Chesterfield County Sheriff Department Jobs
The 636 employees of the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Department provide cutting edge law enforcement services to the citizens of the third most populous county in Virginia. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to become a Sheriff’s Deputy in Chesterfield County:
- Meet the Basic Qualifications
- Submit Your Application
- Physical Agility and Written Test
- Interview
- Background Check
- Psychological and Polygraph Examinations
- Medical Examination
- Attend Sheriff’s Academy for Training
Step 1. Meet the Basic Qualifications for Chesterfield County Sheriff Deputy Candidacy
You must meet certain requirements for the Chesterfield County Police Department to consider you for Sheriff Deputy jobs:
- Your vision must not be worse than 20/100 uncorrected.
- Your corrected vision must be at least 20/25.
- You must be a U.S. citizen.
- You must possess a high school diploma or GED.
- You must be 21 years old before you complete the training academy.
- You must have one of the following:
- 60 credit hours of college
- 2 years of experience in law enforcement
- 2 years of continuous military experience (active duty)
- At least 3 years of having been employed
- Equivalent combination of training, experience, and education
- Your weight must be in proportion to your height.
- You must have a driver’s license valid in Virginia.
- You cannot have any felony convictions.
- You cannot have habitual and serious misdemeanors.
- You cannot have used marijuana recently or for a prolonged period.
- You cannot have tattoos that are visible when in uniform.
- You cannot have any tattoo that is obscene, racist, or otherwise problematic.
- You cannot have tattoos and/or body art on your face, head, neck, scalp, ears, hands or fingers.
- You cannot have excessive or eccentric body art such as:
- Forked or slit tongue
- Stretched or enlarged ears
- Foreign objects under your skin
Step 2. Submit Your Application
You must apply on-line starting here.
Step 3. Physical Agility and Written Test
Once you have been selected based on your application, you will be notified by phone and scheduled for your written and physical agility tests. You are strongly encouraged to start a regular exercise program before taking the test, and the department provides a suggested exercise guide online. The physical agility test consists of a ten-part course that is 150 yards long that measures cardiovascular fitness and stamina. You must complete a the course in under 1:46 minutes.
The written test is a REACT Test. This is a testing system based on videos. You can buy a practice test for $16.95 that you can take twice online. The practice test will have questions similar to those on the real test, but will not duplicate actual test questions.
Step 4. Interview
After you have passed both your physical and written tests, the department will interview you to help determine whether you are a suitable fit to become a Sheriff Deputy in Chesterfield County. Both your answers and your appearance will be scrutinized to ensure that you are a suitable candidate.
Step 5. Background Check
Once you have passed your interview, the department will thoroughly examine your background. This will include an examination of your driving record, which must show a regard for the law. Your credit history will also be examined. It is expected that you showed sound financial management and kept your accounts up to date. Your history of employment must also have been satisfactory.
Step 6. Psychological and Polygraph Examinations
Once your background has been found to pass muster, you will be tested by a psychologist. You will also take a lie detector test to make sure that your answers in the process so far have been truthful.
Step 7. Medical Examination
After you have passed your psychological screen and polygraph examination, you will undergo a thorough medical examination. This will include a drug test.
Step 8. Attend Sheriff’s Academy for Training
Once you have been shown to be capable of performing the physical aspects of being a Deputy Sheriff in Chesterfield County, you will undergo six months of basic training at the Chesterfield County Police Academy. You will not be staying overnight at the Academy.
Your training will meet the standards of the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services. In addition to taking coursework on the procedural aspects of being a law enforcement officer, you will also be trained in the following areas:
- Cap-stun
- Defensive techniques
- Driving
- Firearms
Fairfax County Sheriff Department Jobs
The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office of Virginia employs over 500 Sheriff’s Deputies and has an international reputation for quality. Here is a listing of all the steps on how to become a Sheriff’s Deputy in Fairfax County.
9 Steps to Become a Sheriff’s Deputy in Fairfax County:
- Meet the Basic Qualifications
- Submit Application and Complete Personal History Statement
- Interview
- Polygraph Examination
- Psychological Examination
- Interview and Tour
- Medical Examination
- Background Check
- Attend Sheriff’s Academy for Training
Step 1. Meet the Basic Qualifications for Fairfax County Sheriff Deputy Candidacy
To be considered for Fairfax County Sheriff Deputy jobs, you must meet certain requirements:
- Your vision must be correctable to 20/20
- Uncorrected up to 20/200 is permitted, if you have worn soft contact lenses for at least 6 months
- If you do not wear soft contact lenses, your uncorrected vision must be at least 20/100
- You must be within 6 months of being 21 years old at the time you apply.
- You must be a U.S. citizen.
- You must have a high school diploma or GED.
- You must have a valid driver’s license.
- You must not be a smoker at the time of your appointment.
Step 2. Submit Application and Complete Personal History Statement
You must submit your application in the form of a resume online and then you must fill out a detailed statement of your personal history.
