Police Sergeant

Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Plans, directs and coordinates the operations, services and activities within an assigned division, unit or watch of the Police Department.
• May assume responsibility for directing all actions within a critical incident or accident.
• Establishes operating policies and procedures; plans goals and objectives of the unit to comply with State and Federal laws and ensures that the department's mission of law enforcement is defined and achieved throughout the unit.
• Assists in the development and implementation of goals and objectives; ensures communication of goals and objectives.
• Assist with and manage the development and administration of the division’s budget; forecast the needs for changes in funding for staff, equipment, materials, and supplies; direct the monitoring of and approve expenditures.
• Selects, trains, motivates and evaluates staff, ensures staff training; conducts performance evaluations; implements discipline procedures, ensures the provision of a high-performing division to service the needs of the City
• Coordinates investigation and incident response with other law enforcement agencies to ensure proper integration of it.
• Conducts investigations into major or highly sensitive crimes and incidents; reviews case materials and interviews witnesses and suspects; prepares recommendations on case disposition.
• Conducts investigations into citizen complaints regarding officer conduct; interviews involved parties while safeguarding their rights throughout the process; and prepares recommendations concerning complaint disposition and any appropriate disciplinary action.
• Provides direction to staff in compliance with applicable personnel statutes and administrative regulations.

QUALIFICATIONS GUIDELINES

Qualified candidates possess a combination of experience, education, and/or training that provides the knowledge and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position. The following describes a desirable combination of qualifications:

Experience

A desirable qualification includes ten (10) years of experience as a sworn law enforcement officer with a municipal police agency or other law enforcement agency, with possession of a Basic POST Certificate.

Knowledge of:

• Operations, services, and activities of a comprehensive municipal law enforcement program.
• Functions and objectives of the police department and other local, state and federal agencies.
• Principles and practices of leadership, motivation, team building and conflict resolution.
• Organizational and management practices as applied to the analysis and evaluation of programs.
• Principles and practices of organization, administration and personnel management.
• Principles and practices of budget preparation and administration.
• Department and mandated standard operating policies and procedures.
• Mandated training requirements.
• Operational characteristics of equipment and materials used in law enforcement programs including vehicles, firearms and restraining instruments. 
• Principles of the criminal justice including law enforcement authorities and the rights of citizens. 
• Provisions of the criminal court system.
• Legal rulings impacting department operations.
• Rules of evidence as it pertains to the collection and use of same in criminal investigations.
• Methods and techniques of interviewing, and eliciting information from suspects and witnesses.
• Community demographics. 
• Methods and techniques of diffusing potentially dangerous situations. 
• Modern office practices, methods and computer equipment and any specialized applications.
• English usage, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and punctuation. 
• Applicable Federal, State and local laws, regulations, codes and guidelines related to law enforcement programs.

Ability to:

• Plan, coordinate, and direct the operations, services and staff in an assigned unit.
• Interpret, explain and apply mandated and department standard operating procedures; ensure compliance of sworn officers and non-sworn staff with it. 
• Perform the full range of law enforcement duties within a municipal police department environment.
• Conduct complex external and internal investigations. 
• Prepare and administer the unit budget.
• Develop and implement unit policies and procedures. 
• Supervise, train and evaluate assigned personnel; schedule work, set priorities   and monitor work progress. 
• Operate within the authorities of the department and the legal system in a judicious manner. 
• Conduct fair and impartial investigations into potential crimes. 
• Prepare complex reports and analyses.
• Prepare and present information before community and/or city council.
• Gain cooperation through discussion and persuasion.
• Work effectively with the business community as well as representatives from other public agencies to meet the goals and objectives of all parties.
• Analyze problems, identify   alternative    solutions, project   consequences of proposed actions and implement recommendations in support of goals.
• Think logically and react quickly in emergencies under high-stress conditions.
• Maintain self-control in challenging and dangerous situations.
• Ensure the proper use and maintenance of assigned law enforcement vehicles and firearms.
• Maintain physical and emotional conditions necessary to perform assigned duties.
• Use tact, initiative, prudence   and    independent   judgment   within    general   policy, procedural and legal guidelines.
• Operate    modern   office   equipment    including   computer   equipment and specialized applications.
• Communicate clearly and effectively, both verbally and in writing.
• Understand and follow oral and/or written policies, procedures, and instructions.
• Establish and maintain effective   working relationships   with those contacted in the course of work.

SELECTION PROCESS 
The selection process for Police Sergeant will consist of the following components, weighted as indicated below.

• A completed application

• Two (2) recent employee evaluations 

• A professional writing exercise administered on the day of the interview.

• Your selected option from one (1) of the following projects listed below to be completed upon receiving an interview invitation, then presented during your interview.  

Examination Components & Scoring 

Personnel Package Review: 25%

Project Presentation: 25% 

Written Exercise: 25%
Oral Interview: 25%
Total: 100%

**Candidates must achieve a minimum passing score of seventy percent (70%).The City considers only those candidates who earn a passing score and successfully complete each phase of the selection process as eligible. The City bases final candidate scores on all tests and evaluations conducted as part of the examination. Failure to pass any examination component may result in disqualification.**

Project Presentation

Selected candidates will be required to complete one project as part of the examination process. Candidates must select one (1) of the scenarios listed below and prepare a PowerPoint presentation outlining their recommendations to the Chief of Police and City Manager.

• Presentations shall be no more than ten (10) slides in length.
• Candidates will have fifteen (15) minutes to present.
• Presentations will be delivered in person before a panel of raters
• Candidates must be prepared to explain their analysis, support their recommendations, and respond to panel questions

The following scenarios are hypothetical examples for testing purposes only. They do not suggest that any employee has violated policy or engaged in misconduct, and they do not reflect current events or circumstances within the Police Department.

Project 1 – Operations Assignment

As a Sergeant assigned to oversee a protest occurring at Kersting Court in Sierra Madre, you must prepare an operations detail package that includes personnel and deployment planning, incident management and related reports, community planning, operations, and dispatch coordination.

Prepare a presentation addressing how you would manage and resolve the following issues:

Project 2 – Leadership and Supervisory Activities

As a newly promoted Sergeant, you oversee Field Operations including Patrol, Jail, Traffic, Community Partnerships, the Drone Unit, Dispatch, and you manage deployment for the oncoming shift. Your dispatcher is working an extended shift and has reached their thirteenth hour on duty. You overhear the dispatcher receive a call for service and broadcast a possible burglary in progress with no suspect description. What actions would you take to resolve?

Prepare a presentation addressing how you would manage and resolve the following issues:

Working Conditions

Physical Demands:

While performing the duties for this position, employees are regularly required to use written and oral communication skills; read and interpret data, information and documents; analyze and solve problems; use math and mathematical reasoning; observe and interpret situation; learn and apply new information or new skills; remain calm and use effective judgment in dangerous situations; and interact with people, including business representatives, City staff, other organizations, police safety personnel, school representatives, and the public, with interfaces influenced by the position assignment.

Work Environment 

The employee frequently works in outside weather conditions, and in a patrol car, and may operate specialized equipment when assigned to patrol. The work involves exposure to extreme heat, smoke, dust, fumes, and inclement weather, as well as loud noises such as, but not limited to, sirens, alarms, gunshots, and diesel engines.

Disaster Service Workers

All City of Sierra Madre employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state law (California Government Code Section 3100-3109). Employees are required to complete all Disaster Service Worker-related training as assigned, and to return to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The City of Sierra Madre is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Sierra Madre will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective employees and incumbents to discuss potential accommodations with the employer.

Salary : $110,171 - $133,914