When you join the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office, you become part of a strong work family that makes a difference in our community. You can also look forward to excellent benefits including:

• Promotion to Deputy Sheriff I ($94,337-$114,666/year), upon successful completion of the academy
• Promotion to Deputy Sheriff II ($103,917-$126,291/year), upon successful completion of one year as a Deputy Sheriff I
• The County pays 100% premium contribution for the majority of employee-only and employee family health plan options
• Eligibility for a salary increase after 1,040 hours (6 months when working full-time) for good work performance; eligibility for a salary increase for good performance every year thereafter, until reaching the top of the salary range
• Additional premiums for specialty assignments and POST Intermediate and Advanced Certificates, up to 10% of base salary
• Bilingual pay for Fluent set at $.90 cents per hour, and $.45 cents per hour for Basic speaking level
• An annual Staff Development and Wellness payment of $750
• Competitive vacation and sick leave accruals and 12 paid holidays
• County contribution to a Health Reimbursement Arrangement to help fund post-retirement employee health insurance/benefits
• May be eligible for up to 8 weeks (320 hours) of Paid Parental Leave after 12 months of County employment
• Retirement fully integrated with Social Security

^Hiring Incentives
The Sheriff's Office is currently offering a $25,000 signing bonus paid over three installments during the first three years of service.
 
Other incentives which may be offered, if applicable, include:

• Advanced paid vacation and/or sick leave (up to 24 hours per leave type) 
• Relocation reimbursement up to $5,000

Train to Become a Deputy Sheriff
Deputy Sheriff Trainees attend a basic law enforcement academy, taking courses such as criminal law, search and seizure, evidence, investigative techniques, patrol procedures, firearms, driver training, defensive tactics, and more. Deputy Sheriff Trainees who successfully complete the California POST certified Basic Peace Officer Academy promote to Deputy Sheriff I ($$94,337-$114,666/year) and promote to Deputy Sheriff II ($103,917-$126,291/year), upon successful completion of one year as a Deputy Sheriff I. The next scheduled academy for this recruitment starts April 8, 2024.In partnership with our community, Deputy Sheriffs commit to provide professional, fair, and compassionate public safety services with integrity and respect. The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office has been serving the community since 1850. We employ over 650 employees, in more than 30 different highly-trained and specialized units, our job is to protect the half-million residents within the 1,768 square miles of Sonoma County.
After being hired, passing the academy, and completing field training, you will work in the Patrol Division, as part of the Sheriff's Office Law Enforcement team. The Patrol Division operates out of the main office of the Sheriff's Office in Santa Rosa, with two substations located in Guerneville and the Sonoma Valley to cover the east and west sides of our expansive county. Do you prefer a small town or city police department work environment? We have two contracted police stations in the Town of Windsor, Windsor Police Department, and the City of Sonoma, Sonoma Police Department. Deputy Sheriffs work 12-hour shift rotations.
Note: Deputy Sheriff Trainee is not intended for individuals who have already completed the California POST certified Basic Peace Officer Academy within the last three years. If you are an experienced Peace Officer or a recent academy graduate, please look at and apply to our separate Deputy Sheriff I or II recruitment. 
Protecting Our Community - In order to ensure its workforce can protect and engage the communities of Sonoma County, the Sheriff's Office has numerous training opportunities, tools and equipment, and specialty assignments available. Assignments such as explosive ordinance detail, SWAT team, tactical response team, hostage negotiator, field training officer, dog handler, helicopter observer, internal affairs investigator, background investigator, and detective assignments within a variety of investigative units are open for you to explore.
The Sheriff's Office is eager to recruit and develop Deputy Sheriffs who have exceptional interpersonal and problem-solving skills in order to effectively interact with our diverse community, work independently and make appropriate decisions during times of emergencies and in the midst of stressful situations.
 

We Want to Hear from You!

Would you like to learn more about joining the Sheriff's Office? Visit our Personnel Bureau website or contact us and speak to the Sheriff's recruiting team at 707.565.2779 or email Sheriff-Recruitment@sonoma-county.org.

Education: Graduation from high school or possession of an acceptable General Education Development Certificate.

Experience: None

License: Possession of a valid California Driver's License and a good driving record.

Background Requirement: Incumbents shall not have been convicted of a felony in this state or any other state or in any federal jurisdiction, or of any offense in any other state or in any federal jurisdiction, which would have been a felony if committed in this state, nor be under current formal probation supervision.

Citizenship Requirement: Permanent resident aliens who wish to be employed as peace officers must apply for citizenship prior to application for such employment. Permanent resident aliens must cooperate with the U.S. Department of immigration in meeting all requirements for U.S. citizenship, or he or she shall be disqualified for peace officer status.

Ability to: understand and follow oral and written directions, and to speak and write effectively; read, learn,, and understand various laws, policies, rules, procedures, law enforcement techniques and first aid; analyze situations and/or problems and to rationally and calmly take quick, effective action in emergency and stress situations; undergo strenuous physical training; successfully complete a structured academic training program as required to successfully complete law enforcement recruit academy.

• Your application information and your responses to the supplemental questions are evaluated and taken into consideration throughout the entire selection process.
• You should list all employers and positions held within the last ten years in the work history section of your application. Be as thorough as possible when responding to the supplemental questions.
• You may include history beyond ten years if related to the position for which you are applying. If you held multiple positions with one employer, list out each position separately.
• Failure to follow these instructions may impact your competitiveness in this process or may result in disqualification.

Please visit Getting a Job with the County of Sonoma to review more detailed information about the hiring process, including the application process, examination steps, and department selection process.
The selection procedure will consist of the following examinations:
1. An Application & Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination (pass/not pass) will be conducted to evaluate each applicant's combination of educational coursework, training, experience, knowledge, and abilities, which relate to this position to ensure satisfaction of the minimum qualifications for this position.
2. The POST Entry-level Law Enforcement Test Battery (PELLETB) multiple-choice, written examination (weight 100%) will be conducted to further evaluate each candidate's qualifications as they relate to the position. The written examination will measure the core knowledge, skills, and abilities for this position such as:
Writing Ability
Reading Ability
Reasoning Ability
Applicants must attain a minimum passing score of at least 70% on the written examination to be placed on the employment list. The minimum passing score may be an adjusted score based on such factors as the difficulty of the examination for this group of candidates, natural breaks in the scores achieved by this group of candidates, number of candidates, anticipated vacancies, and past practice.
To aid you in preparing for the written examination, please review the CA POST Applicant Preparation Guide and FAQs.
If you took the CA POST PELLETB within the past 30 calendar days from the dates of our exam sessions, you may submit your T score in lieu of re-taking the test. Per POST's FAQs, if you retest within 30 days your test results will be invalidated. You MUST wait at least 30 calendar days prior to retaking the test.
Written examinations will be conducted monthly, with the below testing dates currently scheduled:

• Wednesday, 11/29/23
• Thursday, 12/21/23
• Thursday, 1/18/24
• Wednesday, 2/21/24
• Thursday, 3/21/24

Job Summary