The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office offers a unique work environment of both rural and urban settings. Though mainly responsible for law enforcement functions outside the Lincoln city limits, Nebraska's capital city of 225,000 residents is a source of activity that is both challenging and rewarding. If you have the desire to be of service to others and are highly motivated, the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office can offer a fulfilling, rewarding career.

Sheriff's Personnel/Training Office, (402) 441-8896.

Qualifications:

• United States Citizen
• Applicant must be 21 years of age
• High school Diploma or G.E.D. Certificate
• Honorable Discharge from military service (if applicable)
• Must be able to operate a motor vehicle and possess a valid driver's license
• Applicants may not have any felony convictions, certain misdemeanor convictions, or the equivalent under Uniform Code of Military Justice
• Applicants must read, write, and speak English fluently, with no dysfunctional reading disorders
• Normal hearing and olfactory function
• Eyesight of the strong eye 20/40 correctable to 20/20, weak eye 20/100 correctable to 20/40. Applicants who do not meet these standards may employ FDA approved soft contact lenses, in which case acuity must be correctable to 20/20 strong eye and 20/40 weak eye with no upper uncorrected limit. Normal color vision. Binocular vision must be clear and comfortable with good stereopsis at all normal working distances and angles.

The Application Process

Follow this link to the City/County Personnel job listing page to apply for the career of deputy sheriff. Applications are being accepted for the annual eligibility list until February 12, 2010.

The Sheriff's Office establishes an eligibility list for hiring that stays in effect for up to one year. Therefore, we do our testing only once a year to determine who makes that list. Applications are only accepted during a designated period of time prior to testing. The application period is typically in the first quarter of the year, but may vary. Check the local newspapers and the City-County Personnel Office for announcements.

Applications are obtained from the City-County Personnel Office at 555 S. 10th St., Lincoln, Nebraska, 68508, (402) 441-7596. You may wish to contact them to have your name put on their mailing list to have an application sent. Once the application period has closed, the City-County Employment Office will notify all applicants of the scheduled times for written testing. If you make the cut from the written test, you will then have to pass a physical performance evaluation prior to advancing to an oral interview. Final rankings are determined after the oral interview. The Sheriff then has the option to choose from the top three available candidates to fill each open position.

If you happen to already be a certified law enforcement officer in another state, and your certification is accepted by the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center, you may be required to attend only the portion of basic certification class that would familiarize you with Nebraska law and/or any other areas the Training Center deems necessary.

Salary and Benefits

The Lancaster County Deputy Sheriffs' Association's bargaining unit negotiates annually with the County for salaries and benefits.

Shifts & Hours
The Sheriff's Office maintains patrol coverage for the County 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. Patrol deputies bid every six months, by seniority, for positions of shift and days off. Most, if not all, patrol deputies are assigned to 10-hour shifts, four days a week, with three consecutive days off. Other positions carry an 8-hour shift, five days a week.

Salary (effective August 2009)
Starting at $41,753.92 ($20.074 per hour). Upon meeting satisfactory standards on annual performance reviews, a deputy can advance a pay step each year, up to Step 8, paying $59,128.16 ($28.427 per hour). Deputies working evening and night shifts receive an extra 45 cents per hour. Deputies assigned to the supervisory ranks of sergeant and captain receive higher rates of pay. Click here for the complete pay scale.

Overtime
Compensatory time or pay is earned at 1 1/2 times the hourly rate for time exceeding normal shift hours, including court attendance and training.

Longevity Pay
Deputies receive $400.00 annual longevity pay after completing six years of service. The amount increases up to $850.00 annually after completing 20 years of service.

Paid Holidays
Deputies are credited with 104 hours per year of paid holiday time, of which 9 days are designated County holidays and the remaining time as personal holidays. Deputies required to work on any of the nine designated holidays can choose to receive compensatory pay at time-and-a-half in lieu of taking time off at a later date.

Paid Vacations
Vacation leave is earned at 80 hours per year during the first four years of service; after five years - 120 hours/year; after 10 years, 148 hours/year; after 15 years - 168 hours/year; and after 20 years - 198 hours/year. Accumulation is continuous and is not to exceed 240 hours. Leave is earned but not granted during the probationary period.

Paid Sick Leave
Employees accumulate 104 hours of sick time per year and there currently is no cap on banked sick leave.

Paid Health Care and Life Insurance
Deputies may enroll in the Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO health care plan. The county pays ninety five percent of single premiums and eighty five percent of family and 2/4 premiums. The county also pays in full for a $30,000.00 life insurance premium for each deputy.

Paid Dental Insurance
Deputies may enroll in the Ameritas Dental Plan. The county pays one hundred percent of single premiums and eighty percent of family and 2/4 premiums.

Retirement Plan
Employees who have attained age 25 and have one year of service automatically become members of the defined contribution retirement plan. Lancaster County contributes $1.50 for every $1.00 contributed by the employee. The employer's subaccount is 20% vested after 3 years in the plan, up to 100% vested after 7 years. The employee can choose to place the money in any combination of investment options such as a selection of mutual funds or money market accounts.

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