Community Service Officer at City of Brawley (CA) – Brawley, California

BASIC JOB FUNCTION:
Under general supervision, a civilian employee who performs a selected range of non-hazardous law enforcement support duties as a non-sworn, non-peace officer involving a variety of civil and criminal functions that do not require the authority of a sworn law enforcement officer, but have a high factor of responsibility, liability, and criticality.
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS:
This is a non-sworn, civilian law enforcement, support classification. The Community Service Officer provides information and assistance to the general public and answers citizen inquiries; performs police support services in crime prevention, crime investigation, evidence processing and management, parking enforcement, community intervention, traffic control, perform searches of female prisoners, related clerical tasks, fingerprinting, court liaison, subpoena service, and no-suspect crime response that does not require full police powers. CSO assists police officers in the performance of duties and performs related duties as required.
Community Service Officers do not respond to in-progress crimes, situations where there is a suspect, or volatile situations. The successful candidate must possess a significant degree of initiative, independent judgment, and discretion. The ability to interact positively with community members and professionals from other government agencies is required to develop, maintain, and successfully perform this customer service position.
Community Service Officers are cross-trained in four primary areas: Property/Evidence Management, Records Management, Administrative Support, and Public Service Desk.
REPRESENTATIVE DUTIES:
* The following duties are typical for this classification; CSOs may not perform all listed duties and/or may be required to perform additional or different duties from those set forth below to address business needs and changing business practices.
Administrative Support

• Respond to non-hazardous, non-emergency, no-suspect calls for service in place of a Police Officer. Respond to hazard calls, including spills and items in the roadway; interview complainants; prepare criminal and non-criminal police reports (e.g., including, but not limited to, runaway, missing persons, grand/petty theft, and ID theft. Identify, document, preserve, and collect evidence at crime scenes.

• Write accurate, complete incident and crime reports; complete evidence forms for evidence or property collected; book evidence or property into evidence.

• Provide traffic control during emergency or congested situations.

• Conduct public presentation outreach (e.g., station tours, Neighborhood Watch programs).

• Fingerprint citizens for employment and licensing; fingerprint and photograph arrested subjects released by a citation to appear in court.
• Perform occasional searches of female prisoners.
• Coordinate, serve, and track department subpoenas; serve subpoenas to officers, victims, and witnesses; deliver court documents.

Property/Evidence Management

• Perform various duties related to processing, storage, court requests, and evidence/property custody disposition.

• Accurately enter and track all evidence/property into CAD/RMS.
• Maintain all property reports with proper notations of any/all actions associated with the property, commonly called chain-of-custody.
• Coordinate and implement ongoing purging activities, working closely with officers, District Attorney’s Office, court personnel, Victim/Witness personnel, and others in determining when evidence/property may be released to the owner or finder, sold, destroyed, or assigned to permanent storage.
• Stay abreast of local, state, and federal property/evidence handling laws and recommend appropriate changes.

Records Management

• Maintain and correct errors as necessary for all records, criminal case files, and Police Department documents within the Records Division's RMS system.
• Maintain a schedule to retain, destroy, seal, or expunge, as ordered by the court, documents in accordance with current laws.
• Prepare statistical reports.
• Receive and process cash payment for providing copies of police reports to citizens, lawyers, insurance companies, etc.… Prepares reports of cash received.
• Act as a receptionist and provide general information concerning the areas of police department responsibility.

Public Service Desk

• Greet the public at the front counter of the Police Department, providing information and assistance.
• Register and process required documentation for subjects released from jail or prison and required by law to register with the Department, e.g., sex registrants and narcotics registrants.
• Prepare and process Department of Justice audits.
• Perform various duties related to alarm processing, department fee transactions, fingerprinting of members of the public, and operating basic photography equipment.

OTHER DUTIES:

• Perform related duties as assigned.

KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES:

KNOWLEDGE OF:

§ Interpersonal communication techniques for dealing with varied groups of people, particularly in emergency situations.

§ Basic report writing principles and techniques, including English usage, spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

§ Modern office procedures, methods, and equipment, including record keeping and filing methods, computers, and computer applications such as word processing, spreadsheets, and database applications.

§ Public and agency public information act procedures and methods for providing services and information related to collecting, maintaining, and releasing information, files, and documents.

§ Methods and techniques used in customer service and public speaking (e.g., presentations).

§ Skilled in using office equipment such as typewriters, dictating machines or recorders, calculators, computers, copying and fax machines, telephone systems, etc.

ABILITY TO:

§ Work effectively with the public.

§ Perform various non-sworn law enforcement activities; exercise independent judgment and work with minimum supervision.

§ Learn methods and techniques related to basic police functions (e.g., evidence processing, traffic control assistance, RMS use)

§ Type 30 net words per minute.

§ Prepare clear, concise, factual, and thorough reports and statements.

§ Work under steady pressure with frequent interruptions and a high degree of public phone or in-person contact.

§ Competently operate computer terminals, typewriters, and office equipment.

§ Operate police radio equipment; use departmental manuals and reference materials.

§ Learn and apply governing regulations (e.g., departmental regulations, Statute of Limitations, penal and civil codes, and numerous other applicable Federal, State, and local laws and policies) pertinent to evidence and public versus confidential information.

§ Have good recall ability to remember facts, names, faces, numbers, incidents and places, and other related law enforcement tasks and case laws.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• High School graduate or equivalent.
• Must be at least 18 years of age at the time of appointment.
• Possess and maintain a California Class “C” driver’s license and an acceptable driving record.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) abilities are highly desirable and will be given preference.
• The successful candidate must pass an extensive background investigation and City medical evaluation.
• A combination of training, education, and experience that is equivalent to the employment standards listed above and provides the required knowledge and abilities.