The Monongalia County Sheriff is looking to fill several full and part time positions within the department.
“We have probably eight positions for deputy sheriffs, two full time process transport positions, two part time process transport positions and two court security part time positions,” said Vance Lipscomb, Chief Deputy of Civilian Operations.
Deputy sheriff applicants are first required to pass a physical agility examination at which they must complete 18 properly executed push-ups within one minute, 28 properly executed sit-ups within one minute, and complete a 1 1/2 mile run within 14 minutes and 36 seconds, according to the application found on the website.
According to Lipscomb, if applicants are able to pass the physical element, they then must take and pass a written civil service test, followed by background checks, reference checks and interviews. He also mentioned that new legislation just passed in January, and, if you are a non-certified officer, it is now mandatory that you take a polygraph examination and psychological exam. If you are already certified they will just do a regular background check.
“You might have 20 [applicants] sign up to take the test, then you get 12 to show up and then maybe half of them can’t pass the [physical] test, so you have six applicants” Lipscomb said. “Then you have to pass the psych and background. So it’s tough.”
The department is also in need of process transport officers, whose main job it is to process and transport anyone arrested in Monongalia County that cannot post bond, along with courtroom security who work in the courthouse and justice center. These are civilian positions, but background checks are still required according to the sheriff’s department website.
The sheriff’s department isn’t alone in having trouble finding people to hire. “You know it’s a tough, tough time to get some hires and it’s not just the sheriff’s department, it’s law enforcement in general. We just came back from a training in Nashville and it’s nationwide,” Lipscomb said. “It’s tough for everybody. I know Morgantown is down, WVU is down, everyone’s down. I don’t know what the problem is, but certainly we would like to have it rectified.”
If you are interested in a position with the sheriff’s department, applications for deputy sheriffs and civilian positions are available at monsheriff.com.
“If you don’t want to be a deputy, come on down and be a process transport or a court security officer,” Lipscomb said.
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