Police Officer

VANIHCS is seeking highly qualified and motivated candidates to fill Police Officer positions! This position is located within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Police Service (PS). The mission of the PS is to serve and protect Veterans, patients, employees, contractors, volunteers, affiliates, visitors, and others who frequent VA facilities.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.GS-05 grade level: Experience: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-04 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: work that provided knowledge of a body of basic laws and regulations, law enforcement operations, practices, and techniques and involved responsibility for maintaining order and protecting life and property. Creditable specialized experience may have been gained in work on a police force; through service as a military police officer; in work providing visitor protection and law enforcement in parks, forests, or other natural resource or recreational environments; in performing criminal investigative duties; or in other work that provided the required knowledge and skills. At this level, police work must have included patrolling assigned area(s) to enforce laws and ordinances, regulate traffic, control crowds, prevent crimes and/or arrest violators. Experience as a security guard or corrections officer is generally NOT qualifying. Note: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week. OR Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-05 level. Successfully completed a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree in Police Science or a comparable degree program related to the work of the position. This education must have been obtained at an accredited college or university. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-05 level. Successfully completed a Federal, State, county, or municipal police academy or comparable training course that included at least 40 classroom hours of instruction in police department procedures and methods, and local law and regulations, to substitute a maximum of 3 months of specialized experience AND possess at least 9 months of specialized experience as identified above. NOTE: Appropriate documentation of completion must be submitted with your application materials. GS-06 grade level: Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement Experience: One (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level in the Federal service (or equivalent pay band), that provided a knowledge of a body of basic laws and regulations, law enforcement operations, practices, and techniques and involved responsibility for maintaining order and protecting life and property. Specialized experience includes maintaining order to protect life and property; taking initial complaints; interviewing witnesses; securing a crime scene and conducting limited searches; responding to emergency situations; gathering information and preparing reports; conducting routine patrol, traffic control, and traffic accident investigations. Experience as a security guard or corrections officer is generally not qualifying. Note: You must provide detailed information of your experience performed. Information such as "I was a Patrolman", "I was a Police Officer for a number of years," or "I enforced Federal, State, county, and laws" is insufficient to determine your qualifications. Experience must be fully documented on your resume. There is no educational substitution for the GS-06 level. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Arrest Criminal Investigation First Response Interpersonal Skills Public Safety and Security Security BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AT VA FACILITIES Law Enforcement personnel are required to carry agency-approved firearms while on duty on VA property must achieve and maintain qualification with the agency-approved firearm as condition of gaining and continuing employment. Applicants selected for this position must be proficient in the English language in accordance with Public Law 94-102 dated November 23, 1977. An individual who is convicted of a domestic violence charge cannot be authorized to own, be issued, purchase, or otherwise have possession of a handgun under the Lautenberg Amendment (PL 104-208) to the Gun Control Act of 1968 (18 USC 922). A background security investigation will be required for all new hires. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. This is a drug testing position. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with the VA. Arrest Authority: At the GS-6 grade level and above applicants should have arresting authority - presently or in the past. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on OPM's web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications. New VA Police Officers are required to successfully complete the 8-week Basic Police Officer Course in Little Rock, Arkansas. Satisfactory completion of this course is a condition of continued employment. The incumbent must meet and maintain physical, psychological, and weapons qualifications as outlined in VA Directives/Handbooks 0730 and 0720.Incumbent must successfully complete an annual physical and psychological examination. Certification in basic CPR is required. The in incumbent is trained in the use of the automatic emergency defibrillator (AED). Must maintain a valid state driver's license. Will be required to carry Law Enforcement Credentials in the performance of official duties. Failure to successfully meet the above could be grounds for termination. Lautenberg Amendment: This position authorizes the incumbent to carry a firearm. Any person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence cannot lawfully possess a firearm or ammunition (Title 18, U.S.C., Section 922(g)(91)). Candidates who have been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence are not qualified for this position. Candidates under consideration will be required to certify whether they have ever been convicted of such an offense. False or fraudulent information provided by candidates is criminally punishable by fine or imprisonment (Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1001). All positions involving Federal motor vehicle operation carry the additional medical requirements specified in 5 CFR 930 and the "General Policies and Instructions" section of this Manual