TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — The Tarrant County Sheriff's Office hopes to fill more than 200 positions during a massive one-of-a-kind job fair this month.
In addition to hiring, deputies invite the community to learn more about their mission and different law enforcement services.
"The other part of the job fair is community outreach," said Sgt. Michael Opdahl.
Other highlights of joining the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office as a Cadet or Detention Officer include being able to enroll in the county's Retirement Plan and receiving Healthcare Benefits on the first day on the job.
"We have a lot of openings. Our jail staff have a lot of internal promotional opportunities, and they also have the opportunity to go through our cadet program to go to our patrol division," Sgt. Opdahl said.
Starting pay for detention officers is $26.25 an hour which is about more than $50,000 annually with full benefits. There is a chance to earn even more through differential pay for late shifts and overtime.
New hires do not have to have experience and will undergo comprehensive training. Applicants are required to have completed High School or obtained a GED and pass a screening test.
During the job fair applicants will be tested on a row machine with a 2000-meter challenge.
Sheriff Bill Waybourn will have recruiters present to administer the physical “row test”, expedite applications, and answer questions about the Training Academy and career opportunities.
The sheriff's main goal is to hire 9 dispatchers, 24 deputies, and up to 170 jailers, who are community-oriented.
"Everybody that is in the jail, even though they are in the jail they are part of our community. They are temporarily being housed in our system, but they will come out and rejoin us in our community," Sgt. Michael Opdahl said.
The event is also family-friendly offering parents free child fingerprinting in case of emergencies. They'll have the opportunity to learn more about SWAT, hostage negotiations, look over mock crime scene displays, see drone demos, and more.
The job fair is on Saturday, October 19 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 837 Brown Trail in Bedford.