Welfare Fraud Investigator

About the role

This recruitment will establish a candidate pool of qualified competitive applicants and will remain open until filled. The County of Riverside's Department of Public Social Services (DPSS), Special Investigations Unit, is seeking to fill a position for the Welfare Fraud Investigator throughout the Western Region of Riverside County. This recruitment may be used for future vacancies throughout the County.

Responsibilities

• Review case files to locate alleged violations, determine validity of allegations and extract case file information useful to the investigation.
• Locate and interview suspected persons, absent parents, witnesses and company and agency representatives to obtain and verify information and evidence; analyze and evaluate statements, information and evidence obtained through interviews and investigations.
• Examine a variety of records to secure information concerning suspected violations; gather and assemble reports, statements, affidavits, and other forms of evidence for use in legal actions; gather, preserve, analyze and evaluate physical evidence for presentation in hearings and court; use electronic and electronic data processing equipment to collect evidence.
• Prepare and serve search warrants; prepare legal and general correspondences, investigative reports and other documents as directed.
• Interpret, explain and apply provisions of ongoing and new laws, rules, and regulations related to the investigations of welfare fraud and/or other special investigations.
• Prepare subjects for photo line-up to identify suspects; prepare and process extradition forms; identify, investigate, detain, and arrest suspects and appear in court to provide required information; file criminal complaints with the District Attorney's Office.
• Acts as a liaison between DPSS and the District Attorney's Office; correspond with County departments, other departmental staff, as well as various external agencies in the coordination of investigations.
• Conduct special investigations of internal affairs matters, applicant's background, alleged civil rights violations, DPSS court dependent problems, and other issues as directed.
• Conduct investigations of missing/runaway juveniles; locate and transport juveniles to and from group homes, hospitals, mental facilities, juvenile detention centers, family residences and airports, all of which may be both within or out of the County of Riverside and the State of California; comply and enforce appropriate safety guidelines to ensure officer safety, public safety, and the security of the juvenile.
• Respond to lobby security panic alarms and incidents involving members of the public creating a public safety risk to themselves, staff or others located in assigned DPSS County facilities; serve in a sworn peace officer capacity and tactfully deal with escalating situations until local law enforcement agencies respond.
• Aid with court-ordered juvenile visitations and monitoring of dependent care.

  Requirements

  • Education: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree, preferably with a major in criminal justice, law enforcement, administration of justice, police science, criminology or a related field to the assignment.
  • Experience: Two years performing non-sworn investigative work, which included conducting interviews, preparing investigative reports, identifying, and locating witnesses, suspects or claimants and conducting preliminary field investigations.
  • Experience: Two years conducting criminal investigations in a sworn status, in a governmental law enforcement agency, which included as a primary responsibility the performance of field investigations or law enforcement patrol enforcing the general criminal laws of a state.
  • Experience: Three years conducting eligibility casework, which included as a primary responsibility an advanced level of case auditing in public assistance programs or performing casework in protective services, which included as a primary responsibility complex investigative work and writing court reports.

  Qualifications

  • Possession of a valid California Driver's License is required.
  • Possession of a valid State of California Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) Basic Certificate MUST be obtained within 12 months of appointment.
  • Must be able to pass an extensive background check and Preliminary Investigative questionnaire (PIQ) as part of the interviewing and hiring process.

  Skills

  • Diverse interviewing techniques.
  • Research methods and techniques.
  • Investigative techniques and procedures.
  • The principles of identification, preservation and presentation of evidence.
  • The legal rights of citizens.
  • Policies and procedures regarding the safety and security of juveniles.
  • Ongoing and new rules of evidence and court procedures.
  • Methods of collaborative problem solving.
  • Ongoing and new state and local laws and regulations governing sworn peace officer legal authority.
  • Commercial and property laws and credit transactions.
  • Legal procedures.
  • The methods of financial record keeping.

  Benefits

  Not specified.

  Pay

  Not specified.

  Schedule

  Incumbents may be required to participate in a mandatory on-call schedule which may include working nights, holidays, and weekends.