ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is looking outside of Central Florida to hire new deputies.
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Orange County Cpl. Pedro Rivera said he made the move to Orange County for a better quality of life for his family and himself.
After his service with the U.S. Marine Corps, Rivera became an agent with the Puerto Rico State Police and then it was on to a job at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
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“The opportunities are here. All you have to do is take that step,” Rivera said.
The Sheriff’s Office is hoping they can bring on more deputies like Rivera with an approach they have not taken before.
Members of the agency will soon be flying down to Puerto Rico to recruit deputies at a time when agencies across the country are short of officers.
“We have the ability and the means to go directly to Puerto Rico, why don’t we do that?” Sheriff John Mina said.
He said the agency is currently down 10% in staff.
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In at least the past four years, the Sheriff’s Office said it has added about 400 positions.
Mina said officers still continue to retire, and it has been a little bit of a challenge for the agency.
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When a team of recruiters and deputies head to the island, they will be hosting three hiring events in San Juan and Mayaguez.
Mina said he is very familiar with the island.
When he was the Orlando police chief, he sent officers to help people on the island in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
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The sheriff is also hopeful his team meets future people like Rivera, who are eager to start a new chapter with the agency.
“We’re looking for recruits who are bilingual,” Mina said.
He said there has been a large increase of Orange County residents who moved to the area from Puerto Rico in recent years.
Mina said he just wants to make the Sheriff’s Office the best agency it can be.
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For Rivera, working at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office has been a very positive experience in his life.
“The Sheriff’s Office has been like my family. I’ve have great support here,” he said.
The Sheriff’s Office is offering out-of-state deputies up to $7,500 in bonuses in addition to a starting salary of $54,000.
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