Investigator - District Attorney

Placer County is comprised of over 1,400 square miles of beautiful and diverse geography, ranging from the residential and commercial areas of South Placer, through the historic foothill areas of Auburn, Foresthill, and Colfax, and to the County's jewel of the North Lake Tahoe basin. Placer is a great place to live, work, play, and learn! For more information about Placer County, please visit www.placer.ca.gov.

The Placer County District Attorney’s Office is seeking experienced investigators to apply for openings within the Investigations Unit. The Placer County Bureau of Investigations consists of approximately 17 sworn investigators and 9 professional staff. Our office is dedicated to protecting the Placer community and maintaining the excellent quality of life our residents. District Attorney Investigators work closely with Deputy District Attorneys and conduct some of the most intricate, sensitive, and unique investigations in law enforcement. Investigators also assist law enforcement agencies with scene processing, complex investigations and other operations.

Placer County offers a comprehensive benefits package to employees. The following information represents benefits currently available to permanent Placer County employees and may be subject to change. Applicants should inquire as to the most current benefit package during hiring interviews or by contacting the Human Resources Department.

Click here to view Deputy Sheriff's Assoc - Safety benefits

For more information regarding the benefits Placer County has to offer, please visit Placer County's Human Resources website.

To conduct investigations for the District Attorney's Office in response to complex felony, misdemeanor, juvenile, civil or other related cases, and to perform a variety of activities related to investigative assignments.

Receives general supervision from the Supervising District Attorney Investigator.

May exercise technical and functional supervision over technical and clerical staff.

• Conduct difficult and complex criminal and civil investigations and related work with limited supervision; prepare cases for hearings and trials; work closely with attorneys; locate witnesses and suspects; arrest suspects when necessary.
• Document crime scenes utilizing photographs, digital scans, and/or video recordings; prepare diagrams, charts, scale drawings and/or other visual aids in support of investigative work.
• Conduct surveillance; perform undercover operations.
• Participate in multi-disciplinary law enforcement task forces or operations with Federal, State, and local agencies.
• Assist local police jurisdictions with criminal and sensitive investigations, as assigned.
• Perform misconduct investigations on elected officials, attorneys, police agencies, private investigators, and other County departments. 
• Interview witnesses, victims, complainants, suspects, relatives, and others involved in assigned investigative cases; obtain statements, documents, and related factual evidence.
• Analyze and evaluate court, police, public and governmental records needed for investigation.
• Conduct threat and risk assessments related to investigator assignments.
• Enforce court orders pertaining to custody and visitation agreements.
• Collect and review information received from and related to family court, left behind parents and/or guardians.
• Interview parties involved in failure-to-provide actions; appear in court.
• Gather, analyze, and preserve evidence concerning crimes.
• Locate witnesses; communicate with court officers.
• Transport witnesses to and from court; protect threatened witnesses.
• Keep accurate records and prepare reports relating to investigative work.
• Testify in court as necessary.
• Work collaboratively with the community to solve problems of crime, disorder, and safety issues and preserve good relationships with the public.
• Work with various cultural and ethnic groups in a tactful and efficient manner.
• Build and maintain positive working relationships with co-workers, other County employees and the public using principles of good customer service.
• Perform related duties as assigned.

Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Conduct background investigations on Departmental employees.

It is the responsibility of applicants to identify in their application materials how they meet the minimum qualifications listed below.

Any combination of experience and training that would provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying.  A typical way to obtain the required knowledge and abilities would be:

Experience: Five years of full-time paid law enforcement experience, including at least one year of investigative experience.

Training: Equivalent to the completion of the twelfth grade and successful completion of the experience requirement will be accepted as proof of sufficient education for the class.

Required License or Certificate:

• Possession of a valid and active California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Basic Certificate, ability to obtain P.O.S.T. Intermediate Certificate within one year of date of hire and completion of certified POST Regular Basic Course.
• May need to possess a valid driver’s license as required by the position.  Proof of adequate vehicle insurance and medical clearance may also be required.

Knowledge of:

• California statutory laws pertaining to criminal and civil investigation, arrest, custody, rules of evidence, search and seizure, interviews and interrogations, hearing and trial procedures, juveniles, mental commitments, failure-to-provide and welfare fraud.
• Equipment, tools, and materials used in criminal and civil investigations.
• Rules of evidence pertaining to the search and seizure and the preservation of evidence.
• Sources of information used in locating persons.
• Organization, roles, and responsibilities of a District Attorney's Office.
• Legal structure and practices of criminal justice, especially the court system.
• Use and care for small firearms and other law enforcement equipment and tools.
• Offensive and defensive weapons nomenclature and theory; use and care of firearms, chemical agents, baton, and other related law enforcement paraphernalia.
• Principles and practices of workplace safety.
• Interviewing and interrogation techniques.
• Crime scene processing, survey, photography, and sketching.
• Preparation of trial diagrams and illustrations.
• Basic financial record keeping, mathematics and physics.

