Police Officer

This is a developmental position, GS-05, GS-06, FPL GS-07. Management may select at either grade level.

Who May Apply: US Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. 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; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Specialized Experience for the GS-5: One year of specialized experience which includes experience 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 such as filling out reports on incidents of theft or accidents and write citations and/or sworn statements for clear-cut, observed violations of laws and rules, OR monitor personnel movements to and from a controlled access area when the post is observable by senior officers. 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. (Note: Successful completion of a Federal, State, county, or municipal police academy or comparable training course which included at least 40 classroom hours of instruction in police department procedures and methods, and local law and regulations, may be substituted for three months of specialized experience.) This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-04).
OR
Education: Four years of education above the high school level in an accredited school leading to a bachelor's degree in Police Science or a comparable degree program related to the work of the position, such as Criminal Justice.
OR
Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of education by 120. Add the two percentages.

Specialized Experience for the GS-6: One year of specialized experience which includes experience in law enforcement operations, practices, and techniques that involve responsibility for maintaining order and protecting life and property such as performing traffic control and emergency response duties, or providing visitor protection and law enforcement in parks, forests, or other natural resource or recreational environments. 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 environment; or performing criminal investigative duties; or work as a security guard. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-05).

Specialized Experience for the GS-7: One year of specialized experience which includes experience applying laws and regulations to law enforcement operations, practices and techniques and involved responsibility for maintaining order and protecting life and property, or experience such as assisting with law enforcement preliminary investigations, pursuing/apprehending persons fleeing a crime scene or attempting to resist arrest, performing criminal investigative duties which include preserving evidence and interrogating suspects. 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 or in performing criminal investigative duties. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-06).

Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone for GS-06 and GS-07 -- no substitution of education for experience is permitted.

Advancement requirement to positions up to GS-5: Candidates may be advanced without time restriction to positions up to GS-5 if the position to be filled is no more than two grades above the lowest grade the employee held within the preceding 52 weeks under his or her latest non-temporary competitive appointment.

Time in Grade Requirement for GS-06: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-05).

Time in Grade Requirement for GS-07: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-06).

Applicants must meet eligibility requirements including time-in-grade, time-after-competitive appointment, minimum qualifications, and any other regulatory requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.