The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department recruited students who are interested in the law enforcement field at the California State University, Stanislaus (Stan State), quad this past Wednesday.

The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department covers unincorporated communities around the Stanislaus County and also contract cities like: Patterson, Riverbank, Houston and Waterford.

“[Contract cities] are cities that do not have their own police and they contract with the sheriff’s department and basically pay the sheriff’s department to be their police,” Deputy Sheriff Kyle Franklin said.

The jurisdiction a sheriff has is also the main difference between them and a police officer.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, there are 3,000 sheriffs’ offices in the United States, and full-time employees in sheriff departments has increased more than 60 percent.

There are a lot of Stan State students who are interested in the field of law enforcement, so having the sheriff’s department come recruit at the quad was relevant.

“There are approximately 200 students in the Law Enforcement concentration and they apply for local, county, state and federal positions,” Dr. Robert Werling (Associate Professor, Criminal Justice) said. “Some students take a ‘shotgun’ approach and apply for many, various agencies, [because] it helps to have your options open.”

Moreover, the jurisdictions that a sheriff has are very different than what a city police officer may have.

“Much of their jurisdiction is unincorporated areas and, as a result, they may not answer as many calls as a city officer, [which] allows deputies to engage in more community policing activities by having time to form partnerships in the communities they serve,” Dr. Werling said. “As well as maintaining the peace, working traffic and engaging in other duties found at all levels of law enforcement, the sheriff is responsible for serving civil papers, court security and maintaining a jail which city, state and federal law enforcement rarely have”.

Although the jurisdictions vary and are different between sheriffs and city police officers, they still have a close relationship.

“In talking to city and county officers, I have found them to have a very good working relationship,” Dr. Werling said. “This is logically so law enforcement officers at all levels encounter similar problems and they have a common understanding of what each other does”.  

Samantha De La Torre (junior, Criminal Justice) is interested in becoming a sheriff because of the possibilities that there are compared to other law enforcement departments.

“The are more opportunities that are possible at a sheriff’s department,” De La Torre said.

However, there are requirements that a person has to complete to become a sheriff.

“For main deputy sheriff you have to have so many credits for college, you have to be at least 21 years of age, go through a background check, pass a physical, pass an oral board,[and] including a background check psychologically and pass it again,” Deputy Sheriff Kyle Franklin added.
Students who are interested and want more information on how to become a sheriff should visit the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department webpage.