Police Officer

JOB SUMMARY

The Police Officer is responsible for law enforcement, crime prevention, and public assistance work in protecting life and property through the enforcement of Federal, State and Local laws and ordinances.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

• Responds to emergency or high-risk situations; participates in criminal and other investigations
• Performs general law enforcement duties, including patrolling assigned areas, checking property for security, conducting visual and audio surveillance, maintaining order and public safety, responding to traffic accidents/incidents and issuing citations, apprehending and arresting suspects, searching suspects, questioning suspects, assisting crime and accident victims, investigating alarms, collecting evidence, taking statements, participates in special unit activities and/or programs as assigned, which may include performing duties as a community police officer, DARE officer, and/or tactical officer
• Completes reports and other job-related documents
• Develops strategies to combat the crime problem in assigned work area
• Administers first aid, makes preliminary investigations, protects physical evidence, locates witnesses and makes arrests at scenes of crimes or other incidents
• Interviews complainants and witnesses to obtain information about crimes; prepares evidence for issuance of complaints and testifies as a witness in court
• Maintains assigned equipment and vehicle
• Participates in death investigations; processes crime scenes

Patrol Officers

• Patrols school zones and high activity areas when assigned
• Directs traffic, investigates accidents, recovers stolen automobiles, prepares detailed reports, gives advice and interprets laws and ordinances and provides general information to the public
• Patrols a designated area of the City in a police car as assigned to preserve the peace, to prevent and discover criminal acts and to enforce traffic regulations
• Answers calls and complaints involving drunkenness, domestic disputes, fires, thefts, accidents and other felonies and misdemeanors
• Makes arrests as appropriate and transports suspects to the Police Department for questioning and/or booking

 Code Enforcement Officer

• Monitors activities of the public and private sector of the City on a daily basis to assure compliance with assigned aspects of City codes; issues citations for code violations; determines applicable codes, action to be taken to address violation, and sets correction date; performs re-inspections to determine compliance
• Responds to and investigates citizen complaints concerning code violations, resolving complaints within scope of knowledge and authority; inspects premises for possible violations and gathers evidence
• Conducts self-initiated investigations; meets with business owners, developers, or residents to inform them of violations and discrepancies; explains and interprets codes and communicates solutions; refers to appropriate department or agency as necessary
• Develops and maintains forms, records and reports that provide evaluation and documentation of code enforcement activities
• Researches legal documents and summarizes information; prepares inspection reports; prepares violation notices and recommendations for correction; assesses fines; follows up on each case to verify corrections have been made to comply with codes
• Prepares cases for and provides testimony at Code Enforcement Board and County Courts hearings as necessary
• Organizes and maintains documentation and prepares cases for court and for filing or submission to City Attorney for prosecution; testifies in court for the City in legal actions taken to gain compliance
• Presents the entire code violation case to the Court, including all evidence and witnesses, for final disposition if the defendant is not represented by counsel

Detective

• Examines crime scenes, makes analyses of evidence, processes fingerprints and other traces, photographs evidence and crime scenes
• Maintains control and responsibility for the evidence locker and the disposition of all evidence maintained by the Department
• Implements special operations and activities, including undercover operations, stakeouts, and other surveillance activities; coordinates investigations with personnel of other divisions and other agencies as appropriate; reviews cases and assigns to investigators; reviews case progress with investigators; offers advice and assistance as needed
• Ensures that crimes are investigated thoroughly and properly to aid in case prosecution
• This position conducts background investigation for new hires and internal affairs investigations.
• Responsible for assigned ongoing cases until completion.
• rains the officers on proper evidence procedures and ensure accuracy.
• Participate in the county's Clandestine Laboratory task force
• Prevention of crime through mean outside the standard shift schedule including; change of shift days and hours with minimal advanced notice, on call duties during nights, weekends, and holiday, ability to respond with short periods of notice, change of uniforms during a shift
• Assists other sections of the Police Department as called upon including; patrol duties as required, deal with animal control issues and obtain training certificates for animal control duties, perform finger printing for the community
• Performs investigative work and discrete surveillance in standard uniforms, alternate uniforms, or plain clothes

OTHER DUTIES

• Work rotating shifts and to be on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week Represents the Department at meetings involving assigned activities
• All employees will have a role in the City's disaster preparation and/or disaster recovery efforts, as may be designated in the City Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan
• Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing or activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

REQUIRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Job-related education attained. State the educational qualifications in terms of areas of study and/or type of degree or concentration that would provide the knowledge required for entry into this position.
• Required job-related work or training experience consistent with business necessity. Should internships, undergraduate work experience, and graduate assistantships be accepted levels of experience; this will need to be specifically stated. 
• High School graduation or possession of an acceptable equivalency diploma
• At minimum one (1) year experience in Law Enforcement or another related field
• A comparable amount of training, education or experience can be substituted for the minimum qualifications

ADDITONAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

• Valid Florida Driver's License
• Florida Law Enforcement Certification

COMPETENCIES

• General knowledge of the operating procedures of a local law enforcement agency
• General knowledge of the pertinent laws, Ordinances and codes pertaining to criminal and related violations
• General knowledge of Microsoft Office applications and other standard equipment that applies to police work
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with management personnel, co-workers, outside agencies and the general public
• Ability to interact effectively in a wide variety of situations
• Ability to analyze situations quickly and objectively and to determine the proper course of action to be taken
• Ability to cope with situations firmly, courteously and tactfully, and with respect for the rights of others
• Ability to understand and follow oral and written instructions
• Ability to react quickly and calmly in emergencies
• Ability to meet job demands under emergency and/or strenuous and prolonged situations
• Ability to express ideas clearly and concisely, orally, and in writing
• Ability to recognize safety hazards and to take precautionary measures to protect self and others

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Primarily, works indoors in an office environment or non-emergency situation
• Primarily, works outdoors in emergency situations; observes subordinate performance in field; visits crime and accident scenes
• Exposure to various weather conditions with: noise, dust, fumes; gases; chemicals; grease or oils; electrical energy; slippery surfaces; uneven surfaces; in or with moving objects, odors.
• Moderate to loud noise level in the work environment

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Must be able to exert up to 30 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects. 
• Physical demands are in excess of those for sedentary work; must be able to remain on feet for periods of time, stoop, kneel, crouch, lift, carry, push, pull, climb, balance, walk, run. 
• Must be physically fit and able to defend one's self from attack or physical assault. 
• Must be able to restrain, lift and/or carry adults of varying weights.
• Must maintain required level of proficiency in the use of firearms and other less than lethal non- Must maintain physical fitness in accordance with department standards
• Must be able to regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and frequently lift and/or move up to 100 pounds
•  Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus
• Sufficient visual acuity to read and comprehend departmental reports and documents
• Acceptable hearing (with or without hearing aid)
• Tasks involve operating a police vehicle, firearms, restraining devices, two-way radio, using protective gear, and other police-issued equipment, as well as a variety of other equipment including a computer, calculator; exercises care and safety in the use of equipment required to complete assigned tasks

The City of Orange City is a Drug-Free Workplace.

Individuals selected for employment must first pass a background and driving history check before commencing work with the City of Orange City.