Demand high, hiring odds low for officers

While there is a need to fill open law enforcement positions, the odds of becoming an officer with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office or the Orlando Police Department are tough.

About 7 percent of those interested in becoming a Sheriff’s Office deputy were hired in 2016. At the Police Department, about 1 percent of total applicants were hired last year.

This month, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings asked Orange County commissioners for a 2018 budget of about $18 million, largely aimed at recruiting and retaining deputies. He wants to create 55 new jobs — at least 46 of them sworn officer positions.

Demings told county commissioners he has “very high standards” and personally makes all of the hiring decisions for sworn officers. He said it typically takes between three and six months to “delve into a person’s background and understand who it is that [they’re] hiring.”

“I will refuse to hire just anyone to put a gun on and give them the authority to use deadly force and to make arrests,” Demings said.

As of Thursday, there were 15 vacancies in the Orlando Police Department. The Sheriff’s Office — which is about twice the size of the Police Department with about 1,500 sworn positions — said it is “constantly recruiting.”

“This is a daily task for an agency of our size dealing with the realities of retirements, resignations and turnover,” Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. Angelo Nieves said this month.

Nearly 109,000 people inquired about being an Orange County deputy through the agency’s website. Of those who filled out an application, 2,223 met the minimum qualifications for the job.

The Sheriff’s Office hired 144 sworn officers last year, meaning just one in 15 qualified candidates was hired — and one in 756 people who sought information about the job online was hired.

Once hired, it can take about a year before deputies are ready to work on their own. If a new hire has no law enforcement experience, the Sheriff’s Office puts the person through a five-month law enforcement academy.

All employees also go through an eight-week, agency-specific training program, Demings said. Finally, they spend another 14 weeks of training on patrol with another officer before going out on their own.

The Orlando Police Department received about 5,000 application last year for sworn officer positions, up from about 3,500 in 2015. About half those 5,000 applicants made it to the formal application process, spokeswoman Michelle Guido said.

Of the approximately 2,500 qualified candidates, only 50 officers were hired — which Guido said is average for a typical year.

OPD’s hiring process takes six months to a year to complete. Applicants must complete civil service exams, physical agility tests, polygraphs, “intensive background investigation,” multiple interviews and medical and psychological exams, according to the department’s hiring website.

Orange County commissioners are set to review a proposed budget next month that would include Demings’ request for more officers.