Deputy Sheriff
As a Deputy Sheriff you will be responsible for enforcing the laws in the unincorporated areas throughout Santa Clara County. The Sheriff’s Office has contracts in the cities of Cupertino, Saratoga, and Town of Los Altos Hills to provide law enforcement services. Additional contracts include law enforcement services for the Superior Courts of California, County Parks, and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA).
Paths to Deputy Sheriff
Two ways to become a Deputy Sheriff:
- Apply as a Deputy Sheriff Cadet and attend our Academy
- Apply as a Lateral if you have graduated from a CA POST Academy
Patrol and Court Security
All Sheriff’s Office deputies start in patrol and court security. Patrol is the primary provider of law enforcement services for county buildings, cities of Saratoga and Cupertino, town of Los Altos Hills, County parks, Valley Transportation Authority’s transit system, and the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County. Patrol is considered to be the backbone of the Sheriff’s Office. Patrol deputies investigate crimes, make arrests, patrol the unincorporated communities to make them safer, work with the community to solve problems, conduct community meetings, mediate disputes, investigate traffic collisions and provide general law enforcement services.
The Court Security division provides security to the eight State of California Superior Courts located within Santa Clara County on a contract basis. A deputy may be assigned to any of the positions within the Court Security Division to include Judicial/Dignitary Protection, Felony and Misdemeanor Court Trial Bailiffs, Risk Assessment Unit, CIT trained Dual Diagnoses Court Bailiffs, Juvenile Dependency Bailiffs, Juvenile Court Bailiffs Holding, Cell Operations and Court Movement Deputies.
A large population of deputies will choose to remain in patrol or court security, while others apply for promotional and transfer opportunities in specialized divisions after a few years in the field.
Specialized assignments
There are many different sworn positions in Law Enforcement. In addition to the Patrol and Court Security assignments, there are also a wide array of specialized opportunities like Training and Professional Development, Investigative Services, Civil Warrants, Fugitive Apprehension Surveillance Unit (FAST), Covert Investigative Unit (CIU), Special Operations, Backgrounds and Recruiting, Air Support Observer, Custody Alternative Supervision Unit (CASU), Burglary Suppression Team, Internal Affairs, and the Traffic Motorcycle Unit. In addition, there are many collateral assignments to be a part of such as the Bomb Squad, Underwater Search Unit (USU), Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team (SERT), Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT), Sheriff Off-Road Enforcement (SORE), Crowd Control Unit (CCU), and the Crime Scene Investigation Team (CSI). Most of these require specialized training, and if you are selected, you are paid to be trained.
Switching assignments
Many deputies work several different specialized assignments during the course of their careers. All deputies who have finished their probationary period are eligible to apply for specialized divisions. Although some specialties, like Investigations and the Special Enforcement Division, are very selective and competitive.