Description

What this job is about:
The Investigator will be an integral and collaborative member of a diverse investigation team that conducts complex high-profile investigations. In this role, you will investigate police use of deadly force incidents using a fair, thorough, transparent, and competent approach. This position is overtime eligible.

What is OII?
In 2021, the Washington State Legislature created the Office of Independent Investigations (OII), captured in RCW 43.102. This is in response to the demand for change from the community over citizen deaths resulting from encounters with law enforcement. The law requires these use of deadly force investigations to be truly independent of the involved law enforcement agency.

OII will define a new approach to investigating use of deadly force incidents by removing conflicts of interest and improving accountability, transparency and the public’s confidence. Doing so will strengthen the relationship between police and the community while building public trust and promoting effective policing.

Who we’re looking for?
Our ideal candidates are collaborative individuals who can develop relationships and will apply professionalism and courage during stressful situations. Your skills in critical thinking, decision-making, time management and communications are essential in both learning and conducting all facets of investigations.

You are highly ethical with curiosity that can lead to creative thinking and innovative ideas to optimize how you conduct your work.

Investigators will undergo training in the history of policing, anti-racist, anti-biased curriculum, and significant technical training to learn how to perform thorough and competent investigations. This will include both structured classroom and field training. You will work closely with a team of investigators and attend incident scenes when and where they occur throughout the state.

Duties

What you’ll do:

• Respond to the scene of incidents involving law enforcement and the use of deadly force which results in serious bodily injury or death.
• Subject to 24-hour availability, and may work non-standard hours, including long shifts, holidays, and weekends, as required.
• Under the supervision of the Senior Investigator or Regional Investigations Supervisor, organize and analyze case facts and evidence to determine the course of the investigation using appropriate investigative methods and procedures.
• Adhere to legal requirements and responsibilities when gathering and preserving evidence to be used to conduct a fair, thorough, and transparent investigation.
• With the Senior Investigator, conduct in-person interviews with involved law enforcement officers, witnesses, and others relevant to the investigation.
• Gather and digitally record statements of fact pertinent to the investigation, which may include interviews of an adversarial nature.
• Along with a family liaison or other senior member of OII staff, may be required to act as a liaison to affected family members and members of the community during critical incidents.
• Gather, review, and evaluate police reports, medical documents, collision reports, death certificates, and other related documentation relevant to the investigation.
• Along with senior investigative staff, coordinate with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and stakeholders regarding investigations.
• May be required to attend autopsies and emergency medical procedures of involved parties for the purpose collecting evidence.
• Follow-up with all leads received by law enforcement, the public, and the Office of Independent Investigations.
• Objectively analyze, focus, resolve, and report any relevant issues employing a full range of investigative methods and procedures; to include conducting research on the internet, social media, and other databases.
• Document all investigations activities in a timely manner using a case management system, per OII business rules and standards.
• Protect all confidential and personally identifiable information gained through the investigation, including Criminal Justice Information data, and complete required training and certification for the CJIS network.
• Complete all training required regarding criminal investigations, community relations, and other training required by RCW 43.102.60.
• Testify in court and other legal proceedings, as required.
• Safely operate a state assigned vehicle to conduct investigations.
• Participate in the law enforcement incident notification rotation, receiving and documenting information from involved agencies when a use of deadly force incident occurs.

Qualifications

Required:

• Five years progressively responsible experience as an investigator with a criminal justice, government agency, private organization, or other directly allied field.

• 
  Five years progressively responsible experience in a field where logical thinking, deductive reasoning, rule-following, and professionalism are essential. Sufficient education/experience to ensure an ability to write understandable, court-ready reports of your activities and actions.
• An understanding of criminal justice, criminology, and investigative work, and how that work fits within the criminal justice system.

• 
  Bachelor’s degree in a field of criminal justice, law, or other applicable area.

• 
  Experience using data and information to assess and understand issues, evaluate options, form conclusions, and make decisions.
• Extensive experience managing a workload, to include prioritizing tasks, and managing multiple, long-term, assignments.
• Experience managing cases or prioritizing ongoing, multiple, long-term assignments while integrating many factors into decisions and delivering accurate, high-quality service.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of Washington practices, including applicable laws, policies, and procedures related to criminal law, criminal investigations, and policing. Significant knowledge of comparable practices outside of Washington can be substituted for this requirement.
• Understanding of the rules of evidence/chain of custody necessary to protect the integrity of evidence that law enforcement gathers during an investigation.
• Willingness to learn about of police oversight and importance of training to understand the impact and effect of racism in the investigation and knowing how to use an antiracist lens to conduct independent investigations work.
• Ability to understand and thoughtfully put into practice relevant laws from the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) or Washington Administrative Code (WAC) pertinent to the mission of OII.
• Ability to read and write English and write detailed and comprehensive incident reports.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; careful listening and problem framing skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills including sensitivity, empathy, discretion, and tact when dealing with those impacted by investigations and sensitivity to issues related to culture and gender.
• Demonstrated critical thinking skills and ability to analyze and document complex situations.

Desired:

• Education in a field related to conducting investigations, to include, but not limited to law, criminal justice, psychology, sociology, criminology, or forensics.
• Knowledge, or ability to learn relevant legislation, regulations, and experience working in quasi-judicial and judicial environments.
• Forensic investigations or crime scene investigations experience.
• Experience using social media or other electronic means to conduct an investigation.
• Demonstrate experience or understanding of the following areas:
  • Behavioral health issues
  • Youth cognitive development
  • Trauma-informed interviewing
  • De-escalation techniques and utilization

Supplemental Information

Conditions of Employment:

• Per Governor Inslee’s Directive 22-13.1, state employees must be fully vaccinated effective November 4, 2022. Providing proof of being fully vaccinated is a condition of employment and your vaccine status will be verified prior to starting work. Being fully vaccinated means two weeks after you have received the second dose in a two-dose series of a COVID-19 vaccine or a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine authorized for emergency use, licensed or otherwise authorized or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or listed for emergency use or otherwise approved by the World Health Organization. Please reach out to the HR Office if you need information on medical or religious accommodation.
• Before you can be hired, you must pass a pre-employment background and credit check. This includes fingerprinting, mental health evaluation, and a polygraph examination.
• Must be able to respond 24/7 state-wide as required as part of an on-call team. Ability to work on-call duty for two-week periods.
• Must successfully complete a required training program to ensure the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities are obtained.
• Safely operate a state assigned vehicle to conduct field work.

Application Process
How to Apply

Interested? We would love to hear from you. Click “Apply” at the top of this page to start your application (you can save the application and come back to it, if needed). Please include the following:

• A letter of interest that describes your specific qualifications, and elaborate on any experience and knowledge noted in the required qualifications section of this announcement.
• A current resume that details your applicable experience and education.
• A list of at least three professional references with current telephone numbers.

We will directly contact the top candidates to interview for this position. Because we base our selection on the information you provide, it is in your best interest to identify the knowledge, skills and abilities that address the required and desirable qualifications we described above.

Questions?
For questions about this recruitment or to request reasonable accommodation in the application process, please email William Penzo at TalentAcquisition@ofm.wa.gov. For TTY service, please call the Washington Relay Service at 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.

The Office of the Governor is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of disability, persons over 40 years of age, and disabled and Vietnam-era veterans are encouraged to apply. If you need accommodations or help in the application process, or who wish to receive this job announcement in an alternative format, you may call 360-725-0158 or dial 711 to reach the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf system.