate applications for each recruitment:

Deputy Sheriff - Trainee #2024-16300-01

Deputy Sheriff - I #2024-16321-01

Deputy Sheriff - II #2024-16322-01

Qualified applicants will undergo an extensive background investigation to determine if they meet the high standards set by the Sheriff's Office in the areas including, but not limited to: high moral character, honesty, and exemplary work ethic. The Sheriff's Office also highly values those with a positive attitude toward fellow workers and the community they will be serving. Upon successful graduation from the POST Academy, Deputy Sheriff Trainee incumbents are automatically placed into the Deputy Sheriff I classification. Deputy Sheriff assignment locations may include Auburn, South Placer, or Tahoe.

This continuous recruitment will remain open for the calendar year, or until the final filing date, whichever occurs first. The eligible list established from this continuous recruitment will expire by the end of the calendar year. Applicants will be eligible to reapply and take an examination if a new recruitment opens the following calendar year.

Examinations will be scheduled throughout the year as applications are received. Qualified applicants will be notified of their testing date via email once the examination date has been scheduled.

Qualified applications received by October 6, 2024 at 5:00pm will be invited to participate in the written examination the week of October 21, 2024. 

Placer County offers a comprehensive benefits package to employees. The following information represents benefits currently available to permanent Placer County employees and may be subject to change. Applicants should inquire as to the most current benefit package during hiring interviews or by contacting the Human Resources Department.

Click here to view Deputy Sheriff's Association (DSA) benefits.

For more information regarding the benefits Placer County has to offer, please visit Placer County's Human Resources website.

(Non-Sworn)

To attend a course of study necessary to complete the California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Regular Basic Course/ Academy to become a peace officer.

The Deputy Sheriff Trainee is a recruiting and training level classification established to qualify candidates for duties as a Deputy Sheriff I in the Placer County Sheriff's Office. Incumbents of this class undergo a formal and comprehensive training program in a California POST-certified academy. Incumbency in this class is limited to a period not to exceed twelve months and to those who have not completed the POST Regular Basic Course/ Academy. Positions in this class are distinguished from Deputy Sheriff I in that the Deputy Sheriff Trainee position is a non-sworn classification which has no peace officer powers. Upon satisfactory completion of  training and graduation from the academy, the trainee will be sworn in as a Deputy Sheriff I with full peace officer powers. Failure to successfully complete training and graduate from the academy will result in termination.

Receives immediate supervision from supervisors and training staff.

Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

As a trainee, receive instructions and perform the following duties in a learning capacity:

• Learn to identify and utilize principles and techniques that promote community service and community-based policing, crime prevention, and appropriate behavior; learn enforcement and procedural aspects of criminal laws and the legal obligations inherent in enforcement of those laws.
• Learn to proficiently apply the rules of evidence; communicate effectively and professionally through written, oral, and mechanical media.
• Learn to operate an emergency vehicle, including skid training, high speed pursuit, defensive driving, and emergency driving; firearm training to learn good judgement and competency in the use of deadly force, ancillary police weaponry, and weaponless defense.
• Learn to safely and effectively accomplish the patrol function consisting of patrolling a designated area of the County in a patrol car in order to preserve law and order and to prevent and discover the commission of crimes; effectively dealing with common vehicle violations by learning to recognize the violations, locating the violations in the Vehicle Code, and safely and professionally contacting the violator.
• Learn basic criminal investigation processes and techniques, including the identification, collection, and preservation of evidence, courtroom testimony, and witness interrogation.
• Learn to process, confine and care for adult and juvenile prisoners in such a manner as to protect the prisoner's rights and welfare.
• Learn physical fitness and self-defense techniques programs; first aid, including cardio-pulmonary resuscitation techniques; and other related course or programs as required.
• Attend all required academy and Sheriff's Office trainings as scheduled, including nights and weekends when necessary. 
• Perform related duties as assigned. 

Experience and Training
Any combination of experience and training that would provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the required knowledge and abilities would be:

Experience: No experience is required.

Training: Completion of the twelfth grade or GED.

Required License or Certificate:
May need to possess a valid driver’s license as required by the position. Proof of adequate vehicle insurance and medical clearance may also be required.

Special Qualifications:
Must be at least 21 years of age at the time of appointment. 

Knowledge of:

• No previous law enforcement knowledge is necessary.

