What can the Sheriff’s Reserve Unit offer qualified candidates?

The Contra Costa Sheriff's Office is currently recruiting interested persons for the position of Reserve Deputy Sheriff. The duty assignments include: Corrections, Investigations, Patrol, Special Enforcement, as well as Special Events such as: parades, 10K races, bicycle races, political functions, safety clinics and other community oriented events.

Below are listed the special units that make up the Conta Costa County Reserve Organization:

Air Squadron - Fly missions that assist the many units of the Sheriff.

Air Unit - Be a crew member on the Sheriff’s Helicopter S.T.A.R.R.1

Amateur Radio Communications (ARC) Team - Provide extended communications.

Cadet (Explorer Post 2406) - Training for a career in law enforcement.

Dive Team - Join one of the top Dive/Rescue units in the State.

Marine Patrol - Assist boaters and Patrol the Delta

M.D.F. - Martinez Detention Facility - Reserve Orientation - Where it all begins!

Mounted Unit - Do you have a Horse? You could be part of this unit.

Patrol - Our Patrol area includes County and Contract Cities

Reserve Deputy Sheriffs - Join the ranks! - Help our community!

R.T.U. - Reserve Transport Unit

Rural Patrol Unit - Offroad Enforcement

Search and Rescue Team - Highly trained teams of volunteers.

Traffic Safety Unit - Sheriff Office Motorcycle Unit

Equipment section: Do you like pictures? Here are some pictures of the special equipment we use, and the people and groups that use it!

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 INTERESTED IN JOINING?

We can show you the application process step by step.

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What & Where about Contra Costa County?

Contra Costa County is home to more than 868,000 people and thousands of businesses who are served by 18 cities, 201 special districts and the County of Contra Costa. County government is the most complex of these government agencies and, perhaps, the least understood.

Many of the services provided by the County are to all residents and all businesses. Many are mandated by the state and performed under state direction. Funding is sometimes provided by the state and federal governments, although the county is often required to provide a local revenue match. In other cases, such as the District Attorney, programs are mandated but the county receives no state funding for them. The county also uses its local resources to augment certain vital state-funded services, such as adoptions. Services for children, such as foster care, Head Start, child abuse protection and health and nutrition programs, are high priority.

The county also provides municipal services for the 170,000 residents of the unincorporated areas. If Contra Costa were a city, it would be the County's largest. Acting in its "city" capacity, the county's services range from sheriff's patrol to land use planning to operations of parks. However, unlike the cities, the county does not have a dedicated source of revenue for these functions, but must balance service needs of the entire county with the needs of the unincorporated area.

The third types of service provided by the county are those which could be provided by the cities but for economy of scale or historic are largely county functions. Others, like fire protection, are funded through special districts. Others are funded by fees, through contracts with cities or by other restricted sources of revenue.

Overview of the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office?

The Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff operates under the leadership of Sheriff Warren E. Rupf. Organizationally, the Office of the Sheriff is separated into three bureaus: Custody Services, Field Operations and Support Services. A Commander directs the operation of each bureau. Administrative Services reports directly to the Sheriff, existing independently of the three main divisions. The Office of the Sheriff has a staff total of 938: 657 sworn personnel and 281 general employees.

The Custody Services Bureau (CSB) operates three detention facilities, which are located in Marsh Creek, Martinez and Richmond. The three facilities average an inmate population in excess of 1500. Court security and inmate transportation are also responsibilities of CSB. Deputy Sheriffs provide security for Superior and Municipal Courts as well as Commissioners. The Marshal’s Office, with its accompanying duties pertaining to the Courts, was merged with the Office of the Sheriff in 1988.

The Field Operations Bureau consists of two service divisions: Patrol and Investigation. The Patrol Division serves the unincorporated area of the County, the four contract cities of Danville, Lafayette, Orinda and San Ramon and the special districts in Alamo, Blackhawk, Crockett, Diablo and Roundhill. Additionally, the Contra Costa County Housing Authority and the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District contract with the Sheriff for law enforcement services.

The Investigations Division is responsible for follow up investigation of all reported felony offenses and certain misdemeanor crimes that occur in the unincorporated area. Detectives also provide service to contract cities and special districts.

The Office of the Sheriff has its own Crime Laboratory, which provides service to all law enforcement agencies in the County and is known for its excellence. Since the Sheriff also fulfills the role of County Coroner, every Sheriff’s Deputy is authorized to act on behalf of the Sheriff for the investigation of unexplained deaths.

