Sheriff Offering Unique Recruiting Incentive

Tools

Story Published: Dec 9, 2005 at 9:16 PM PDT

Story Updated: Aug 31, 2006 at 2:09 AM PDT

By Matt Markovich

SEATTLE - It's no secret the military is having a hard time find good recruits. So are police departments across the country, including those in the Puget Sound Region. But the King County Sheriff's office has come up with a unique incentive.

"We are offering 40 hours of vacation if you recruit somebody who comes to work for us and makes it through the hiring program," says Sgt. John Urquhart.

The one week of vacation is only open to the department's 1,000 employees. The hope is they will become more aggressive recruiters at a time when King County is competing with local police departments and federal agencies for qualified recruits.

Currently, the King County Sheriff's office is down 75 deputies, which is 10 percent of its commission officers. The shortage was a result of attrition and various cases of medical leave and other legitimate absences.

"We don't know why people don't want to become police officers, who knows," says Urquhart.

" t's non-stop fun working with great people. I think a lot of people realize that and yet we still can't get enough people to join," says Steven Lysaght, a eight-year veteran cop with four years as a King County Sheriff.

Lysaght believes the bar is high for people to become police officers and many potential recruits are seeking other higher paying jobs rather than tough it out at the academy to become a police officer.

"I can remember years ago when I took my written exam, there were nearly 3,000 applicants," says Urquhart. "Now, we are lucky to get 200."

King County is competing with the likes of the Los Angeles Police Department in the same talent pool, except the LAPD has money to spend. They hired a public relations firm to produce three theatrical trailers, essentially commercials that play before movies in Southern California theaters. The commercials have the look and feel of a big-budget blockbuster movie.

The Seattle and Tacoma Police departments are running billboard ads on local buses.

King County doesn't have the money for a big time TV ad, but they are dangling a carrot that's unique. No other local police agency we can find is offering a week's vacation to land a qualified recruit.

"One of my students is actually coming through the academy right now," says Lysaght. He hopes that student of his criminal education class he once taught will become a deputy so Lysaght can get his extra week of paid vacation.

So far, no one has earned the extra week. Starting pay for a King County Deputy Sheriff is $46,000 a year.

Weather & Traffic

Icon
Current Temp 74.0 °F
Mostly Cloudy
More Weather

Weather & Traffic

More Weather

On Demand

Resources and info you need to prepare for the switch to DTV.

Stay Connected

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

Marketplace