Criminal Investigator Level I/II

The Position

This is a continuous filing exam. Next filing cut-offs are at 5:00 pm on:

8/12/26, 8/19/26 (final)

Under general supervision the Criminal Investigator Level I/II performs technical and investigative work in criminal cases and civil matters.

Positions are typically located in the District Attorney's Office, the Public Defender's Office, or the Investigation Division of the Department of Human Assistance.

Investigators in this class investigate a wide variety of crimes, which includes gathering evidence, interviewing and or interrogating and locating witnesses, investigating the scene of the crime, and writing a report of findings. Investigations by the District Attorney's Office focus on the prosecution of criminal violations, including making arrests of suspected criminal violators. Where investigators from the District Attorney's and Public Defender's Office have a broad criminal area of responsibility, investigators at the Department of Human Assistance investigate cases involving fraudulent receipt of public assistance, forgery, internal embezzlements, child care fraud, duplicate aid, fleeing felons, identity theft and have the responsibility to provide integrity for the varied programs administered by the department and may partner with other law enforcement units.

Criminal Investigator is a single class with two salary levels (Level I and Level II). Level I is the level at which initial appointments are typically made ; and advancement from the lower to the higher level of the class is at the discretion of the appointing authority, provided the minimum qualifications are met.

Criminal Investigator (Level I) is the first working level. In the District Attorney's Office and in the Investigation Division of the Department of Human Assistance it is the first sworn Peace Officer level. Incumbents perform less complex investigative work, or under supervision, perform work requiring advanced methods and techniques of investigation.

Criminal Investigator (Level II) is the journey level in this series. Investigators at this level perform a full range of investigative work. Such work may include capital homicide cases. Independent analysis of evidence, use of a broad scope of investigative techniques, ingenuity, and initiative characterize this level. Level II is distinguished from Level I by the assignment of the more difficult investigations and the greater independence with which investigations are conducted, or by leadwork responsibility. Incumbents assigned to Level II generally have, in addition to meeting the minimum qualifications for the class, at least one year as a Criminal Investigator (Level I) in Sacramento County service or three years as a detective/investigator in a recognized public law enforcement agency.

Level 1 - $8402.50 - $10720.17/month

Level 2 - $9244.58 - $11800.68/month

Examples Of Knowledge And Abilities

Knowledge of

Criminal Investigator (Level II):

• Criminal investigative techniques and procedures
• Rules of evidence and court procedures
• Criminal and civil statutes and case law
• Techniques of identifying, preserving, and presenting evidence
• Laws of arrest, search and seizure, service of legal process, and the legal rights of citizens
• Techniques of interviewing and interrogation
• Laboratory procedures incident to the investigation of a crime
• Report writing practices and techniques
• Various resources available in locating individuals and elementary accounting procedures

Criminal Investigator (Level I):

• Investigative techniques and procedures including the gathering and preservation of evidence
• Rules of evidence and court procedures
• Criminal and civil statutes and case law
• Techniques of interviewing and interrogation
• Report writing practices and techniques

Ability to

Criminal Investigator (Level II):

• Gather, assemble, analyze and evaluate facts and evidence
• Draw conclusions and make proper recommendations
• Obtain information through interview and interrogation
• Evaluate situations and people accurately and adopt an effective course of action
• Maintain effective working relationships
• Prepare clear, concise and comprehensive correspondence and reports
• Keep accurate notes and records
• Read and understand legal codes and cases
• Assess the credibility of witnesses
• Testify in court in a direct, clear and concise manner
• Work effectively with other agencies, commercial enterprises, groups and individuals

Criminal Investigator (Level I):

• Gather, assemble, analyze and evaluate facts and evidence, draw conclusions and make proper recommendations
• Obtain information through interview and interrogation
• Evaluate situations and people accurately and adopt an effective course of action
• Maintain effective working relationships
• Prepare clear, concise, comprehensive correspondence and reports
• Work effectively with other agencies, commercial enterprises, groups and individuals
• Testify in court in a direct, clear and concise manner

Employment Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

Completion of 18 semester (27 quarter) units of coursework in administration of justice, law enforcement or police science or other related coursework which addresses prevention, discovery, control and treatment of crimes, criminals and criminality, from an accredited college or university.

AND

Either : Two years in the class of Investigative Assistant in Sacramento County service.

Or : Three years as a detective/investigator with a District Attorney's Office, Public Defender's Office, Sheriff's Department, Police Department or other recognized public law enforcement agency whose primary responsibility is the investigation of criminal activity. To meet this experience requirement the majority of time must have been spent performing duties such as gathering evidence, interviewing and locating witnesses, investigating crime scenes, and writing reports of findings to be used in Court in the prosecution or defense of defendants.

Note: For the class of Criminal Investigator (Level I and Level II) investigative work which is gained through performance of duties such as patrol, inmate custodial work, accident investigation and the like is not considered qualifying.

Note: If the word “experience” is referenced in the minimum qualifications, it means full-time paid experience unless the minimum qualification states that volunteer experience is acceptable. Part-time paid experience may be accumulated and pro-rated to meet the total experience requirements.

Note: If the minimum qualifications include an educational or certificate/license requirement, applicants must submit proof of requirements with the application. Failure to submit proof of requirements may result in disqualification from the examination. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable. For guidelines on submitting acceptable proof of educational requirements, please click here or speak to someone in our office before the cut-off date listed in this notice.