The Communications Center dispatches for all Sheriff’s patrol units and contracted services, as well as all emergency medical and Animal Control services countywide. Annually, 400,000 phone calls are received in the dispatch center. The ten-year old communications center is currently undergoing extensive upgrading and remodeling, a project that began in late 1997. All of its phases will be complete by mid-1999

Patrol Services Division

A network of Station Houses, each of which is commanded by a Lieutenant, enables efficient provision of law enforcement services to the 170,000 residents of the unincorporated areas of the County. The areas of responsibility are as follows:

Richmond’s Bay Station: West County

Alamo’s Valley Station: I-680 Corridor South of Pacheco

Martinez's Muir Station: Bay Point and I-680 Corridor north of Pleasant Hill

Oakley's Delta Station: East County

Both Bay and Delta Stations have 'Resident Deputy' programs. Resident Deputies are dedicated to specific areas. They are relieved of beat responsibility, enabling them to interact with schools, service organizations, Municipal Advisory Committees (MAC's) and the business community. These Deputies act as direct links between the community and the various services provided by the County. Examples of such services include Code Enforcement, Abandoned Vehicle Abatement, Litter Enforcement & Removal and Crime Prevention.

Deputies assigned to the unincorporated Patrol Services Division respond to over 200,000 citizen-generated calls and Deputy-initiated events per year, generating over 30,000 written reports.

Approximately 120,000 people live in the incorporated cities of Orinda, Lafayette, Danville, San Ramon & Oakley. These cities maintain police service contracts with the Office of the Sheriff. A Lieutenant is assigned to each of these contracts and acts in the capacity of Chief of Police. Each city has its own distinctive police vehicles and uniforms. This method of innovative and individualized service delivery has become a model across the State.

The street Deputy is the backbone of every investigation. The term 'street deputy' is applicable to Deputies assigned to either Patrol or Detention Services. In the detention setting the concept relies on the module Deputy treating their assigned housing unit as a street beat.

The Office of the Sheriff also provides police services to the Special Police Districts of Alamo, Blackhawk, Crockett, Diablo and Roundhill. In addition, we provide grant personnel to the Housing Authority and contract personnel for AC Transit.

The Patrol Division provides specialized units to support the efforts of the Sheriff’s Office as well as the activities of other agencies. These specialized units include Marine Patrol, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), Hostage Negotiation, Mutual Aid, Emergency Services coordination and the Justice (J) Team.

The Office of the Sheriff also provides law enforcement services for one of the County’s most valuable ecological and recreational resources, the Delta. The Delta waterways are part of the second largest network of inland waterways on the West Coast. Our Marine Unit patrols over 1,000 miles of linear coastline, from Richmond to Discovery Bay.

Its fleet consists of six boats that are staffed by a crew of 15. (Personnel breakdown is as follows: one sergeant, four deputies, four part-time per diems and six reserves for weekend duty.) The boats are stationed in Antioch, Bethel Island, Discovery Bay and Pittsburg.

Marine Patrol also serves the public through investigation of boating accidents and crimes, search and rescue efforts, as well as performance of boat safety exams. (During 1997, the Unit conducted 5,544 such exams.)

The state of California has a $500,000 fund for the purpose of removing derelict vessels. Counties may apply for grants to access these funds to clean up their waterways. A new source of funding was recently obtained for Contra Costa County via the efforts of Assembly woman Lynn Leach, a special allocation of $250,000. Approximately 120 abandoned boats are targeted for removal from County waters. After obtainment of bids, the program was implemented in April.

Helicopter Patrol is a joint venture with the Alameda County Office of the Sheriff. The Bell 407 Jetcopter uses private pilots and deputy sheriff observers in a partnership with a flying service at Buchanan Field in the city of Concord. Due to its speed and mobility, the helicopter is ideal for search and rescue operations, particularly in regards to missing or distressed boats.

The J Team is a multi-tasked special enforcement unit that provides tactical flexibility to patrol operations. The team consists of thirteen officers, two sergeants and eleven deputies. Its primary function is the performance of proactive patrol activities in high crime areas. The J Team also assists Narcotics, Investigations and other agencies in the service of search warrants, surveillance and various other types of operations.

Office of Emergency Services

On December 5, 1997, OES was officially transferred from the County Administrator’s Office to the Office of the Sheriff. OES coordinates disaster planning for public agencies and certain contract cities in the County. It also serves as a liaison with the State Office of Emergency Services for all County agencies. In the event of an emergency or disaster, OES coordinates communications among responding agencies as well as resources. It also handles cost recovery coordination with State and Federal agencies.

OES is also responsible for supervising our various volunteer programs. This includes coordinating the activities of the following volunteer branches.

SAVES personnel deliver services that would otherwise be unavailable due to budget constraints. These services include Neighborhood Watch and various other job assignments in every Division of the Office of the Sheriff. During 1997, SAVES volunteers worked a total of 9,215 hours. This translates into $315,153 worth of productivity.

To find out more about the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office follow this link:

COCOSO