Step 3. Interview
After your file has been reviewed and you appear to be a viable candidate, you will be interviewed over the phone for about 30 minutes by a background investigator.
Step 4. Polygraph Examination
Once the investigator is satisfied that you are a good candidate to be a Deputy Sheriff in Fairfax County, you will undergo a 3-hour polygraph examination. You should wear business clothes for this process and bring photographic identification.
Step 5. Psychological Examination
After you have passed your polygraph examination, a psychologist will give you several different tests and interview you. You must also wear professional clothing for this step and bring photographic identification. This process will take approximately 8 hours.
Step 6. Interview and Tour
Once the psychologist has deemed you fit to be a Deputy Sheriff in Fairfax County, you will be interviewed at the Fairfax County Courthouse. You must wear business clothes and bring all of your documentation with you. After the interview, you will take a tour of the area you would be working in. This whole process should take about 2.5 hours.
Step 7. Medical Examination
After your interviewing, you will undergo a three hour examination by a doctor at the Occupational Health Center in Fairfax. You should wear workout clothes and bring photographic identification. If you have any pre-existing medical conditions, you need to bring documentation about them.
Step 8. Background Check
Once you have been labeled Class A on your medical exam, you will be contacted by an investigator who will review all of your information in the statement of personal history. You should be prepared to submit additional information if necessary. This process can take six to eight months.
Step 9. Attend Sheriff’s Academy for Training
After your background investigator is satisfied that your background is suitable, you will undergo training in how to become a Sheriff Deputy in Fairfax County. You will first be part of a mentoring program that will help prepare you to attend the Fairfax County Criminal Justice Academy in Chantilly.
You will become fully certified as a law enforcement officer, and you will receive certification in:
- Civil process
- Court security
- Jail security
Once you have completed your Academy training, you will be trained for 10 weeks in the field. This involves being paired with a field-training officer.
Prince William County Sheriff Department Jobs
The Prince William County Sheriff’s Office employs 91 people in this Virginia county whose job it is to secure the Judicial Center, serve civil processes, and assist the police throughout the county whenever needed.
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to become a Sheriff Deputy in Prince William County in 10 Steps:
- Meet the Basic Qualifications
- Pre-screening Interview
- Polygraph Examination
- Background Interview and Check
- Medical Examination
- Physical Fitness Test
- Psychological Examination
- Ride-a-Long
- Interview
- Attend Sheriff’s Academy for Training
Step 1. Meet the Basic Qualifications for Prince William County Sheriff Deputy Candidacy
You must meet certain requirements for Prince William County Sheriff ‘s Office to consider you for Sheriff Deputy jobs:
- Your vision must not be worse than 20/200 uncorrected.
- You must be able to correct your vision to 20/20 in your best eye and 20/40 in your worst.
- You must have full color vision.
- You must have U.S. citizenship.
- You must have a high school education:
- Diploma
- GED
- You must have a valid driver’s license by the time of your appointment.
- You must not have 6 or more demerits on your driver’s license.
- You must be 21 years old when you complete your Academy training.
- You must not have committed any acts that would constitute felonies or serious misdemeanors.
- You must be willing to agree in writing to not smoke during the tenure of your employment.
An application for employment can be found here.
Review Deputy Sheriff job postings in Prince William County here (select law enforcement category). You’ll need to establish an employment account with the county.
Step 2. Pre-screening Interview
If your application suggests that you are a good candidate to be a Deputy Sheriff in Prince William County, you will be given an initial interview to quickly determine if the department wants to further consider your application.
Step 3. Polygraph Examination
Once you have passed your first interview, you will undergo a lie detector test.
Step 4. Background Interview and Check
Having passed your polygraph examination, the department will interview you further and thoroughly check your background. This will include a criminal check through the VCIN and NCIC databases.
Step 5. Medical Examination
Once you have been cleared by your background investigator, you will be thoroughly examined by a doctor to ensure that you do not have any medical conditions that would prevent you from being a Deputy Sheriff in Prince William County.
Step 6. Physical Fitness Test
After your medical exam, you will have to pass a physical fitness test to make sure that you have the endurance and physical skills to function in your official capacity.
Step 7. Psychological Examination
Once you have been found physically fit, you will undergo a psychological examination.
Step 8. Ride-a-Long
The next step once you have successfully completed all of your examinations is to ride along with an officer of the Prince William County Sheriff’s Department.
Step 9. Interview
Once you have completed your ride-a-long, either the Sheriff or someone designated by the Sheriff will interview you to make absolutely sure that you are a desirable candidate to be a Sheriff Deputy in Prince William County.
Step 10. Attend Sheriff’s Academy for Training
After you have been okayed by your interviewer, you will receive final approval from the Sheriff, a County Executive, and Human Resources. Then you will undergo 24 weeks of basic training at the Prince William County Criminal Justice Academy. Your training will involve classes in:
- Investigating
- Crashes
- Criminal behavior
- Using firearms
- Driving
- Patrol techniques
- Decision making