Help wanted: Ramsey County Sheriff's Office ramping up recruitment

RAMSEY COUNTY, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office is currently ramping up its recruitment efforts, with law enforcement officials looking for new faces to fill several open positions.

The Ramsey County Sheriff's office is looking to fill at least 10 corrections positions at the Ramsey County Detention Center. 

Due to a number of factors, including a shortage of qualified job seekers, and concerns about officer safety and well-being, law enforcement agencies around the country have faced challenges with recruiting for the past three years.

FOX 9's Bisi Onile-Ere spoke with a Ramsey County training lieutenant who says recruitment efforts are getting better, but with so many law enforcement agencies looking to hire, it is a competitive process. 

While the rate of hiring is improving for the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office, Lt. Williams says that there remains a big push to boost efforts to fill current openings.

"A lot of people have gotten out of the field and or have gone on to become police officers. Corrections is usually the gate way if you have the desire to become a police officer, you'll come work in the jail and get that field experience and then they go to become a police officer or deputy for Ramsey County. So we're constantly trying to replenish the pool of candidates that we have for corrections," Williams said.

The salary for a Ramsey County Corrections officer ranges between $54,000 to more than $86,000 a year, with benefits such as health, dental and retirement also included.

Lt. Williams says that one of the biggest misconceptions is that job seekers should have a background in law enforcement.

"I feel like it's a field that people don't know enough about and so I'm just trying to educate people on what we do and find people who want to work in the community or give back to the community by working here as a corrections officer. I think the past couple of years have been kind of tough for law enforcement, you know across the board, so I think it's just trying to give people the understanding of what the job is, and what the job isn't and showing them that they don't have to have experience to come in and becomes a corrections officer," Williams said.

The effort to ramp up recruitment isn't exclusive to the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office. Law enforcement agencies across the country have a renewed focus on recruitment and retention. 

For more information about career opportunities at the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office, click here.