Strategic Enforcement Response Team (SERT) Probation Officer

ABOUT FRANKLIN COUNTY MUNICIPAL COURT

The Franklin County Municipal Court is the largest and busiest municipal court in the State of Ohio. The Court has fourteen judges in the General Division and one judge in the Environmental Division. Judges preside over civil, criminal, and traffic cases and conduct both jury and court trials. The Court's jurisdiction includes traffic cases, misdemeanor criminal cases, and civil cases where the amount at issue is $15,000 or less. The Environmental Division has exclusive jurisdiction to enforce local codes and regulations affecting real property, such as fire and building codes. The geographic jurisdiction of the Court is all of Franklin County and those portions of the City of Columbus that extend beyond the boundaries of Franklin County. Despite its jurisdiction and name, the Franklin County Municipal Court is the judicial branch of the City of Columbus government.

JOB PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW

The Pretrial and Probation Services Department consists of approximately 100 employees. The mission of Pretrial Services is to promote community safety and pretrial success through research-informed recommendations and supervision services that maximize court appearance, remove barriers to fair and efficient justice, and promote harm reduction. The mission of Probation Services is to promote community safety by reducing recidivism, changing offender behavior, and fostering accountability through the effective use of evidence-based practices. Department functions include pretrial, investigation, and supervision services. Supervision structures are determined by risk and need and include all types of cases referred by the judges of the Court. The staff operates specialized caseloads, including domestic violence, sexual offenses, soliciting, mental health, work release, and electronic monitoring. The probation staff strives to stay current and relevant with the ongoing goal of being an evidence-based organization.

A SERT probation officer is under the general direction of a chief probation officer and the immediate direction of a SERT probation officer supervisor. A SERT probation officer's primary responsibilities are to conduct fieldwork, assist with transports and arrests, investigate, interview, assess, case plan, provide interventions, and manage a defendant's compliance with court orders and required programming to promote public safety and reduce recidivism. SERT probation officers routinely communicate a defendant's supervision compliance with the assigned judge and work closely with criminal justice partners, local law enforcement agencies, and community resources.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POSITION

• Promote, model, and abide by the Vision, Mission, policies, and procedures of the Probation Department
• Administration of the Ohio Risk Assessment System (ORAS) and other identified assessment tools to ensure appropriate supervision placement, intervention, and programming.
• Develop an appropriate supervision plan to address the court's requirements and a defendant's assessed and identified needs.
• Supervise and support defendants through the behavior-change process, skills and goal attainment, and compliance with court-ordered supervision conditions, including teaching new skills, role-playing with defendants, and applying motivational interviewing skills.
• Perform field work as needed; notify the Court of the defendant's compliance with supervision requirements and attend court hearings when required.
• Ability to promote a positive presence in the community with defendants and their families.
• Conduct field visits, transports, searches, and field arrests of defendants.
• Conduct community and agency site visits with collateral organizations and treatment providers as needed.
• Conduct investigations for the Court and prepare written reports to assist judges in determining appropriate sentences, release conditions, or the sealing of criminal offense records, as assigned.
• Complete thorough, well-written reports detailing an individual's supervision progress and including thoughtful and informed recommendations.
• Supervise specialized caseloads consisting of environmental compliance issues; defendants convicted of domestic violence or related charges; substance-using defendants; defendants with mental-health or developmental disability considerations; defendants convicted of sex offenses; or defendants ordered to a period of electronic monitoring or work release.
• Maintain accurate, current, and thorough documentation and records.
• Participate in activities that enhance the department and Court, the individual units within the department, and the officer's professional development.
• Active participation in required training and professional development events around evidence-based practices in community corrections and behavioral health issues, per department standards and as deemed appropriate.
• Qualify and maintain OPOTA certification to carry a department-issued firearm while conducting fieldwork.
• Shall successfully complete a firearm requalification program approved by the Executive Director of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission per the rules adopted by the Attorney General pursuant to section 109.743 of the Revised Code.
• Properly maintain and secure firearms based on the department's maintenance schedule.
• Qualify and maintain OPOTA certification to carry a department-issued taser while conducting fieldwork.
• Maintain a professional demeanor during stressful situations.
• Maintain proficient and applicable certification with all job and training requirements.
• Develop and sustain productive working relationships with local law enforcement.
• Perform other tasks as assigned and may fulfill roles of other positions in other departments of the Court as needed.

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

BENEFITS

The Franklin County Municipal Court offers an excellent benefits package that includes medical, prescription, vision, dental, and life insurance; short-term disability; generous vacation, sick and personal leave; 11 paid holidays; longevity service payments; sick-leave reciprocity; employee assistance and deferred-compensation programs; tuition reimbursement; and credit-union membership.

Court employees are members of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, which provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits for public employees. The Court pays the required employer 14 percent of the employee's salary. Court employees do not have Social Security taxes withheld from their paychecks because they are members of OPERS.

COURT EXPECTATIONS OF EMPLOYEE

In completing the duties and responsibilities of the position, the Court expects the employee will adhere to all Court policies, guidelines, practices, and procedures; act as a role model both inside and outside the Court; perform duties as workload necessitates in a timely, accurate and thorough manner and be conscientious about meeting department productivity standards; and communicate regularly with the supervisor about department issues.

AT-WILL EMPLOYMENT

Employees of the Court are at-will employees and serve at the pleasure of the Court; they are not in the classified civil service system and are not members of bargaining units. The Court is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate based on age, gender, religion, race, color, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, disability, military status, or genetic information.

Salary : $15,000