Police Officers Non-Certified (Test Date: 1/15/2027)

City of Moss Point; Moss Point (MS); On-site; USD 35,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Moss Point Police Department is seeking an entry-level Probationary Police Officer to protect life and property and deliver professional police services to the community. You will respond to calls, perform patrols, investigate incidents, make arrests, prepare reports, and provide courtroom testimony under supervision during the one-year probationary period.

Applicants must meet basic education requirements, communicate effectively, and demonstrate integrity, judgment, and the ability

Qualifications

• Knowledge of English, spelling and math.
• Ability to remember names, faces and incident details; use police equipment.
• Ability to learn a wide variety of police duties in a reasonable period.
• Knowledge of occupational hazards and safety precautions.
• Ability to act quickly and calmly in emergencies; use sound judgment.
• Meet age, mental, physical and medical requirements.
• Ability to communicate clearly, orally and in writing.
• Ability to perform prolonged and arduous work.
• Ability to manage other tasks and react productively.
• Must hold a valid Mississippi vehicle operator’s license.

Responsibilities

• Patrol designated city areas on foot or in a radio-equipped car to preserve law and order.
• Answer calls for service and impartially investigate complaints.
• Investigate crimes, arrest suspects, participate in prosecutions and educate the community.
• Enforce traffic and criminal laws; issue citations and aid in prosecutions.
• Provide additional services as resources permit (e.g., escorts, medical assists).
• Complete required reports.
• Attend training on firearms, CPR, first aid and related equipment.
• Perform other duties as directed by chain of command.

Skills

English proficiency

Communication skills

Observation/memory

Legal knowledge basics

Sound judgment

Age/fitness requirements

Interpersonal/work relations

Endurance/physical strength

Multitasking

Valid Mississippi driver’s license

Education

High school diploma or GED

Associates degree or higher accepted

Job description

The Probationary Police Officer is an entry-level law enforcement position responsible for protecting life and property, maintaining public safety, enforcing federal, state, and local laws, and providing professional police services to the community. Employees in this classification perform duties under the supervision of designated command personnel and are subject to a one (1) year probationary period during which job performance, conduct, attendance, judgment, and overall suitability for continued employment as a police officer are evaluated.

The Probationary Police Officer responds to calls for service; conducts routine patrols; investigates complaints, suspicious activity, traffic incidents, and criminal offenses; enforces traffic and criminal laws; makes lawful arrests; prepares accurate reports and documentation; collects and preserves evidence; provides courtroom testimony; assists citizens; and performs other related law enforcement duties as assigned.

The position requires the ability to exercise sound judgment, communicate effectively, maintain confidentiality, work cooperatively with other employees and agencies, and interact professionally with citizens from diverse backgrounds. The officer must demonstrate integrity, emotional maturity, dependability, situational awareness, and the ability to respond appropriately during emergency, stressful, or potentially dangerous situations.

Probationary Police Officers must successfully complete all required departmental training, field training, performance evaluations, and applicable law enforcement certification requirements within established timeframes. Continued employment is contingent upon satisfactory performance throughout the probationary period and compliance with departmental policies, City policies, Civil Service requirements, and applicable laws and regulations.

Responsibilities

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
(Any one position of this class may not include all duties listed, nor do listed examples include all duties which may be found in positions of this class.)

• Patrols a designated area of the city on foot or in a radio equipped car to preserve law and order, to prevent crime, help citizens in need and report situations which endanger the health, safety, and convenience of the public.
• Answers assigned calls for service and impartially investigates assigned complaints.
• When assigned, they investigate crimes, legally arrest persons, participate in prosecutions, educate, and collaborate with citizens to reduce crime in the community.
• Enforces traffic laws, investigates traffic accidents, issues traffic citations, participates in prosecutions of City cases, educates, and works with citizens to reduce traffic problems and cause traffic to flow safely in the community.
• Provides other services to citizens as permitted by the department's resources (i.e., funeral escorts, medical assists, and other services)
• Complete all required reports.
• Attends training to develop skills on the use of firearms, police baton, intoxilyzer, CPR, first aid and other equipment; and on laws, investigation techniques, hazardous materials, etc. from an accredited Law Enforcement Training Academy.
• Perform any other duties as directed by chain of command.

Requirements

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, ABILITIES AND SKILLS:
(Must possess required knowledge, skills, abilities and experience and be able to explain and demonstrate, with or without reasonable accommodation, that the essential functions of the job can be performed.)

• Knowledge of English, spelling, and math.
• Demonstrated ability to remember names, faces, and details of incidents; and to develop skill in use of police equipment.
• Demonstrated ability to learn a wide variety of police duties and methods within a reasonable period.
• Knowledge of occupational hazards involved in the work and the safety precautions for safe performance of the job.
• Demonstrated ability to act quickly and calmly in emergency situations; to determine proper course of action in various dangerous situations and use sound judgment in managing them.
• Ability to meet approved age, mental, physical, psychological, and medical requirements for this class.
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective working relations, to express ideas clearly and concisely, orally and in writing, to groups and individuals.
• Ability and physical strength to do prolonged and arduous work.
• Ability to react productively and manage other tasks as assigned.
• Must have and maintain a valid Mississippi vehicle operator's license.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: This position has no supervisory responsibilities.

MINIMUM REQUIRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

Graduation from high school or acceptable equivalent from an accredited institution and provide a copy with employment application prior to taking the physical agility test.

MINIMUM SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS-POLICE OFFICER:

All non-certified law enforcement applicants MUST meet the following guidelines to be employed as a law enforcement officer. They are:

1. Must be at least twenty-one (21) years of age,
2. Be a high school graduate or obtain a General Education Development Diploma (GED), in lieu of a high school diploma, a college diploma or certified transcript from an accredited institution will be accepted. It must be an Associates (AA or AAS) or higher. Technical Certificates will not be accepted.
3. Must be a United States citizen.
4. Be of good physical and mental condition, capable of performing the duties, under conditions inherent to the profession, as verified by a licensed physician,
5. And be of good moral character as evidenced among other things by having neither a conviction, a plea of guilty, a plea of nolo contender, having been ordered into probation or pre-trial diversion or have been fined in relation to a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or to a crime that is directly related to the duties and responsibilities of a law enforcement officer. Former members of the Armed Forces Individuals must have been discharged from the Armed Forces under honorable conditions. Fitness for service as it relates to moral character must be verified by an appropriate background investigation.

Individuals who meet both the definition of a law enforcement officer above and who meet the minimum employment guidelines are eligible to be employed as a law enforcement officer and must successfully complete prescribed training and obtain certification within one (1) year for full-time status and two (2) years for part-time from their date of hire, if approved for hire.

CIVIL SERVICE MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: For minimum qualifications established by the Mississippi Code, see Section 21-31-15.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS: Continuing education requirement for municipal police chiefs and officers established by MS Code, Ann. 45-6-19