Lake, Mendocino counties struggling to attract police officers, deputies

Faced with competition from better paying cities and counties to the south, Lake and Mendocino counties’ law enforcement agencies have launched a new wave of employee recruiting efforts aimed at making them more competitive.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday is holding the first of four recruiting meetings where prospective employees can learn about available positions, including for dispatchers, corrections officers, cooks and deputies.

In Mendocino County, the nonprofit Mendocino Public Safety Foundation offers $8,000 police academy scholarships to potential deputies willing to commit to staying in the county for three years, a program Lake County law officials are hoping will be emulated in their area.

“It’s an ongoing challenge” to get enough qualified applicants, said Ukiah Police Chief Chris Dewey. He was authorized to increase the number of sworn officers in his department from 28 to 32 two years ago but is still three shy of the goal.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office needs seven deputies, said Undersheriff Chris Macedo. It also needs eight corrections officers, five dispatchers, two correctional aides and two records technicians.

The shortage is chronic, Macedo said.

“It’s been ongoing forever. We are a training ground for other agencies” that offer better pay and benefits, he said.

Sonoma County offers an entry level deputy salary of $5,376 compared with $3,883 for a rookie Lake County deputy and $4,330 for a fledgling Ukiah police officer, according to department officials and web sites.

In addition to the pay gap, officers and families who move from urban to rural counties for jobs may be put off by the lack of shopping and available social activities, Macedo said. He said some of his department’s officers actually commute from the Bay Area.

Some would-be officers also come to realize during training that the job is more stressful than they expected, said Dewey.

“It’s a tough career,” he said. “It’s a real calling. You need to love the work you’re doing.”

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office Tuesday recruitment meeting is from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Middletown library. Additional sessions will be held during the same hours on March 3 at Brick Hall in Lower Lake; the Lake County board of Supervisors Chambers in Lakeport on March 10; and Marymount college in Lucerne on March 19.

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MendoReporter