The Purpose    

As a central part of the College community, the primary function is to provide an environment that allows students, staff, faculty, and visitors to interact in safe and secure surroundings.   The role is to actively support the college's educational activities through law enforcement services.  These services will meet the highest level of approval, and the candidate will constantly strive to anticipate the needs of the College community. Officers will conduct various law enforcement activities, including patrolling within the geographic jurisdiction, conducting criminal investigations, crime prevention, conducting traffic accident investigations, assisting motorists, parking/traffic control, and providing security at special events.

Why it’s Important

The Blue Ridge team is excited by every opportunity to be creative, innovative, and engaging. We do this by working alongside our staff to ensure we provide a modern, technologically advanced institution for the community. We are here to support our Students to ensure they reach their highest potential. Our team engages with the community to ensure that we are consistently meeting standards and then rising above them. Guiding students along their educational journey is our calling and we are looking for like-minded teammates to help us serve our community. Whether a student is entering the workforce for the first time, entering a new profession, or just expanding their knowledge, we are here to provide the necessary tools to accomplish all their goals. Working together, no elevation is too high, and no summit is unreachable.  

Examples of Duties

What You'll be Doing  

(As provided in N.C. Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards form F-8: Inexperienced Law Enforcement Officer Essential Job Functions)

•   Effect an arrest, forcibly if necessary, using handcuffs and other restraints; subdue resisting suspects using maneuvers and weapons and resort to the use of hands and feet and other approved weapons in self-defense. 
• Prepare investigative and other reports, including sketches, using appropriate grammar, symbols and mathematical computations. 
• Exercise independent judgement in determining when there is reasonable suspicion to detain, when probable cause exists to search and arrest and when force may be used and to what degree. 
• Operate a law enforcement vehicle during both the day and night; in emergency situations involving speeds in excess of posted limits, in congested traffic and in unsafe road conditions caused by factors such as fog, smoke, rain, ice and snow. 
• Communicate effectively and coherently over law enforcement radio channels while initiating and responding to radio communications. 
• Gather information in criminal investigations by interviewing and obtaining the statements of victims, witnesses, suspects and confidential informers. 
• Pursue fleeing suspects and perform rescue operations which may involve quickly entering and exiting law enforcement patrol vehicles; lifting, carrying and dragging heavy objects; climbing over and pulling up oneself over obstacles; jumping down from elevated surfaces; climbing through openings; jumping over obstacles, ditches and streams; crawling in confined areas; balancing on uneven or narrow surfaces and using body force to gain entrance through barriers.
• Load, unload, aim and fire from a variety of body positions handguns, shotguns and other agency firearms under conditions of stress that justify the use of deadly force and at levels of proficiency prescribed in certification standards. 
• Perform searches of people, vehicles, buildings and large outdoor areas which may involve feeling and detecting objects, walking for long periods of time, detaining people and stopping suspicious vehicles and persons.
• Conduct visual and audio surveillance for extended periods of time. 
• Engage in law enforcement patrol functions that include such things as working rotating shifts, walking on foot patrol and physically checking the doors and windows of buildings to ensure they are secure. 
• Effectively communicate with people, including juveniles, by giving information and directions, mediating disputes and advising of rights and processes. 
• Demonstrate communication skills in court and other formal settings. 
• Detect and collect evidence and substances that provide the basis of criminal offenses and infractions and that indicate the presence of dangerous conditions. 
• Endure verbal and mental abuse when confronted with the hostile views and opinions of suspects and other people encountered in an antagonistic environment. 
• Perform rescue functions at accidents, emergencies and disasters to include directing traffic for long periods of time, administering emergency medical aid, lifting, dragging and carrying people away from dangerous situations and securing and evacuating people from particular areas. 
• Process and transport prisoners and committed mental patients using handcuffs and other appropriate restraints. 
• Put on and operate a gas mask in situations where chemical munitions are being deployed. 
• Extinguish small fires by using a fire extinguisher and other appropriate means. 
• Read and comprehend legal and non-legal documents, including the preparation and processing of such documents as citations, affidavits and warrants. 
• Process arrested suspects to include taking their photographs and obtaining a legible set of inked fingerprints.

Additionally     

• Utilize citizen input in the identification of community issues, develop community contacts, and plan and conduct community programs.
• Recognize and implement crime prevention techniques, including environmental factors conducive to criminal activity. 
• Possess overall knowledge of the student conduct process and comply with student conduct requests for assistance, including referrals to support agencies.
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

MUST-HAVES

Education    

• High School Diploma or G.E.D.
• Must have completed NC Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) 

Experience   

• Must be 21 years of age

PREFERRED

 Education

• Completion of an Associate’s Degree or higher

Experience

• 1 year or more of full-time experience as a law enforcement officer.
• Experience as a School Resource Officer
• Possession of NC General Law Enforcement Certification

Skills and the Know-How    

• Must possess knowledge of police methods, practices, and procedures, as well as strong analytical, leadership, and administrative skills
• Excellent oral and written communications skills and ability to comprehend and carry out oral and written instructions.
• Ability to analyze situations and to adapt quick, effective and reasonable courses of action with due regard to surrounding hazards and circumstances;
• Ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with students, associates and the general public.  
• Skilled in problem-solving and considerable knowledge in traditional law enforcement principles, along with a broad range of public service matters.
• Ability to deal professionally, courteously, and fairly with the public.  
• Proficient in the use of firearms and operations of police vehicles;
• Able to apply skills to make the right decisions based not only on the law, but the intent of the law as it related to our mission and goals, both short- and long-term.  
• Knowledge of police methods, practices, and procedures.
• Possess strong personal and professional integrity, practical verbal and written communication skills, and a commitment to safety and community policing.  
• Must be computer literate with the ability to use Microsoft Word, report management systems, criminal information databases, and email. 

Additional Information

Physical Demands 

The ability to perform all essential functions and responsibilities associated with the position including, but not limited to lifting, prolonged standing, walking, running, sitting, bending, stooping, and operating or performing work with associated tools and machines.

Additional Criteria

•  Candidates must be able to meet the minimum standards for a law enforcement officer pursuant to NCAC 12 NCAC 9. 
• Candidates must be able to pass a comprehensive background investigation (this may or may not include a polygraph examination).
• Candidates must be fingerprinted and those fingerprints will be submitted as part of the criminal record check.
• Candidates must have been examined and certified by a licensed surgeon, physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner to meet physical requirements necessary to fulfill the officer's particular responsibilities and shall have produced a negative result on a drug screen.
• Candidates must be able to pass a psychological screening evaluation.

 * Some criteria may be waived for lateral transfers.

Blue Ridge is an Equal Employment Opportunity Institution