Ability to:

• Acquire, through training, a knowledge of modern approved law enforcement principles, practices, and procedures; state laws, local ordinances, and first aid.
• Intermittently analyze work papers, reports, and special projects; remember accounts given by witnesses; identify crime suspects; interpret and apply the law to field situations; observe while in the field; problem solve crime situations; focus on a single task for long periods of time; work with frequent interruptions; work under time pressure and complete a high volume of tasks.
• On an intermittent basis, sit at desk or in a vehicle; walk and stand for long periods of time during field activities; bend, twist, squat, stoop, kneel, crouch, and crawl to access office and field work equipment and to perform field duties; climb stairs and/or ladders; twist while making arrests; perform simple and power grasping, pushing, pulling, and fine manipulations; see with sufficient visual acuity to perform essential job functions; hear with sufficient acuity to perform essential job functions; use telephone, write, and use keyboard to communicate through written means; continuously wear utility belt and other law enforcement equipment of approximately 30 pounds; intermittently lift very heavy weight. 
• Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing. 
• Write accurately, and legibly with correct English grammatical construction and spelling.
• Demonstrate an aptitude for law enforcement work.
• Understand and carry out oral and written instructions; observe, assimilate, remember, record, and recall pertinent facts and details.
• Learn standard broadcasting procedures of a radio system.
• Apply selected knowledge (e.g., laws, statutes, court decisions, Sherriff's Office policies, criminal investigation theories, etc.) in collecting, organizing, and analyzing diverse information to decide upon an appropriate and reasonable course of action.
• Analyze problems and have the potential to rationally and calmly take appropriate action in emergency and stressful situations; exercise good judgment and make sound decisions within a variety of circumstances; employ de-escalation techniques when safe and reasonable. 
• Plan and effectively present material to large and diverse groups of people.
• Work courteously, but firmly, with the public to support community-based policing efforts and solve matters of crime, disorder, safety, etc.
• Work with various cultural and ethnic groups in a tactful and effective manner.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.
• Develop skill in the use of firearms and other law enforcement tools.
• Undergo strenuous physical conditioning.
• Work irregular or prolonged hours, including nights, weekends, holidays, shift work, and/or overtime. 

Written Examination (100%) 

The written examination consists of the POST Entry Level Law Enforcement Test Battery (PELLETB). T-scores received from this examination will determine applicant ranking on the eligible list. For more information regarding the PELLETB, click here.

NOTE: Applicants who have already taken the POST PELLETB exam within twelve (12) months of their scheduled testing date may attach their official score report notice (including agency name, exam name, exam date, and exam scores) to their application materials to forward their scores to Placer County. Different agencies use different cutoff scores for the PELLETB exam. Therefore, it is possible for an applicant to pass the exam with one agency and fail it with another using the same score.

NOTE: Per California POST, applicants may not take the PELLETB exam more than once within a thirty (30) day calendar period. Applicants who have already taken the PELLETB exam within 30 days of a Placer County exam administration will not be permitted to test again.

Examinations will be scheduled throughout the year as applications are received. Qualified applicants will be notified of their scheduled testing date via email. 

The written examination has been tentatively scheduled for the following:

• Week of October 21, 2024
• Week of December 2, 2024

Prior to the date of hire, applicants must undergo a fingerprint test by the Department of Justice, pass a medical examination (which may include a drug screening and possibly a psychological evaluation), sign a constitutional oath, and submit proof of U.S. citizenship or legal right to remain and work in the U.S.  For some positions, applicants may also be required to submit proof of age, undergo a background investigation (which may include a voice stress analysis and/or a polygraph), and/or be bonded. Additionally, positions in law enforcement classifications and those supporting law enforcement functions will be required to complete a conviction history questionnaire prior to or during the interview process. Applicants for positions with access to Medi-Cal billing software or who are licensed providers must clear the Federal Exclusion List, credentialing, and social security verification. Failure to clear these requirements may result in an employment offer being withdrawn.

The eligible list resulting from this recruitment may be certified as a substitute list for a substantially similar classification. For this purpose, a substantially similar classification is one at a lower level in the same classification (example: entry level vs. journey level) and/or a similar classification (similar work performed, similar training and experience qualifications required). If you are contacted for an interview by a County department, you will be informed of the classification and other relevant information. If you choose not to interview for a substantially similar classification, you will remain on the eligible list for which you originally applied.

Placer County offers an expedited process for qualifying certain applicants for interviews. Candidates currently employed, or employed within the last year, by a public agency operating under a personnel civil service or merit system may be eligible to be placed on a Public Agency Eligible List and certified as eligible for appointment to a similar job assignment without going through the examination process. For more information on the Public Agency Eligible List, to download forms, or to apply, please click here.

Thank you for your interest in employment with Placer County. Placer County is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to an active nondiscrimination program. It is the stated policy of Placer County that harassment, discrimination, and retaliation are prohibited and that all employees, applicants, agents, contractors, and interns/volunteers shall receive equal consideration and treatment. All terms and conditions of employment, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, transfer, and promotion will be based on the qualifications of the individual for the positions being filled regardless of gender (including gender identity and expression), sexual orientation, race (including traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists), color, ancestry, religion (including creed and belief), national origin, citizenship, physical disability (including HIV and AIDS), mental disability, medical condition (including cancer or genetic characteristics/information), age (40 or over),  marital status, military and/or veteran status, sex (including parental status, pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), reproductive health decision making, political orientation, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local law. Please contact the Human Resources Department at least 5 working days before a scheduled examination if you require accommodation in the examination process. Medical disability verification may be required prior to accommodation.