Goochland County Sheriff’s Office adds new deputy recruits

The Goochland County Sheriff’s Office added new deputy sheriff recruits and used the announcement to underscore how much of the county’s public-safety workload still runs through one agency. The office is Goochland County’s primary law enforcement agency, and its deputies cover patrol, courthouse security, service of court papers, investigations, community outreach and education, and 9-1-1 call center operations.

Those responsibilities make every new recruit a staffing decision, not a ceremonial one. More deputies can affect how quickly the office can spread coverage across county roads, keep up with courthouse demands, and handle calls that come in from farther-flung parts of Goochland as residential and commercial growth continues along corridors such as River Road West and the Route 288 side of the county.

The Sheriff’s Office has been recruiting aggressively in recent years, and its public hiring notices show how the job has been marketed to prospective deputies. One county recruitment notice said the deputy sheriff position started at $46,000, required no experience, and included paid training and full benefits. A later recruiting post for deputies beginning July 1, 2023, listed a starting salary of $56,250. Another post for the office’s April 2024 Academy put the starting salary at $57,187.

That pay progression points to a department trying to stay competitive while filling front-line positions that are hard to leave vacant for long. The Sheriff’s Office administrative division oversees the testing and hiring process for deputies, communications officers and office staff, which means the recruitment pipeline is not limited to sworn law enforcement but extends to the people who help answer calls, process applications and keep daily operations moving.

The office is located at 2938 River Road West, Building C, in Goochland, and the county website continues to list the Sheriff’s Office among its active departments and job-related resources. County officials have also kept the deputy sheriff position open in current hiring materials, a sign that staffing remains an active issue as the agency tries to maintain patrol coverage, courthouse operations and emergency response in a county that keeps adding residents and demands.