SCOTs Sergeant

UNAVAILABLE; Logan (UT); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Utah State University Police Department is seeking a SCOTs Sergeant to provide supervisory leadership over sworn and civilian personnel, including behavioral threat assessment and management functions. This role coordinates multidisciplinary teams, guides complex investigations, and supports strategic planning and executive briefings.

Ideal candidates have substantial supervisory law‑enforcement experience, a track record in at least three SCOTs areas, and a valid driver license.

Qualifications

• Current Utah POST Law Enforcement Officer certification.
• Substantial supervisory experience over sworn/civilian staff.
• Experience in at least three SCOTs functional areas (investigations, intelligence, threat management, analytics, etc.).
• Valid driver license and ability to meet university/POST requirements.

Responsibilities

• Provides division leadership and administration, establishes priorities and accountability.
• Leads threat assessment and management programs with multidisciplinary partners.
• Supervises criminal investigations within SCOTS and university investigations.
• Oversees intelligence, open-source research, and strategic investigations.
• Participates in strategic planning, performance measures, and organizational development.
• Coordinates development of analytical products and executive briefings.
• Supports major events and special operations planning.
• Fosters university and interagency coordination.

Skills

USU POST certification

Supervisory experience

Threat assessment experience

Criminal investigations experience

Driver license

Education

Bachelor’s degree preferred (psychology/criminal justice/behavioral science)

Job description

Overview

Under limited supervision and at the direction of the chief of police or designee, the SCOTs division sergeant plans, coordinates, supervises, and evaluates specialized police functions involving criminal investigations, intelligence, threat assessment and management, strategic investigations, organizational planning, data-informed public-safety initiatives, executive support, and assigned strategic programs.

The SCOTs sergeant provides direct supervision and leadership to sworn and civilian personnel assigned to the SCOTS division and coordinates the work of employees, task forces, committees, and subject‑matter specialists whose responsibilities support the division mission.

The position has primary supervisory responsibility for the departmental behavioral threat assessment and management function and as the designee of the Chief of Police, coordination and management of the university multidisciplinary Threat Assessment Management Team (TAMT). Prior professional experience in behavioral threat assessment and management, especially experience supervising or leading threat‑management work, is preferred but is not required for eligibility.

The SCOTs sergeant works collaboratively with the Thistle and Highland divisions. SCOTs generally owns follow‑up and complex criminal investigations, intelligence, threat assessment and management, strategic investigations, analytics, and assigned strategic initiatives; Thistle maintains primary responsibility for patrol and field response; and Highland maintains primary responsibility for planned major‑event coordination, community engagement, institutional partnerships, compliance, accreditation, and assigned programs.

Responsibilities

Division Leadership and Administration

• Supervises, develops, and evaluates sworn and civilian SCOTS personnel; establishes priorities, expectations, assignments, and accountability; develops employees and organizational capability rather than concentrating specialized knowledge or responsibility in individual employees; coordinates division workload and resources; represents SCOTS within the department and with university and outside partners; and maintains appropriate continuity and succession within specialized functions.

Threat Assessment and Management

• Provides supervisory leadership for the department behavioral threat assessment and management program. Coordinates law‑enforcement participation in TAMT and supports multidisciplinary identification, assessment, management, documentation, and monitoring of concerning behavior at Utah State University. Ensures threat‑management activities are based on behavior and reasonably available information rather than protected characteristics, viewpoints, or unsupported assumptions. Coordinates appropriate information sharing, case management, intervention planning, reassessment, documentation, and transition or closure of cases. Develops and maintains relationships with university, mental‑health, student‑support, legal, human‑resources, and public‑safety partners necessary for effective multidisciplinary threat management.

Criminal Investigations

• Supervises follow‑up, complex, sensitive, and specialized criminal investigations assigned to SCOTs as well as all criminal investigations at USUPD after Thistle Division has finished preliminary investigation. Reviews investigative priorities, case assignments, investigative plans, legal process, reports, case progress, and case disposition. Ensures investigations are lawful, objective, timely, appropriately documented, and coordinated with prosecutors and partner agencies when necessary. Develops investigative capability in assigned personnel while avoiding unnecessary dependence on the sergeant personally conducting specialized investigations.

Intelligence and Strategic Investigations

• Supervises criminal intelligence, protective intelligence, open‑source research, strategic investigations, and other authorized intelligence activities. Establishes appropriate collection priorities and ensures information is evaluated for reliability, relevance, legal authority, and operational significance. Coordinates information sharing with appropriate law‑enforcement and university partners while maintaining applicable privacy, civil‑rights, records, and information‑security requirements.