Ability to:

• Investigate complex criminal cases while exercising independent judgement; successfully conclude assignments by deadline dates; analyze cases and assist attorneys in preparation of trials.
• On a continuous basis, sit while working at a desk or attending meetings; walk and stand while conducting field investigations; see with sufficient visual acuity to view evidence and suspects; listen to recordings of interviews; bend, twist, squat, stoop, kneel, crouch and crawl during inspection of a crime scene or conducting building searches; perform simple and power grasping, pushing, pulling and fine manipulation.
• On an intermittent basis wear a utility belt and other law enforcement equipment weighing approximately 30 pounds; lift very heavy weight.
• On a continuous basis, know the laws, rules, and policies impacting criminal investigations; remember case details; understand District Attorney's Office policies and procedures; analyze statutes and case law; identify potential suspects; interpret law; observe individuals under surveillance; problem solve individual cases; explain laws and courses of action to involved parties.
• Effectively conduct interviews and interrogations; take detailed statements and affidavits.
• Gather documents and evidence.
• Assimilate intricate financial data while reviewing business frauds and embezzlements cases.
• Adopt quick, effective, and reasonable courses of action, giving due regard to the surrounding hazards and circumstances of each situation; exercise good judgement and make sound decisions under a variety of conditions; employ de-escalation techniques when safe and reasonable.
• Understand and interpret laws and regulations.
• Maintain physical, emotional, and mental condition to satisfactorily perform the functions of the position; meet and maintain required peace officer employment standards to safely and effectively perform assigned duties.
• Meet and maintain the District Attorney's Office firearms qualifications standards.
• Undertake and satisfactorily complete required and assigned in-service training programs as well as other mandated training requirements.
• Work with citizens and public officials under conditions requiring tact and good judgment.
• Prepare and make presentations related to law enforcement and the District Attorney's efforts in the community.
• Collect evidence at a crime scene; take photographs; prepare diagrams for the case records.
• Demonstrate keen powers of observation and memory; observe accurately and remember faces, numbers, incidents and places.
• Communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
• Work with various cultural and ethnic groups in a tactful and efficient manner.
• Enforce the law tactfully and impartially, interact courteously with the public, subordinates, employee organizations, other County departments and other agencies; collaborate with a broad base of community members and organizations.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.
• Work irregular or prolonged hours, including nights, weekends, holidays, shift work, and/or overtime. 

Training & Experience Rating (100%)

Based upon responses to the supplemental questionnaire, the applicant’s education, training, and experience will be evaluated using a pre-determined formula. Scores from this evaluation will determine applicant ranking and placement on the eligible list.

Specific position(s) within this classification designated as Safety Sensitive may require applicants to register with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Clearinghouse and to provide consent for Placer County to conduct a full query of their records within the Clearinghouse prior to an offer of employment.

The eligible list resulting from this recruitment may be certified as a substitute list for a substantially similar classification. For this purpose, a substantially similar classification is one at a lower level in the same classification (example: entry level vs. journey level) and/or a similar classification (similar work performed, similar training and experience qualifications required). If you are contacted for an interview by a County department, you will be informed of the classification and other relevant information. If you choose not to interview for a substantially similar classification, you will remain on the eligible list for which you originally applied.

Placer County offers an expedited process for qualifying certain applicants for interviews. Candidates currently employed, or employed within the last year, by a public agency operating under a personnel civil service or merit system may be eligible to be placed on a Public Agency Eligible List and certified as eligible for appointment to a similar job assignment without going through the examination process. For more information on the Public Agency Eligible List, to download forms, or to apply, please click here.

Thank you for your interest in employment with Placer County. Placer County is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to an active nondiscrimination program. It is the stated policy of Placer County that harassment, discrimination, and retaliation are prohibited and that all employees, applicants, agents, contractors, and interns/volunteers shall receive equal consideration and treatment. All terms and conditions of employment, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, transfer, and promotion will be based on the qualifications of the individual for the positions being filled regardless of gender (including gender identity and expression), sexual orientation, race (including traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists), color, ancestry, religion (including creed and belief), national origin, citizenship, physical disability (including HIV and AIDS), mental disability, medical condition (including cancer or genetic characteristics/information), age (40 or over),  marital status, military and/or veteran status, sex (including parental status, pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), political orientation, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local law. Please contact the Human Resources Department at least 5 working days before a scheduled examination if you require accommodation in the examination process. Medical disability verification may be required prior to accommodation.

For questions regarding this recruitment, please contact Preciosa Ayala-Burkhardt, Administrative Technician, at payala@placer.ca.gov or (530) 886-4637.