General Qualifications

Driver's License (License Requirement): Possession of a valid California Driver's License, Class C or higher, is required prior to appointment to this class. Failure to maintain a valid license may constitute cause for personnel action in accordance with Civil Service Rule 11.4. Individuals who do not meet this requirement due to a physical disability will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Criminal History and Background Checks: The County may access criminal history information on candidates who have accepted a conditional offer of employment for this class consistent with the provisions of Board of Supervisors Resolution No. 82-602, Personnel Policies, and applicable federal and state law. The County shall not consider for employment any candidate who has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor that relates to or impacts the candidate's ability to perform the job duties of this class unless it is determined that mitigating circumstances exist. For purposes of accessing criminal history information, the candidate will be fingerprinted. A subsequent arrest notification may be obtained.

The County may also conduct a background check on the candidate prior to appointment to positions within this class. The background check may include personal and professional reference checks, credit history check, Social Security Number verification, professional license/registration verification, military service information and driving history. Information obtained in the course of this background check will be considered by the appointing authority in the selection process. In obtaining such information, the County will comply with applicable consent and disclosure practices in the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the California Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act.

Special Requirements

Working Conditions: Incumbents must be willing to work irregular hours as individual investigations demand.

Certification Requirement: Investigators in the District Attorney's Office and Welfare Fraud Investigation Division are designated peace officers by the Penal Code and must meet P.O.S.T. requirements. Investigators in the Public Defender's Office are not designated peace officers.

Criminal Investigator (Level II): Possession of a Basic P.O.S.T. Certificate.

Criminal Investigator (Level I): Possession of a certificate of completion from a P.O.S.T. approved basic academy course.

AND

Must meet all requirements for a Basic P.O.S.T. Certificate with the exception of one year's experience as a peace officer.

Probationary Period

The probationary period for this classification is six (6) months.

Application and Testing Information

APPLICATION

Qualified applicants are encouraged to apply immediately. All applicants must complete and submit an online County of Sacramento employment application by 5:00 PM on the posted cut-off date. Click here to apply.

County of Sacramento

Department of Personnel Services

Employment Services Division

700 H Street, Room 4667

Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone View phone number on us.fitly.work; 7-1-1 California Relay Service

Email ***email_hidden***

Inter-Office Mail Code: 09-4667

• Employment applications and all documentation requested in this announcement must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on the cut-off date.
• Employment Services is not responsible for any issues or delays caused by an applicant's computer or web browser. Applicants will be automatically logged out if they have not submitted their applications and all documentation prior to 5:00 p.m. on the cut-off date.
• Your application should highlight all relevant education, training, and experience, and clearly indicate how you meet the minimum qualifications for the position as of the cut-off date.
• Application information must be current, concise and related to the requirements in this job announcement. You may only apply for this recruitment once. Duplicate and incomplete applications will be disqualified.
• A resume may be included with your application, however it will not substitute for the information requested on the application.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE

Applicants are required to provide a full and complete response to each supplemental question. The Supplemental Questionnaire is located in the tab marked "Supplemental Questions". Please be descriptive in your response.

Note: Responses of "See Resume" or "See Application", or copy and paste of work experience are not qualifying responses and will not be considered.

• Supplemental Questionnaires must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on the cut-off date. Employment Services is not responsible for any issues or delays caused by an applicant's computer or web browser. Applicants will be automatically logged out if they have not submitted their applications and all documentation prior to 5:00 p.m. on the cut-off date.
• The supplemental questions are designed to elicit specific information regarding a candidate's experience, education, and training. Responses should be consistent with the information on your application and are subject to verification.
• Please provide place of employment, pertinent dates, and concise, descriptive and detailed information for each question.
• If a job included responsibilities applicable to several questions, separate the different functions of the job to answer all the questions completely.
• Resumes or referral to the application or other questionnaire responses will not be accepted in lieu of completing each question.
• If you have no experience, write "no experience" for the appropriate question.
• For many individuals, it is more efficient to develop responses to the supplemental questions in a word processing document and then paste them into the final document to be submitted. Changes or corrections to your Supplemental Questionnaire cannot be made once your application packet has been submitted.
• If the Supplemental Questionnaire is used in the Formula Rate exam, failure to complete all of the questions or incomplete responses will result in a lower score. While scoring the Supplemental Questionnaire, the candidate's application and/or attachments will not be reviewed, therefore, a candidate's responses to the questions should be accurate, thorough, detailed, and complete.

FORMULA RATE EXAMINATION (Weighted 100%)

All candidates meeting the minimum qualifications by the cut-off date will have their Supplemental Questionnaire scored in the Formula Rate Examination.

This examination will evaluate the relevance, level, recency, progression and quality of candidate's education, training and experience. The candidate's application or other materials will not be included in this examination. Therefore, the candidate's responses to the supplemental questionnaire should be thorough, detailed and complete. The score from the Formula Rate Examination will determine the ranking on the eligible/employment list for this job.

All candidates competing in the testing process will receive written notice of their examination results by email. Notices can also be accessed in their governmentjobs.com inbox. Applicants achieving a passing score will be placed on the eligible list in rank order. The rank is determined by the test score attained from the examination.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Click here for Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

Sacramento County is about enriching communities to thrive. We strive to create inclusive workplaces that reflect the communities we serve. We value and celebrate the unique perspectives, backgrounds, abilities, and diverse dimensions of our employees and residents. Through transparency, courage, innovation, and trust we are committed to advance equity and transformational change.

We are a proud equal opportunity employer. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability for any phase of the hiring process, please contact our Disability Compliance Office at View email address on us.fitly.work or View phone number on us.fitly.work, CA Relay 711 . For more information, visit: Reasonable Accommodation Requests - Job Applicant Instructions .