Strategic Planning and Organizational Development

• Supports the chief and command staff in developing, implementing, and evaluating department strategic plans, organizational initiatives, performance measures, and improvement projects. Converts identified problems into defined objectives, assigns responsibility, establishes measures of success, monitors implementation, and reports progress.

Data Analysis, and Executive Support

• Coordinates development of analytical products, executive briefings, dashboards, reports, workload analyses, crime and incident analyses, and other decision‑support products. Ensures analytical work is translated into understandable operational or executive information. The sergeant is not required to personally perform every technical analytical function but must be capable of evaluating the relevance, limitations, and operational implications of analytical products.

Major Events and Special Operations Support

• Supports Highland division planning for major events and planned special operations by coordinating intelligence, threat assessment, investigative support, analytical products, and related SCOTS capabilities. Ensures relevant information is communicated to planners and commanders in a timely and actionable manner. Coordinates investigative and intelligence functions arising during or following significant events.

University and Interagency Coordination

• Develops and maintains productive working relationships with university administrators, General Counsel, Student Success, Human Resources, mental‑health and behavioral‑intervention professionals, prosecutors, local/state/federal law‑enforcement agencies, intelligence partners, task forces, and other organizations relevant to SCOTS responsibilities.

Executive Briefings and Strategic Communication

• Prepares and delivers concise, accurate, decision‑relevant briefings concerning investigations, threats, intelligence, organization risk, emerging issues, strategic initiatives, and other assigned matters. Clearly distinguishes verified information, analytical judgments, allegations, information gaps, and unresolved questions. Communicates uncertainty without either minimizing legitimate concerns or overstating available evidence.

Policy, Training, and Professional Standards

• Develops or assists with policies, procedures, training, and professional standards within assigned SCOTS subject areas. Identifies training and professional‑development needs for assigned personnel and coordinates opportunities to maintain or expand specialized capability.

Special Projects and Assigned Programs

• Leads specialized programs, projects, committees, partnerships, or emerging public‑safety initiatives assigned to SCOTS by the chief of police. Program assignments may change as organizational needs, risks, technology, or university priorities evolve.

Critical Incidents

• Performs appropriate supervisory, investigative, intelligence, threat‑management, or command‑support responsibilities during emergencies and critical incidents. Coordinates effectively with Thistle field command, Highland planned‑operations leadership, Emergency Management, university leadership, and outside agencies according to the nature of the incident.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Current Utah POST Law Enforcement Officer certification.
• Substantial professional law‑enforcement experience sufficient to perform first‑line supervisory responsibilities.
• Demonstrated leadership, supervisory, project‑leadership, or comparable experience involving responsibility for people, significant programs, investigations, or complex public‑safety operations.
• Demonstrated experience in at least three SCOTs functional areas, such as criminal investigations, intelligence, strategic investigations, strategic planning, data analysis, executive support, major‑event intelligence/threat support, or comparable specialized higher education public‑safety work.
• Valid driver license and ability to meet applicable university, department, POST, and position requirements.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in psychology, criminology, criminal justice, security management, behavioral science, or multidisciplinary studies.
• Substantive professional experience assessing, managing, monitoring, or reassessing behavioral threats or concerning behavior in a multidisciplinary setting;
• Advanced training or professional development in behavioral threat assessment and management.
• Prior supervisory leadership responsibility for behavioral threat assessment and management, including supervision of threat‑management personnel, or accountability for threat‑management processes and outcomes.
• Law‑enforcement supervisory experience.
• Experience with complex or sensitive criminal investigations and investigative case management.
• Experience with criminal intelligence, protective intelligence, strategic investigations, or open‑source research.
• Experience in higher‑education public safety or similar complex institutional environment.
• Experience working with prosecutors, mental‑health professionals, university administrators, legal counsel, human resources, student‑support professionals, or other multidisciplinary partners.
• Experience with strategic planning, program development, project management, data analysis, performance measurement, or organizational improvement.
• Experience preparing executive briefings, analytical products, or decision‑support materials.
• Relevant college education, professional certifications, or specialized training related to leadership, investigations, intelligence, threat management, analytics, public administration, or higher‑education public safety.

Advertised Salary

Commensurate with experience, plus excellent benefits

ADA

The SCOTs Sergeant performs duties in a combination of office, university, investigative, and field environments. Although the position involves substantial supervisory, administrative, investigative, and analytical responsibilities, it remains a sworn law‑enforcement position requiring the ability to perform essential police functions when circumstances demand.

