Patrol Officer

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Patrols an assigned area, by vehicle or on foot, to prevent crimes and enforce laws and ordinances on non-permanent shifts.
• Responds to emergency calls and routine complaints and disturbances and takes necessary action.
• Directs traffic, escorts traffic, operates traffic radar monitoring equipment and issues traffic citations.
• Conducts initial investigation of traffic accidents and criminal offenses.
• Questions witnesses, complainants, victims and suspects and takes statements and affidavits.
• Makes referrals to DHS when appropriate.
• Keeps records of activities and prepares reports concerning crimes, complaints, accidents, and investigations.
• Serves warrants and makes arrests.
• Pursues and apprehends suspects.
• Responds to the public's calls for assistance and takes necessary action, including performing first aid.
• Shares information and works with other law enforcement agencies as directed and appropriate.
• Processes prisoners, including fingerprinting, photographing, ensuring magistration by a judge, approving City bonds, searching prisoners, recording and securing the prisoner's property, and transporting prisoners to appropriate facility.
• Tags and logs in evidence.
• Appears/Testifies in court and before grand juries as necessary and/or required.
• Conducts security checks of businesses and residential areas on patrol route.
• Affords assistance to EMS personnel, Firefighters, and Animal Control Officers.
• Performs police-community relations activities.
• Performs upkeep and simple maintenance on department vehicles.
• Affords assistance with special activities, such as Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) operations, weather watches, school traffic monitoring and funeral escorts.
• May impound vehicles and may maintain inventory.
• Relays complaint and emergency-request information to appropriate agency dispatchers and may provide dispatch relief when necessary.
• Serves in extension of current duties as required for emergency management, particularly in the areas of staff alerting, communication, public warning, and law enforcement.
• May be assigned as a Crime Scene Processor, Intoxilyzer Operator or K-9 handler.
• Edits the public on issues of crime prevention and awareness including conducting inspections, classes, and speeches related to crime prevention, safety education, and community involvement, including Neighborhood Watch programs.
• Performs such other law enforcement, investigative, technical, and educational duties as may be assigned.

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities

• Knowledge: Basic to intermediate law enforcement procedures and protocols and local ordinances, traffic laws and regulations, first aid and emergency response techniques.
• Skills: Strong communication and interpersonal skills while promoting an attitude of friendliness, helpfulness, tact, understanding and caring in the performance of assigned duties. Problem solving, develop solutions, and implements strategies that attain desired results to crime, disordered and incidents of concern brought to the attention of police. Basic computer and technology skills. Teamwork and collaboration by communicating openly with the organization, offering mutual support to facilitate the accomplishments of higher goals of community protection and service over individual accomplishments.
• Abilities: Ability of effective verbal and written communication. Ability to accept responsibility for crime prevention and awareness, recognizing effective desire to deter crime rather than to react to it and to efficiently provide professional protection and services to all citizens.

Tools And Equipment Used

• Personal computer, including word processor, spreadsheets, 10-key calculator, phone, copy machine, fax machine, radio, handcuffs, handgun, rifle, etc.

Physical Demands

• The physical demands described herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit, stand, crawl, talk, hear and manipulate objects. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.