Recruit Police Officer

About the role

The Department: The men and women of the Santa Clara Police Department take tremendous pride in providing the community with outstanding service through the "Santa Clara Way" of service. In partnership with the citizens, the team provides law enforcement services with professional and dedicated staff. The team will always identify and resolve problems utilizing all available resources and perform services professionally and with a high level of integrity.

To learn more visit our website.

Responsibilities

Performs related duties as assigned.

Requirements

Minimum Education And Experience Requirements:

• Completion of sixty (60) semester units or ninety (90) quarter units of academic level course work at an accredited college or university with no experience required;
• ORCompletion of thirty (30) semester units or forty-five (45) quarter units of academic level courses at an accredited college or university and two (2) years full-time, paid, recent police experience with a sheriff's department, state police, highway patrol, or municipal police department.

License/Certifications Possession of an appropriate, valid California driver's license is required at time of appointment and for duration of employment.

Qualifications

Physical And Other Requirements:

• Must be at least 20 years of age at time of application filing and 21 years of age at time of job appointment;
• Must possess the strength and physical ability necessary to perform the essential functions of the position of Police Officer;
• Must be willing to be fingerprinted.

Vision Requirements:

• Vision including color, night, depth, and peripheral vision sufficient to perform all of the essential functions of the position of Police Officer;
• Visual acuity of not less than 20/80 vision in each eye uncorrected, and corrected to 20/30 in each eye EXCEPTION: Applicants with correction afforded by soft contact lenses are exempt from the minimum uncorrected vision standard of 20/80, provided their corrected vision is 20/30 in each eye.

Hearing, speech, and mental capabilities sufficient to perform all the essential functions of the position of Police Officer.

Skills

Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities:

• Follow this link to view the entire Class Specification, which includes more information on Typical Duties and Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

Benefits

Overview For Bargaining Unit #2 Police Officers Association:

• Retirement*: Membership in the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS)Classic Employees: 3.0% @ age 50 formula – employee pays 11.25% of gross payNew Employees: 2.7% @ age 57 formula – employee pays 12.25% of gross payMedicare and Social Security (FICA)Employee does not participate in Social SecurityEmployee pays 1.45% of gross salary for Medicare*
• Health Insurance: The City contributes up to 100% of the premium of the Kaiser (Region 1) plan for Employee Only and Employee + 1 Dependent plans, and up to 90% of the premium of the Kaiser (Region 1) plan of the Employee + 2 or More Dependents planEmployees electing health coverage with premiums above the City health contribution will pay additional premium costs from salary on a pre-tax basisNo cash difference is paid if an employee elects a plan cheaper than the max City contributionTo be eligible for the City’s contribution toward health, employees must be on a paid status for at least 80 hours in the month prior to the month of coverageCoverage is effective as early as the first day of the month after date of hireEmployees hired on or after 1/1/2023 who opt-out of City-offered health insurance and provide annual attestation and acceptable proof of alternative required coverage for themselves and their tax family, if applicable, are eligible for a cash-in-lieu amount of $250/month. Contact Human Resources for more details
• Dental Insurance: Choice of two Delta Dental plans; enrollment is mandatoryCity pays lowest cost employee only plan; additional cost is paid by employeeCoverage is effective as early as the first day of the month after date of hire
• Vision Insurance: Choice of two VSP plansCity pays lowest cost employee only plan; additional cost is paid by employeeCoverage is effective as early as the first day of the month after date of hire
• Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA): City contributes $100 a month toward employee's VEBA accountAccount funds may be used to pay for qualified medical expenses after separation from the City and after age 50 (pre-tax)
• Life Insurance: City pays for $15,000 of Basic Life Insurance coverageCoverage is effective the first of the month after one calendar month of employmentAdditional optional life insurance may be purchased for the employee, spouse, domestic partner, and/or dependent children
• Deferred Compensation: Voluntary plan available through Nationwide Retirement SolutionsEmployee may contribute up to the lesser of the IRS maximum or 100% of gross compensation into a pre-tax 457(b) account or a post-tax Roth 457(b) account (or a combination of the two accounts) subject to IRS rulesAdditionally, the City contributes $150 a month toward employee's 457(b) account. This dollar amount will factor into the above mentioned IRS rules and limits
• Flexible Spending Account (IRS Section 125 Plan) Employee may contribute up to $3,400 per year in pre-tax dollars to a health care spending accountEmployee may contribute up to $7,500 per year in pre-tax dollars to a dependent care spending accountEmployee may contribute up to $340 per month in pre-tax dollars to a commuter benefit plan
• Vacation: Vacation is accrued bi-weekly, cannot use vacation during first 6 months of City serviceFor 1 - 9 years of service: 120 hours/calendar yearFor 10 - 15 years of service: 160 hours/calendar yearFor 16 - 20 years of service: 176 hours/calendar yearFor 21+ years of service: 192 hours/calendar yearMaximum vacation accrual is 400 hoursOnce per year, employees can elect to convert up to 90 hours of accrued vacation to cash to be paid out in up to two cash-outs the following calendar yearSick Leave: Sick leave is accrued bi-weekly for equivalent of 96 hours/calendar year with no maximum accrualUp to 56 hours/ calendar year of accumulated sick leave may be used for family illnessUp to 32 hours/calendar year of accumulated sick leave may be used as personal leaveEmployee may convert sick leave to vacation once per year (annual maximum conversion is 96 hours sick to 48 hours vacation)Partial sick leave payoff provision on retirement depending on years of service
• Holiday Pay: 7.5% of base salary for Holiday Pay
• Bilingual Pay: If the Chief of Police determines that a particular assignment involves need for bilingual skills on a regular basis, a certified bilingual employee is eligible for $45/b