Work Environment

Work is performed primarily in professional office and university settings, with regular responsibilities involving investigative activity, campus facilities, meetings, field operations, and coordination with external agencies. Assignments may require travel between university locations, responding to incidents outside normal business hours, attending evening or weekend events, and participating in on‑call or emergency response activities. The position may involve exposure to emotionally charged situations, criminal activity, distressed or potentially violent individuals, traumatic incidents, hazardous environments, adverse weather, and other conditions associated with law‑enforcement operations.

Physical Demands

The position requires the ability to perform the essential physical functions of a sworn police officer, with or without reasonable accommodation, consistent with applicable law and university policy. These functions may include prolonged sitting, standing, walking, operating a motor vehicle, moving between locations, using computers and communications equipment, handling investigative materials, and performing field duties. When operationally necessary, the employee must be capable of responding to emergencies, navigating varied terrain or facilities, using authorized law‑enforcement equipment, and performing physical activities associated with police response, personal protection, and the protection of others.

Mental and Cognitive Demands

The position requires sustained concentration, sound judgment, critical thinking, emotional stability, and the ability to make timely decisions involving complex, sensitive, or incomplete information. The employee must be able to assess threats and risks, distinguish verified facts from assumptions or intelligence assessments, evaluate competing explanations, establish priorities, and adapt decisions as new information becomes available. Responsibilities frequently involve confidential or traumatic information, individuals experiencing significant behavioral or emotional distress, sensitive personnel matters, and potentially high‑consequence public‑safety decisions. The position also requires the ability to manage competing deadlines, supervise specialized personnel, communicate complex findings to diverse audiences, coordinate multidisciplinary responses, maintain confidentiality, resolve conflict, and exercise discretion under stressful or rapidly changing circumstances. The employee must demonstrate professional composure, resilience, interpersonal sensitivity, and sound ethical judgment while balancing public safety, individual rights, institutional responsibilities, and the welfare of the university community.

The descriptions above identify representative working conditions and demands and are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties or requirements. Reasonable accommodations may be made for qualified individuals in accordance with applicable law and university policy.

College/Department Highlights

Utah State University (USU) is a nationally recognized Carnegie R1 research university and Utah's land‑grant institution. With a statewide system of 30 campuses, 33,000 students, Division I athletics, and extensive teaching, research, and public‑service activities, USU offers a uniquely dynamic environment for university policing and public safety.

USU's strategic plan is built upon four pillars that guide the university's mission and institutional priorities:

• Utah Statewide Impact: Expanding educational access, strengthening communities, supporting economic mobility, and extending the university's resources and expertise throughout Utah.
• Student Success & Value: Promoting student achievement, degree completion, meaningful educational experiences, and lasting value from a Utah State education.
• Discovery with Purpose: Advancing research, innovation, and practical solutions to complex challenges in fields including science, technology, defense, artificial intelligence, education, and human well‑being.
• Civic‑Mindedness: Fostering integrity, responsible citizenship, constructive dialogue, public service, and meaningful contributions to society.

The Utah State University Police Department plays an important role in advancing these priorities by providing a safe, supportive environment where students can succeed, research and discovery can flourish, and university communities can thrive. Our mission extends beyond traditional law enforcement to include community partnerships, proactive risk reduction, evidence‑based problem‑solving, and the protection of people and institutional resources across a complex statewide university system.

The department operates through three complementary divisions: Thistle (Respond & Maintain Readiness), Highland (Prepare & Connect), and SCOTs (Investigate, Analyze & Anticipate). This organizational structure emphasizes specialized expertise, collaboration, innovation, and shared accountability for university safety.

The SCOTs Division directly supports the university's strategic priorities through criminal investigations, criminal and protective intelligence, behavioral threat assessment and management, strategic investigations, data analytics, and specialized public‑safety initiatives. Working alongside university stakeholders and local, state, and federal partners, the division identifies emerging risks, develops informed interventions, protects sensitive research and institutional activities, and advances proactive approaches to public safety.

The SCOTs Sergeant provides leadership for specialized sworn and civilian personnel, including supervisory oversight of the department's behavioral threat assessment and management function. This position offers a distinctive opportunity to develop innovative programs, apply investigative and analytical expertise, strengthen multidisciplinary partnerships, and help shape the future of university public safety.

Guided by our six core values