General Nature of Work

This is general law enforcement work responsible for protecting life and property within Gilmer County; enforcing traffic regulation, state laws, county ordinances; responding to emergency situations, citizen requests for assistance, alarms; and conducting investigations in response to reported or discovered criminal activity. A superior officer reviews work assignments and gives specific instructions and assistance when guidance or back-up is needed. Work requires independent judgment and discretion in difficult or unusual situations. Work involves personal danger.

Following the successful completion of entry level training, Deputy Sheriffs shall be assigned to the Field Operations Division for additional required training. Upon the successful completion of all required training, Deputy Sheriffs may be assigned to any of the following agency components:

1. Community Resources Division
2. Court Services Division
3. Criminal Investigations Division
4. Detention Division
5. Field Operations Division
6. Office of Professional Standards

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Patrols the county to provide a visible deterrent in uniform and in marked cars and to enforce laws and ordinances and protect life and property, monitors commercial and residential areas for signs of criminal activity, patrols for suspicious persons and vehicles.
• Responds to calls for assistance, disturbance calls, and complaints of crimes; enforces federal, state, and local laws by performing warrant, felony, or misdemeanor arrests; protects the civil rights of persons in custody; uses non-deadly and deadly force to protect oneself, other officers, and citizens.
• Secures and protects crime scenes by establishing boundaries, detaining victims, suspects, witnesses, location, and identifying evidence and briefing supervisors and investigators on their arrival.
• Conducts investigations and interview to establish probably cause and reasonable suspicion; collects information and determines follow-up actions; presents evidence and testimony in courts of law; assists in prosecuting felony and misdemeanor cases.
• Serves as first-responder to provide aid and assistance to victims of traffic and other accidents; assists fire and emergency medical services in treating and transporting victims.
• Conducts searches and seizures in a wide variety of contexts, including frisks, incident to an arrest, pursuant to warrant, plain view seizures emergency conditions and inventories.
• Person’s business and residential security checks; checks and ensures building/home is secured and reports unsecured buildings.
• Enforces traffic and parking laws through the issuance of citations and warnings; routinely inspects roadways, bridges, and traffic signals and signs to find and report any hazardous conditions.
• Assists stranded motorists, crowd control, traffic direction, hazardous material emergency assistance; escorts special processions; responds to natural or manmade disasters; and transports prisoners to jail facility.
• Prepares and maintains a wide variety of departmental records and reports in compliance with departmental and legal policies and procedures; prepares and files thorough written incident reports.
• Operates and maintains any assigned uniform, vehicle, and equipment in accordance with departmental policies and procedures.
• Gives advice and general information to the public; renders advice on domestic disturbances; assists citizens in need.
• Additional duties as assigned.

KNOWLEDGE, ABILITY AND SKILLS

• Knowledge of general law enforcement practices; federal, state, and local criminal, traffic, and juvenile laws and legal procedures; and the rules, regulations, policies, and procedures of the Sheriff’s Office.
• Knowledge of or the ability to learn the geography of the county and the location of important buildings and areas.
• Skill in the operation and maintenance of assigned patrol vehicle and equipment.
• Skill in the use of firearms, restraining devices, baton, intoximeter, and other agency issued equipment.
• Ability to learn law enforcement methods, procedures, and techniques and to apply such knowledge to specific situations.
• Ability to qualify annually with firearms.
• Ability to work routinely under highly stressful conditions including life-threatening situations. Ability to communicate effectively in the English language, both orally and in writing. These abilities are frequently required to develop clear and comprehensive reports and to obtain information through oral interviews and interrogations. This includes the ability to read and comprehend instructions, agency correspondence, policies, procedures, and evidentiary documents; to apply commonsense understanding to carry out instructions.
• Ability to appropriately respond to a variety of complex interpersonal matters and to take appropriate action based on facts and circumstances of the situation. In addition, the incumbent must be able to react quickly and calmly under emergency conditions; exercise independent judgment; mentally recall conversations, observations, and impressions; and to make accurate descriptive observations of objects, events, and human behaviors in terms of physical characteristics.
• Ability to deal professionally and fairly in interactions with the general public; to effectively communicate with the public; and to establish and maintain effective working relationships with coworkers, other county departments and employees as well as with county officials.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• High School education or equivalent.
• Basic certification as a Georgia Peace Officer.
• Any combination of education, training, and experience that provides the required knowledge and skills is acceptable.
• Valid Georgia driver’s license and satisfactory Motor Vehicle Record (MVR).
• Completion of yearly thirty (30) hours of P.O.S.T. approved training.
• Must be at least 21 years of age
• Must be a citizen of the United States
• Must have no record of any felony conviction

ADA Requirements: Individuals applying for the posted position must be able to perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.

Physical Requirements: Tasks require the ability to exert moderate, though not constant physical effort, typically involving some combination of climbing and balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, and crawling, and which may involve some lifting, carrying, pushing and/or pulling of objects and materials of moderate weight (12-20 pounds).

Work Environment: Performance of essential functions may require exposure to outside weather conditions and with ammunition. The employee occasionally works near moving mechanical parts and in high, precarious places, and is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, fumes or airborne particles, toxic or caustic chemicals, and risk of electrical shock. Work is performed in both daylight and at night, and may be required to travel speeds in excess of posted limits through areas of varying population densities and traffic congestion, and in inclement weather conditions. Work involves an exposure to personal danger and psychological stress.

REQUIREMENTS INCLUDED IN THIS CLASS SPECIFICATION MAY BE SUBJECT TO MODIFICATION IN ORDER TO REASONABLY ACCOMMODATE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES WHO ARE OTHERWISE QUALIFIED TO PERFORM THE ESSENTIAL DUTIES OF THE JOB.