Lt. Sean Gerrity, commander of the
Valley Center Sheriff’s Substation, was recently interviewed by
college student John Fawkes. We thought our readers would be interested
in some of his answers to Fawkes’s questions.
We’ll be presenting them in a series over the next few weeks.
This is Part II in the series.
* * *
Q: What level of education do you have?
A: I hold a Master’s Degree in Public Administration,
with an emphasis in Executive Computer Management. I also hold a Bachelor’s
Degree in Public Administration, with an emphasis in Criminal Justice
Administration. Both of these were earned after I became a peace officer.
Of course, I also have a high school diploma.
Q: What work background did you have prior
to joining the SD?
A: Aside from my time as a Sheriff’s Explorer
and Station Guard, I had also attended a Sheriff’s Reserve Academy
(during two school semesters when I was 20 years old). When I was
13, my first job was washing dishes at a campground restaurant on
Mission Bay. I worked at that campground in different seasonal jobs
until I was hired as a Station Guard with the Sheriff’s Department
when I was 19.
Those jobs included custodial maintenance, repair maintenance, assistant
maintenance manager, campground security, customer check-in, and even
some time working at the campground marina. I also worked elsewhere
at a few bicycle shops repairing bicycles. Additionally, I spent four
months as a seasonal firefighter with the California Division of Forestry,
at the end of a fire season.
Q: If you were hiring someone to take your
place, what would you look for?
A: First and foremost, honesty and integrity –
this is the most critical job requirement in this field. So much so,
that if a deputy sheriff is found to be dishonest, even in relatively
small matters, he or she VERY likely faces not only termination from
the department, but likely will not be able to find employment as
a peace officer anywhere else. In other words, dishonesty is career
destroying.
If the person has a criminal record at all, it cannot include convictions
for serious offenses. Felony convictions are disqualifying. Some misdemeanor
convictions, especially those involving moral turpitude, are disqualifying.
Even arrests, without convictions, can be disqualifying if the circumstances
indicate a lack of honesty or integrity.
It goes without saying that a person must also be “drug free.”
Very little leeway is given for youthful “drug experimentation”
in the person’s past, though some exceptions have been made
for minor involvement, at least two or more years past, and usually
as a juvenile.
The person must be psychologically sound, reasonably mature, self-controlling
and must be a reasonable and fair person. The person must be reasonably
intelligent and educated, capable of writing and communicating clearly
and capable of learning, understanding, practicing and employing complex
legal, procedural and tactical concepts.
The person must be able to understand, communicate and deal with a
wide and diverse variety of people, in a variety of different ways.
The person must be able to perform competently and reasonably, able
to make and execute reasonable decisions under “high pressure,”
stressful conditions – sometimes with little time or limited
information.
The person must have a reasonable level of physical fitness. These
requirements do not imply that someone must be “fearless”
(such a person is actually a danger to him/herself or others in this
business). Instead, the person must be able to perform despite the
fear he or she may be experiencing in a given situation.
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