Community Service Aide

The Community Service Aide is a journey-level classification, fully competent to independently perform a variety of patrol and special assignment support duties. A Community Service Aide may be assigned to an organizational unit including Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving (COPPS) and Investigations. This classification has clear guidelines to help with independent decision-making, and supervision is available when unusual or complex situations arise.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES (illustrative only):

• Receive and transmit calls for service over the police radio.
• Issue vehicle parking and registration citations.
• Mark, arrange tow, and maintain files for abandoned vehicles; cite vehicle/owner for violation after a given period of time of being marked.
• Direct traffic at major injury collisions, chemical spills, malfunctioning traffic signals, and special events.
• Drive a marked police vehicle; transport children to foster care facilities, citizens including stranded motorists, and city staff; deliver messages, property, and evidence as dispatched to court, citizens, or other agencies.
• Interview witnesses or others involved search for, collect, and identify evidence; and write reports for crimes with no suspect, lost and found cases, and non-injury collisions.
• Engage in general patrol observation; report any suspicious activity to dispatch and patrol officers.
• Patrol and enforce animal regulation laws and ordinances, which include receiving and investigating complaints and reports regarding stray, dangerous, unwanted or improperly controlled dogs, livestock and other animals; answering emergency calls and investigating persons bitten and quarantining the animal; and impounding, transporting and giving first aid to animals.
• Verify and certify mechanical violations receiving a citation have been corrected.
• Search files for information to aid in apprehending a criminal, returning lost property, determining the disposition of a vehicle and other problem resolution.
• Assist in the processing of evidence to include crime scene photography, sketching, video, evidence collection, and preservation as well as other duties associated with evidence processing. Assist in routine equipment/vehicle maintenance.
• Assist with clerical functions such as entering data and conducting file searches on the computer and typing filing, and form completion.
• Provide municipal code updates and additions for best practices and law changes.
• Coordinate training of both current employees (CPT) and new employees (FTO).
• Testify in court.
• Inspect and clean the holding facilities and radio-equipped vehicles in order to maintain health/safety standards.
• Search and/or obtain specimens from same-sex prisoners.
• Performs related work as required.

Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving (COPPS):

• Perform community outreach.
• Assist, participate, and support community events (e.g., Shop with a Cop Coffee with Cops, National Night Out, Summer Sandlot etc.).
• Assist with the neighborhood watch program/meetings.
• Assist with COPPS unit projects.
• Liaison with Youth and Family Services (YFS).
• Performs related work in COPPS as required.

Investigations:

• Ensure registration of habitual sex and narcotic offenders are complete and organized.
• Attend a basic POST approved Crime Scene Investigation course and other applicable, advanced trainings.
• Assist with the collection and preservation of evidence to include taking crime scene photographs, searching and dusting for latent fingerprints, crime scene diagrams, laser scanning of crime scenes, and attending autopsies. Arrange for proper identification of evidence.
• Assist Detectives with basic investigative follow-up (e.g. no identified suspect fingerprint results, gather surveillance footage, etc.)
• Performs related work in Investigations as required.