Police Officers Recruitment

CITY OF WOONSOCKET, RHODE ISLAND

Personnel Division

Employment Advertisement

POLICE OFFICERS RECRUITMENT

The City of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Personnel Division, announces Open Competitive Examinations to establish an eligibility list for the position of Police Officer.  Please review the position description prior to applying.  Applicants must meet the following minimum criteria:  must be 18 years of age or older; must be a US citizen; must have a valid driver’s license; must have no felony convictions; and a high school diploma or a GED equivalent.  There is a $35.00 non‑refundable application fee, payable upon registration.

To Apply:  For quick apply, please visit application online website at www.PoliceApp.com.

The City of Woonsocket offers a competitive benefit and compensation package.  For more information on this position including a full position description, please visit the “Employment” section on the City of Woonsocket website at www.woonsocketri.org.

About Woonsocket:  Located in Rhode Island’s Blackstone Valley, the City of Woonsocket is a vibrant, urban community and is surrounded by the growing suburban communities of Lincoln, Cumberland and North Smithfield, and boasts a positive business climate where City officials and the business community work together to build a strong economy.  Woonsocket is centrally located in the Boston/Worcester/Providence triangle, and home to CVS Corporation, a Fortune 500 company.

Weekly Salary Rate:    Probationary Rate - $935.35/week

                                      Rate After Probationary Period - $1,279.22/week

Hours of Work:            @ 37.5-hours work week

Application Deadline:   Tuesday, April 1, 2025

Written Exam:             Administered online by Fit2serve www.fit2serveri.com

                                      (January 31; February 1, 2, 28, March 1, 2; April 4, 5, 6)

Fitness Assessment:      Administered by Fit2serve www.fit2serveri.com

                                      (February 2, 2025, 8:00AM @ URI Mackal Field House)

                                      (March 2, 2025, 8:00AM @ URI Mackal Field House)

                                      (April 6, 2025, 8:00AM @ Coventry High School)

JOB TITLE:                                 Police Officer Probationary

DEPARTMENT/DIVISION:        Police Department/Public Safety

PAY GRADE/HOURS:                Grade P9 / @ 37.5-hour work week

UNION:                                        Local 808

POSITION SUMMARY:   Under general supervision enforces laws and ordinances, maintains order, prevents crime, makes arrests, and does related work as required.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Effect an arrest forcibly if necessary, using handcuffs and other restraints; subdue resisting suspects using maneuvers and weapons and resort to use of hands and feet, and other approved weapons in self-defense.
• Prepare investigative and other reports, including sketches, using appropriate grammar, symbols, mathematical computations and the use of a computer.
• Exercise independent judgment in determining when there is reasonable suspicion to detain, when probably cause exists to search and arrest and when force may be used, and to what degree.
• Operate a law enforcement vehicle during both day and night; in emergency situations involving speeds in excess of posted limits, in congested traffic and in unsafe road conditions caused by factors such as fog, smoke, rain, ice and snow.
• Communicate effectively and coherently over law enforcement radio channels while initiating and responding to radio communications.
• Gather information in criminal investigations by interviewing and obtaining the statements of victims, witnesses, suspects and confidential informers.
• Pursue fleeing suspects and perform rescue operations which may involve quickly entering and exiting law enforcement patrol vehicles.
• Lifting, carrying and dragging heavy objects, climbing over and pulling up oneself over obstacles, jumping down from elevated surfaces, climbing through openings, jumping over obstacles, ditches and streams, crawling in confined areas, balancing on uneven or narrow surfaces and using body force to gain entrance through barriers.
• Load, unload, aim and fire from a variety of body positions handguns, shotguns, and other agency firearms under conditions of stress that justify the use of deadly force and at levels of proficiency prescribed in certification standards.
• Perform searches of people, vehicles, buildings and large outdoor areas which may involve feeling and detecting objects, walking for long periods of time, detaining people and stopping suspicious vehicles and persons.
• Conduct visual and audio surveillance for extended periods of time.
• Engage in law enforcement patrol functions that include such things as working rotating shifts, walking on foot patrol and physically checking the doors and windows of buildings to ensure they are secure.
• Effectively communicate with people, including juveniles, by giving information and directions, mediating disputes and advising of rights and processes.
• Demonstrate communication skills in court and other formal settings.
• Detect and collect evidence and infractions and that indicate the presence of dangerous conditions.
• Endure verbal and mental abuse when confronted with the hostile views and opinions of suspects and other people encountered in an antagonistic environment.
• Perform rescue functions at accidents, emergencies and disasters to include directing traffic for long periods of time, administering emergency medical aid, lifting, dragging and carrying people away from dangerous situations and securing and evacuating people from particular areas.
• Process and transport prisoners and committed metal patients using handcuffs and other appropriate restraints.
• Put on and operate a gas mask in situations where chemical munitions are being deployed.
• Extinguish small fires by using a fire extinguisher and other appropriate means.
• Read and comprehend legal and non-legal documents, including the preparation and processing of such documents as citations, affidavits and warrants.
• Process arrested suspects to include taking their photographs and obtaining a legible set of inked fingerprint impressions.
• Control crowds, report on condition of streets and other public facilities, enforcement of jail rules and regulations when on duty.
• Performs other related duties as required.

QUALIFICATIONS:  A high school diploma or a GED equivalent is required, as certified by the Rhode Island Department of Education.  Successful completion of training and satisfactory performance with the recommendation of the appointing authority at the completion of a probationary period which is at least one (1) year after graduation from the Rhode Island Municipal Police Academy.

Good knowledge, skill and personal qualities:  Ability and willing to learn police methods and practices, to rapidly gain a working knowledge of controlling laws and ordinances, and to attain efficiency in the methods and practices of criminal investigation.  Ability to prepare written reports; ability to remember details and keen power of observation; aptitude for an interest in police work, courage, good appearance and address; emotional stability; firmness and thoroughness; and unusual ability to deal effectively and courteously with people.  Must be able to pass a rigid physical and psychiatric examination, and must be eighteen (18) years of age as of the close of the application period.

An Equal Opportunity Employer