POLICE OFFICER

FUNCTION OF THE JOB:

Serves as a Police Officer performing responsible law enforcement duties, including patrol, investigations, traffic control and a variety of other duties designed to preserve peace and order and to protect life and property in the City of Rochester.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED:

Works under the general supervision of a Patrol Supervisor, or his/her designee who makes general assignments as to area to be covered, specific cases to be investigated, etc. Duties are performed independently and Officer must exercise independent judgment in meeting emergencies and determining lawful and appropriate courses of action.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES:

• 1.Patrols in an assigned geographical area of the city in a police vehicle or on foot, checks overall security of vacant homes and buildings, periodically checks business establishments and public places for violations of the law and takes appropriate enforcement action; confronts suspicious persons and situations and determine appropriate action.
• 2.Negotiates settlements between emotionally upset and often irrational persons involved in domestic disputes, drunkenness, burglaries, larcenies, vandalism, assaults, etc.
• 3.Receives dispatch orders and responds to calls for service, emergency situations and serious crimes; takes charge of crime scenes until relieved by higher authority; exercises knowledge of State Laws, Federal Laws, Supreme Court decisions, and City Ordinances in determining legal justification for arrest, search and seizure, protective custody, etc.
• 4.Directs activities at accidents and disaster areas and restoring traffic to normal; investigates traffic accidents. Periodically directs traffic to assure steady flow, stops motor vehicles; confronts drivers and issues summonses, or warnings for violations; makes physical arrests when laws have been violated.
• 5.Assists in the investigation of crimes and/or suspected criminal acts to identify, locate, apprehend and prepare prosecution of persons charged with committing crimes, examines crime scenes to collect evidence; interviews and interrogates witnesses and suspected offenders; determine the extent of criminal activity and need for further police assistance.
• 6.Works with other law enforcement personnel to facilitate the flow of information about criminal activity and the cooperative enforcement of City, State and Federal laws.
• 7.Completes and submits all required reports and records in conformance with Department Standard Operating Procedures, Policies and regulations and statutory requirements; conducts follow-up investigations on unsolved crimes.
• 8.Assists general public in rendering assistance and/or direction; may give safety and crime prevention talks to children and civic groups.
• 9.Testifies in Courts as required in traffic and criminal cases and gives sworn evidence at any official Board, Department, Committee, etc.
• 10.Performs other related duties as required.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• 1.Must meet all established requirements for certified Police Officer as described in RSA 105-A and the NH Police Standards and Training Council Rules.
• 2.Satisfactorily complete the Rochester Police Department recruit training program.
• 3.Must meet Rochester Police Department and State of NH requirements for qualification with Department issued weapons.
• 4.Meet other such requirements as determined by the Police Commission and the Chief of Police and the Patrol Bureau Commander.

MASTER PATROL DESIGNATION QUALIFICATIONS:

• 1.Must have completed 10 years of sworn service with the Rochester Police Department. Outside police service time shall be considered by the Chief of Police in meeting the 10 service years, but only 50% of outside service time shall be considered. Military deployments shall not count against this time.
• 2.Must have no discipline for the year prior to designation.
• 3.Must have a score of 82.5 on last evaluation.
• 4.Have completed an approved supervisors course or has at least two (2) highly specialized areas of instruction (ie. Firearms, defensive tactics, Taser, OC, baton, driving instructor, response to active shooter, CPR& 1st aid), investigation or other related skill areas that enhance to the officer's overall effectiveness and value to the department. Examples of specialization could include: Polygraph Operator, SCRTOU, DRE, Accident Reconstruction Team, Crime Scene Technician, Field Training Officer, Crisis Intervention Team Officer. If an employee has completed at least one full year in a full time specialized assignment such as Detective, Motorcycle Officer, K-9 Handler, Problem Oriented Policing Officer, this may be used to substitute as one area of a specialization.
• 5.Upon meeting all minimum qualifications an officer shall petition the Chief of Police to receive Master Police Officer status on their anniversary month.

FAILURE TO MEET MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR MASTER PATROL:

• 1.Failure to meet any of the any of the above minimum requirements may result in removal from the Master Patrol Officer status and returned to the top step patrol officer pay grade.
• 2.Any Officer who has been removed from the Master Patrol Officer status may seek to be reinstated on their next hiring anniversary date if they meet all of the minimum requirements.

PHYSICAL EXERTION/ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS:

Some physical effort is required in ultimately sitting, standing and walking while performing under generally good conditions but involving emotional stress and hazards of disability, or even death when pursuing those suspected of a crime, as well as performing duties under all types of climatic conditions.