Homicide Investigator Jobs (NOW HIRING)

DEFINITION

Under direction, investigates alleged and suspected violations of criminal and civil law falling within the jurisdiction of the District Attorney’s Office; and does related or other work as required in accordance with Rule 3, Section 3 of the Civil Service Rules.

CLASS CHARACTERISTICS

This is the journey level District Attorney Investigator. An employee of this class conducts difficult investigations assigned to the District Attorney’s Office. Work is performed with considerable independence, may involve an element of personal danger, and may entail long hours of work at unusual times of the day or night.

Employees of the District Attorney Investigator series are statutory full-time peace officers and have a duty to act upon criminal violations occurring in their presence.

TYPICAL DUTIES

• Conducts investigations of civil and criminal matters including, but not limited to, consumer, real estate, insurance, and welfare fraud; embezzlement; misconduct of public officials; officer involved critical incidents; homicide; and investigations requested by the Grand Jury.
• Interviews and questions accused or suspected individuals and witnesses; examines court, police, public and governmental records needed for investigations; records and evaluates information obtained.
• Inspects crime scenes to locate, identify, assemble, preserve, record and evaluate information.
• Establishes and maintains contact with informants; gathers intelligence information concerning alleged criminal activities.
• Assembles and prepares evidence for presentation in court; assists attorneys in court; gives testimony in court.
• Analyzes and evaluates the results of investigations in light of recent court decisions; reviews reports of other law enforcement agencies to determine if all investigative avenues have been explored; detects defenses which may have been overlooked.
• Makes oral and written reports.Serves legal papers such as subpoenas, warrants and summonses; serves and executes extradition papers.
• Assists in coordinating the investigative activities of the District Attorney’s Office with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
• Develops and maintains positive relations with the public to gain compliance and trust; fosters collaborative partnerships, which may include making presentations to community members and organizations.Negotiates and arranges for repayment of fraudulently obtained funds.
• As assigned, acts in mutual aid situations, which may include active law enforcement duties; applies proper techniques of arrest; determines appropriate course of action when faced with potentially violent situations; works in an undercover capacity.
• May provide technical training and direction to lower level sworn and non-sworn investigative staff.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS KNOWLEDGE Techniques, methods, and procedures used in crime detection and criminal investigations; community-based policing and collaborative problem solving between community residents and law enforcement; rules of evidence, arrest and court procedures; interviewing techniques and procedures; civil and criminal laws and ordinances in effect in the County; techniques of securing, evaluating, and preparing evidence and exhibits for trial; search and seizure; service of legal papers; legal rights of citizens; firearms safety. ABILITY Gather, assemble, analyze, and evaluate facts and evidence; interpret and fairly and equitably apply legal provisions; obtain information through questioning and observation; draw logical conclusions and make proper recommendations; analyze situations and adopt effective courses of action; prepares comprehensive reports on investigations; learn to operate specialized investigative equipment; express oneself clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing; establish and maintain effective working relationships with other investigators, law enforcement officials, the public and others. Equal Opportunity Employer

San Joaquin County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer and is committed to providing equal employment to all without regard to age, ancestry, color, creed, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation or belief, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. For more information go to Equal Employment Opportunity Division (sjgov.org) .

Accommodations for those covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):

San Joaquin County complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and, upon request, will consider reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

BENEFITS

Health Insurance : San Joaquin County provides employees with a choice of three health plans: a Kaiser Plan, a Select Plan, and a Premier Plan. Employees pay a portion of the cost of the premium. Dependent coverage is available for all plans.

Dental Insurance : The County provides employees with a choice of two dental plans: Delta Dental and United Health Care-Select Managed Care Direct Compensation Plan. There is no cost for employee only coverage in either plan; dependent coverage is available at the employee’s expense.

Vision Insurance : The County provides vision coverage through Vision Service Plan (VSP). There is no cost for employee only coverage; dependent coverage is available at the employee’s expense.

For more detailed information on the County’s benefits program, visit our website at www.sjgov.org under Human Resources/Benefits.

Life Insurance : The County provides eligible employees with life insurance coverage as follows:

1 but less than 3 years of continuous service: $1,000
3 but less than 5 years of continuous service: $3,000
5 but less than 10 years of continuous service: $5,000
10 years of continuous service or more: $10,000

Employees may purchase additional term life insurance to a maximum of $200,000 at the group rate.

125 Flexible Benefits Plan : This is a voluntary program that allows employees to use pre-tax dollars to pay for health-related expenses that are not paid by a medical, dental or vision plan (Health Flexible Spending Account $2550 annual limit with a $500 carry over); and dependent care costs (Dependent Care Assistance Plan $5000 annual limit).

Retirement Plan : Employees of the County are covered by the County Retirement Act of 1937. Please visit the San Joaquin County Employees’ Retirement Association (SJCERA) at www.sjcera.org for more information. NOTE: If you are receiving a retirement allowance from another California county covered by the County Employees’ Retirement Act of 1937 or from any governmental agency covered by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS), you are advised to contact the Retirement Officer of the Retirement Plan from which you retired to determine what effect employment in San Joaquin County would have on your retirement allowance.

Safety Retirement : Employees in the classification of DA Investigator I or II are Safety Members in the San Joaquin County Retirement System.

Deferred Compensation : The County maintains a deferred compensation plan under Section 457 of the IRS code. You may annually contribute $22,500 or 100% of your includible compensation, whichever is less. Individuals age 50 or older may contribute to their plan, up to $30,000. The Roth IRA (after tax) is also now available.

