Police Officer/Police Recruit

Administrative Duties:

• Acts as officer in charge of patrol in the absence of ranking supervisor.
• Requests and maintains maintenance of department issued equipment and gear.
• Maintains forms and documents inventory and control.
• Conducts research in specialized or new areas.

Qualification Requirements

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required at the time of hire or for continuation of employment.

Education and Experience:

• High School diploma or equivalent.
• Must meet all Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) and local ordinance requirements (see TCOLE guidelines as outlined below):
  1. Must be a citizen of the United States.
  2. Must be at least 21 years of age or at least 18 years of age and completed 60 college semester hours or received an Associate Degree.
  3. Must be a high school graduate or have passed a GED test indicating high school graduation or have 12 semester hours from an accredited college or university.
  4. Must be of good moral character.
  5. Must not be on probation for any criminal offense.
  6. Must not have been convicted of a felony offense.
  7. Must not have been convicted of the offense of Driving While Intoxicated or Driving Under the Influence of Drugs within the last 10 years; without TCOLE approval.
  8. Must be in satisfactory psychological and emotional health appropriate for police duty.
  9. Must not have been discharged from any military service with less than honorable conditions.
  10. Must not have had a TCOLE license denied or revoked.
  11. Must not have a voluntary surrender of a TCOLE license currently in effect.
  12. Must possess and maintain an acceptable driving record.
  13. Must show no trace of drug dependency or illegal drug use.
  14. Must have visual acuity correctable to 20/20 and must not have colorblindness.
  15. Must not have been convicted of any offense above the grade of Class C Misdemeanor within the last ten (10) years; without TCOLE approval.
  16. Must not be prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
  17. Must not be on or have been on court ordered community supervision or probation for any offense above the grade of Class C Misdemeanor within the last ten (10) years; without TCOLE approval.
  18. Must not have less than an honorable discharge; or its equivalent; from previous peace officer employment.

Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to cooperate with staff and the public.
• Knowledge of department rules, regulations, policies, procedures, memorandums, and directives associated with position.
• Knowledge of provisions, procedures, sources, and elements of state and federal law and municipal ordinances as related to duties and responsibilities.
• Knowledge of concepts, procedures, and techniques related to interviewing, investigation, confessions, defensive and arrest tactics, evidence preservation, collection and processing, search and seizure, and the use of force and basic life support.
• Knowledge of information contained in daily roll call, activity logs, status reports, and teletypes to be sufficiently informed of events or circumstances that affect the effective, efficient, and safe performance of job duties, tasks, and responsibilities.
• Skill in attaining or maintaining required level of proficiency or certification in those job responsibilities, duties, or tasks where standards are formally defined or required.
• Skill in problem solving and the ability to maintain positive working relationships with others.
• Ability to properly operate a motor vehicle and a variety of other equipment necessary to discharge job related duties and responsibilities.
• Ability to recall details, copy written and oral information, and apply instructions with a high degree of accuracy.
• Ability to make quick decisions, accurate observations, sound judgments, and maintain a professional demeanor under ordinary and stressful situations.

Language Skills:

• Ability to communicate efficiently with elected officials, staff, and the public.
• Ability to communicate efficiently in both written and verbal form.
• Skilled in written and oral communication, reading comprehension, and the ability to convey thoughts and ideas in a clear, concise, and organized manner.

Mathematical Skills:

• Ability to perform basic math skills – add, subtract, multiply and divide in all units of measure whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.

Reasoning Skills:

• Ability to define problems, determine violations of law in order to issue citations or effect arrests, analyze crime and accident scenes to reconstruct events and causes.
• Ability to think quickly, maintain self-control, and adapt to stressful situations.
• Ability to use good judgment and effectively solve problems.
• Ability to plan work and establish priorities.
• Ability to distribute work among co-workers and others.

Physical Work Environment: The physical demands and work environment described is representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Ability to have a full range of movement, physical strength, endurance, fitness, and conditioning necessary to protect one's self of others and subdue, control, or arrest resisting subjects.
• The duties of this job include physical activities such as climbing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, crawling, reaching, standing, walking, pushing, pulling, lifting (up to 30 pounds frequently, and up to 150 pounds occasionally), fingering, grasping, feeling, talking, hearing/listening, seeing/observing, and repetitive motions.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close, distance and peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
• Ability to handle and operate various types of items, weapons, and restraints to include shotguns, handguns, batons, handcuffs, flares, traffic cones, etc.

Work Environment: The work environment may include some or all of the following.

• Time pressures (frequent "rush" jobs; urgent deadlines, etc.)
• Distractions (telephone calls; disturbances).
• Unpleasant social situations (dealing with irate or disturbed individuals; or with victims of gruesome or personally invading crimes)
• Dirty environment (situations in which clothing easily becomes dirty with grease, blood, etc.)
• Works outdoors in all weather conditions such as extreme heat, humidity, cold and perception.