Police Officer – Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/02/2019.

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 grade level. 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.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:

• Informing individuals about their rights as suspects and/or witnesses
• Operating radar or other speed detection equipment and pursuing speeding vehicles when enforcing traffic regulations or laws.
• Arresting violators caught in the act or who readily admit to guilt; issuing citations; assisting at accident scenes.
• Taking charge of a crime or accident scene and restricting access to those persons required on the scene; seeking detecting, and protecting evidence and witnesses at the scene of an incident.
• Making arrests and performing booking procedures.

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. Experience as a security guard or corrections officer is generally not qualifying.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Law Enforcement: Skill in applying general law enforcement practices, procedures and techniques to include knowledge of Federal, state and local laws and civil and constitutional rights.
• Tactics: Knowledge and proficiency in the use of specialized weapons & equipment, as well as the tactics for deploying them in emergency situations. Interpersonal Skills
• Investigations: Ability to initiate, plan and conduct investigations.
• Communication: Ability to communicate with a variety of persons in a wide range of situations.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: Heavy Lifting (45 lbs and over); Heavy Carrying (45 lbs and over); Straight Pulling (1/2 hour); Pulling hand over hand (1/2 hour); Pushing (1/2 hour); Reaching above shoulder; Use of fingers; Both hands required; Walking (up to 4 hours); Standing (up to 4 hours); Crawling (1/2 hour); Kneeling (1/2 hour); Repeated bending (1/2 hour); Climbing-legs only (1/2 hour); Climbing-use of legs and arms; Both legs required; Operation of motor vehicle; Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; Ability to use and desirability of using firearms; Near vision correctable at 13″ to 16″; Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; Both eyes required; Depth perception; Ability to distinguish basic colors; Hearing without aid; Emotional stability under stress; Ability to run in pursuit of suspects.

Police Officer Requirements:
1. Applicants must possess a valid, unrestricted State Driver’s License.
2. A character investigation to secure evidence of the candidate’s honesty, integrity, general character, and loyalty to the U.S. Government.
3. Both a medical and psychological examination are required.
4. Applicants and employees must have the capacity to perform the essential functions of the position without risk to themselves or others. Applicants and employees must possess emotional and mental stability. In most instances, a specific medical condition or impairment will not automatically disqualify an applicant or employee. A medical condition or impairment is disqualifying only if the condition for good medical reason, precludes assignment to or warrants restriction from the duties of the specific position. For some position, the loss or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid. Reasonable accommodation shall also be considered in determining the applicant’s ability to perform the duties of a position.
5. Selectee is required to maintain proficiency and qualify with both a handgun and a long gun. Additionally, selectee is required to maintain proficiency with intermediate weapons and defensive tactic techniques.
6. Must successfully complete and graduate from LETC (Law Enforcement Training Course) police academy. When selected to attend law enforcement schools or training academies, selectee must be capable to successfully complete those individual schools or academic and physical fitness standards or be subject to termination.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management’s website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.