Vacation : Maximum earned vacation is 10 days each year up to 3 years; 15 days after 3 years; 20 days after 10 years; and 23 days after 20 years.

Holiday : Depending on date of hire into the unit, employees earn either 10 or 14 holidays peryear.

Sick Leave : 12 working days of sick leave annually with unlimited accumulation. Sick leave incentive : An employee is eligible to receive eight hours administrative leave if the leave balance equals at least one-half of the cumulative amount that the employee is eligible to accrue. The employee must also be on payroll during the entire calendar year.

Bereavement Leave : 3 days of paid leave for the death of an immediate family member; 2 additional days of accrued leave for death of employee’s spouse, domestic partner, parent or child.

Merit Salary Increase : New employees will receive the starting salary, which is the first step of the salary range. After employees serve 52 weeks (2080 hours) on each step of the range, they are eligible for a merit increase to the next step.

Bilingual Pay : Each employee who is designated by the appointing authority and approved by the County Administrator and who has passed a bilingual proficiency examination administered by the Human Resources Division shall receive a bi-weekly supplement of $50.

Standby Pay : Employees designated by appointing authority to be in standby status are compensated at 20% of their regular hourly rate. Employees in the District Attorney Investigator series designated to the rotation of standby duty for purposes of implementing the Officer Involved Critical Incident Protocol shall regularly be assigned a take-home County vehicle in lieu of standby pay for as long as the Protocol exists.

P.O.S.T. Pay : Employees who hold an IntermediatePOST Certificate and do not possess an Advanced POST certificate shall be compensated at a bi-weekly dollar amount of$84.80. Employees who possess an Adnvanced POST Certificate shall be compensated at a bi-weekly dollar amountof $283.20.

Pre-Employment Physical Exam : If required, will be conducted at Dameron Hospital at no cost to the employee.

Job Sharing : Employees may agree to job-share a position, subject to approval by a Department Head and the Director of Human Resources.

Educational Reimbursement Program : Eligible employees may be reimbursed for career-related course work up to a maximum of $850 per fiscal year. Eligible employees enrolled in an approved four (4) year College or University academic program may be reimbursed up to $800 per semester for a maximum of $1600 per fiscal year.

School Activities : Employees may take up to 40 hours per year, but not more than eight (8) hours per month, to participate in their children’s school activities.

Selection Procedures

Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications will go through the following examination process:

• Written Exam : The civil service written exam is a multiple choice format. If the written exam is administered alone, it will be 100% of the overall score. Candidates must achieve a minimum rating of 70% in order to be placed on the eligible list.
  
• Oral Exam : The oral exam is a structured interview process that will assess the candidate’s education, training, and experience and may include a practical exercise. The oral exam selection process is not a hiring interview. A panel of up to four people will determine the candidate’s score and rank for placement on the eligible list. Top candidates from the eligible list are referred for hiring interviews. If the oral exam is administered alone, it will be 100% of the overall score. Candidates must achieve a minimum rating of 70% in order to be placed on the eligible list.
  
• Written & Oral Exam: If both a written exam and an oral exam is administered, the written exam is weighted at 60% and the oral exam is weighted at 40% unless otherwise indicated on the announcement. Candidates must achieve a minimum rating of 70% on each examination in order to be placed on the eligible list.
  
• Rate-out: A rate-out is an examination that involves a paper rating of the candidate’s application using the following criteria: education, training, and experience. Candidates will not be scheduled for the rate-out process.

Note: The rating of 70 referred to may be the same or other than an arithmetic 70% of the total possible points.

Testing Accommodation: Candidates who require testing accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) must call Human Resources Division at (209) 468-3370 prior to the examination date.

Veteran’s Points : Eligible veterans, unmarried widows and widowers of veterans of the United States Armed Forces who have been honorably discharged and who have served during wartime shall be given veteran’s points in initial appointment to County service. Eligible veterans receive 5 points and eligible disabled veterans receive 10 points. Disabled veterans must submit a recent award letter stating a 10% service connected disability issued by the United States Veterans Administration. Note: A copy of your DD214 showing the discharge type must be received in the Human Resources by the date of the examination.

Acceptable wartime service dates:

• September 16, 1940 to December 31, 1946
• June 27, 1950 to January 31, 1955
• August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975
• Persian Gulf War, August 2, 1990, through a date to be set by law or Presidential Proclamation.

Eligible Lists: Candidates who pass the examination will be placed on an eligible list for that classification. Eligible lists are effective for nine months, but may be extended by the Human Resources Director for a period which shall not exceed a total of three years from the date established.

Certification/Referral: Names from the eligible list will be referred to the hiring department by the following methods.

• Rule of the Rank: The top rank orranks of eligibles will be referred for hiring interviews. The minimum number of names to be referred will be equal to the number of positions plus nine, or 10% of the eligible list, whichever is higher. When fillingnine or more positions in a department at the same time, the top rank or ranks will be referred and the minimum number of names shall be two times the number of positions to be filled or 10% of the eligible list, whichever is higher. This applies only to open competitive recruitments.
• Rule of Five: The top five names will be referred for hiring interviews. This applies only to department or countywide promotional examination.
• Rule of the List: For classifications designated by the Director of Human Resources, the entire eligible list will be referred to the department.

Physical Exam: Some classifications require physical examinations. Final appointment cannot be made until the eligible has passed the physical examination. The County pays for physical examinations administered in its medical facilities.

Pre-Employment Drug Sc