Law enforcement is more than just the deputies on the street. To be effective, it takes plenty of program management, radio dispatching, financial services, research and development, fingerprint identification, crime analysis, and evidence processing, and other behind-the-scenes customer services. Professional staff members provide these essential services to residents and deputies, making law enforcement more effective and efficient. Professional KCSO employees (i.e., people in non-deputy positions) are a vital part of this family, and find a special satisfaction in realizing the vital impact they are making for people in need.

The descriptions below show just a few of the many opportunities available to you as a member of the KCSO team. Click on the links to learn more by viewing PDF copies of the sample position announcements.

If you want to see which opportunities are open now, please check the current openings page. We hope you will consider a professional career with the KCSO and find out why our employees are proud to be a part of this great agency.
 

Operators and dispatchers are the first people that callers reach when they are in trouble — their commitment to service and problem solving is absolute. Following rigorous training, they become key partners of our deputies on the street. They do whatever it takes to help; they will dispatch an officer when needed, collect necessary information to prioritize the call, take a crime report over the phone, or refer the caller to the proper agency. Every person in this job series starts as a 9-1-1 operator and has the possibility of promoting to dispatcher, supervisor, or manager. The operation is housed in a very comfortable state-of-the-art facility that opened in October 2003.
 

These individuals manage a wide variety of administrative and clerical work throughout the department, and often interact directly with people who need assistance. They assist in producing a wide variety of reports and documents, answer phones, work directly with the public to provide a wide variety of services, and help our offices run efficiently! There are a variety of these positions with varying duties throughout the KCSO.

Administrative Specialist II (AS II) is the level open most often to the public. These positions require good clerical skills, some clerical experience and the ability to independently interpret and apply a wide range of policies and procedures in support of a work unit, under general supervision. We also have a number of Administrative Specialist III and IV positions, which provide more advanced technical support, and often serve in a lead or supervisory role.
 

Community Service Officers work as the liaison between various community groups and the Sheriff's Office. Foreign language skills are very helpful. A background in social work can help prepare you for this kind of work, but is not required. Situations can include: conflict resolutions in non-violent situations, victim assistance, working with child abuse cases, and offering social agency referrals. CSOs also assist with law enforcement tasks that the officers can't always get to such as taking stolen bike reports, assisting with witness statements, directing traffic in emergency situations, and working with community groups to prevent crime. CSOs wear uniforms and drive a marked department vehicle, but are not armed, commissioned officers. It is busy and rewarding work and a great way to help your community!
 

These are the people who ensure safety in our courthouses. They assist the weapons screeners at our doors, respond to calls for assistance in courtrooms, provide safety escorts in problematic situations, and arrest people when necessary. They have full powers of arrest while in King County buildings. They are experienced officers (often retired) who want to continue their participation in law enforcement.
 

These are the techies of the KCSO! They take care of computer and network installation, repair, and upgrades. These are the computer problem solvers and trainers of our team and the ones who keep the rest of us happily working away at our desktop computers. There are several levels of positions, from desktop and laptop support specialists to applications developers and senior network administrators. If you love systems development and programming, technical problem solving, and network administration, this is the unit for you!
 

Police Data Technicians receive, enter, maintain, transmit and relay information concerning police warrants, orders, missing and dangerous people, stolen property and other criminal information to, from, and between King County Sheriff’s Office mobile units, other police agencies, police electronic files, paper records, and courts by means of radio, telephone; County, State, national and international criminal justice systems and other telecommunication devices.
 

Evidence Specialists are the team members who work in the department’s evidence warehouse, called the Property Management Unit. They package and transport criminal case evidence using careful chain of custody principles so it is secure until needed in court. They also store stolen property until the owners are notified and come to get it. Some computer skills are needed in this position to help log and inventory the wide range of evidence that comes in as part of a police investigation. It is an important element to the entire investigation process that starts on the street and ends in the courtroom. This is a really interesting place to work because you never know what piece of evidence is going to come in!
 

These are the team members who provide a wide range of fiscal services to the KCSO. Their areas of expertise include payroll, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and budget development and tracking. They are the accounting gurus of the Sheriff’s Office. If you have a knack for numbers, love “balancing your own checkbook” and like the satisfaction of getting others their paychecks accurately and on time or providing other related services, these are the jobs for you!
 

Fingerprints and now DNA are the key to solving many crimes. KCSO manages the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) for the entire region. Our Fingerprint ID Techs take the fingerprints of everyone booked into jail and determine from their fingerprints whether they have given us their true identity! Latent Fingerprint Examiners are the team's fingerprint experts. They carefully scrutinize fingerprints captured at crime scenes, playing a vital partnership role with our detectives in solving crimes. They also utilize state-of-the-art tools to find and lift fingerprints at crime scenes. This is a very satisfying career where much of the training can be received on the job and promotion is possible from entry-level ID Tech to Latent Examiner.
 

The Sheriff's Office Photo Lab is a busy, technically complex and interesting way to use your photographic expertise. KCSO photographers must have the ability to take professional portraits and the skill to do forensic photography as well. They are often partnered with detectives to get photos ready for court or for the media. Photographers are involved in the entire process — from taking photos to developing, recording and cataloging them for future reference.
 

These are the team members who provide a wide range of planning and research services. They do professional crime analysis, perform statistical research, manage department-wide projects, manage database content, serve on inter-jurisdictional committees and develop management presentations. If you love research, computers, and statistics it's all here for you! Project Program Manager is the job title for this classification.
 

Sheriff’s Office Records Specialists perform a variety of functions necessary to support the Sheriff’s Office, other members of the criminal justice community, and the general public. Dues include case flow processing (receiving, data entry, efiling, and scanning of police reports), developing criminal history background information, responding to public disclosure requests, processing a variety of firearm-related licensing and screening applicants to purchase handguns, and registering sex offenders. To do the job, Records Specialists must learn to use a variety of state and local laws and to work with local, state, and federal criminal records databases.