Job Information

CHARLESTON POLICE DEPARTMENT
520 JACKSON AVENUE
CHARLESTON, ILLINOIS 61920
217-345-5650
https://www.charlestonillinois.org/

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Updated: March 17, 2020

Job Classification: Entry-level Police Officer

The Charleston Police Department is accepting applications to build an eligibility list for the position of Entry-Level Police Officer.

The open testing will end on August 5,2020.

Salary Information: Starting pay: 0-6 months $46,257 and after completion of one year $61,691.

Additional compensation includes longevity pay and specialty pay for Field Training Officers.

Benefits information: Benefits include:

Medical, Dental, Vision & Life Insurance plans provided at the lowest cost possible for employees.
Pension Plan.
Paid vacation, sick, holiday, personal and Kelly days.
Paid academy training.
Uniforms and equipment provided, plus an additional annual uniform allowance.
Work schedule runs on a 12-hour shift cycle, allowing our officers the opportunity to be off every other Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Advanced training.
Tuition reimbursement.
Opportunities for special assignments such as Investigations, Task Force, K-9, Crime Scene Investigations & Crisis Response Team which respond to hostage situations, sniper scenarios and other high-risk operations.
Optional benefits: Section 125 Cafeteria Plan for unreimbursed medical and/or dependent care expenses; Deferred Compensation Plans and Employee Assistance Programs.

Contact Information:
Debbie Burkhart
Deputy City Clerk
217-345-5650
dburkhart@co.coles.il.us

Department Overview: The Charleston Police Department serves the community with a staff of 31 sworn officers and 3 civilian employees. The men and women of the Charleston Police Department pride themselves in the professional delivery of police services to the residents and visitors of our community. The Charleston Police Department continues to broaden its scope of services. Currently, they participate in the East Central Illinois Drug Task Force, a multi-agency Crises Response Team, a multi-agency Regional Computerized Crimes Enforcement Group, K-9 Unit, Bicycle patrols, Community Oriented Policing, “PALS” juvenile mentoring program, the Safe-Child Program, and In-School lecture and presentation programs. The officers of the department are not only Peace Keepers but members of the Charleston community with many of them volunteering their time to youth programs.

To learn more about the Charleston Police Department, visit https://www.charlestonillinois.org/cpd.

City/County/Area Information: The City of Charleston is downstate Illinois’ biggest secret. It offers world-class arts and culture through top-rated Eastern Illinois University. Superior schools, parks, and recreation in a friendly historic setting, as well as a vibrant downtown and pulsating main street, are available. Charleston gives you the best of rural living in a friendly, tight-knit community.

Population: 21,838

Job Requirements

Age: Must be at least 21 years of age but under the age of 35 years at time of testing; unless exempt from such age limitations as provided by Illinois state statute.

US Citizen: Yes

High School Grad/GED: Yes

Valid ILLINOIS State Driver's License: Yes

Ability to Read/Speak English: Yes

Vision: 20/20 vision, either corrected or uncorrected; close vision; peripheral vision; depth perception and the ability to adjust focus. Disqualifier: Color blindness.

Additional Requirements:

Candidates must participate in the physical agility testing to be conducted by the Charleston Police Department on September 12, 2020 at 8:00 a.m.
Pending successful completion of the physical agility testing, candidates must participate in an oral interview to be conducted by the City of Charleston on September 12, 2020.
Oral interviews will begin at 11:00 a.m.
Candidates will be notified of the time of their interview after successful completion of the physical agility testing.
Group interview techniques will be utilized. The score for the oral examination is based on a maximum 100 percent.
An overall passing score of 70% is required. Failure to attend/pass the oral examination will result in termination of applicant’s candidacy.
Residency within a twenty (20) mile radius of Charleston City Hall, 520 Jackson Avenue, by the end of the officer’s probationary period.

Hiring Process:

A written test score of (70%) along with your oral interview score (30%) will determine your rank on the Initial Eligibility List. Candidates will be ranked in descending order.
All candidates on the Initial Eligibility List will receive written notification of their standing.
Candidates will have a ten-day window to provide the Board of Fire and Police Commission with written evidence concerning preference points for veteran status, education and/or prior police service status.
A candidate may not receive educational preference points under this subsection if the amount of points awarded would place the candidate before a veteran on the eligibility list. The Board of Fire and Police Commissioners will analyze written documentation received. Candidates meeting required preference criteria will have said preference points added to their score on the Initial Eligibility List.
Candidate’s scores will be ranked in descending order and the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners will publish the Final Eligibility List.
The board shall strike off the names of candidates for original appointment after such names have been on the list for more than 2 years.
Applicants for appointment to the Police Department who have been awarded a certificate attesting to their successful completion of the Minimum Standards Basic Law Enforcement Training Course, as provided in the Illinois Police Training Act, and have two or more consecutive years of experience as a police officer, with a State, County or Municipal Police Agency, may be given preference in appointment over noncertified applicants.
All vacancies to the Police Department shall be filled by alternating applicants from the Entry-level Police Officer Final Eligibility List and the Experienced Police Officer Eligibility Register.
When a vacancy occurs following the posting of the Final Eligibility List, an oral examination will be administered to one of the top three candidate(s).
During the oral examination Board members will evaluate applicant’s personal skills and qualities, and assess applicant’s ability to succeed as a police officer and as an official representative of the Police Department in the community at large.
The score for the oral examination is pass/fail. A candidate who fails the oral examination will be removed from the Final Eligibility List.
Each applicant for original appointment to the police department of the City of Charleston, Illinois, shall submit to fingerprinting to facilitate the mandatory background investigation before employment.
This investigation pertains to past employment, personal references, reputation, driving record, education, training, and criminal history.
Results from the background investigation are reviewed by the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners to determine if the candidate should be rejected for cause or allowed to proceed.
If the results are satisfactory, the Board approves the candidate's appointment, pending the successful completion of a personality assessment and medical examination.
Each applicant for original appointment to the police department of the City of Charleston, Illinois shall:
- Submit to a psychological examination by such psychologist or psychiatrist as the Board may in writing designate.
- Such examination shall be without expense to the applicant.
- Failure of the applicant to take or successfully complete such test shall eliminate him from further consideration; and Submit to a medical examination performed by a licensed physician designated by the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners at no cost to the applicant.
- The examination will include drug screening.
- Any candidate failing the medical examination will be removed from the Final Eligibility List; and Submit to a Polygraph Device Deceptive Test, commonly known as a lie detector test, if required, at such time and place as the Board may in writing designate.
- Such test shall be given without expense to the applicant.
- Failure of the applicant to take or successfully complete such test shall disqualify him to enter upon the duties of the office for which the application for examination was filed.
- Following the background investigation or the personality assessment, the Board may, at its discretion, recall the candidate for further interview if it deems additional information is required.

Disqualifiers:

No person who is classified by his local selective service draft board as a conscientious objector, or who has ever been so classified, may be appointed to the police department.
No person shall be appointed to the police department unless he or she is a person of good character and not an habitual drunkard, gambler, or a person who has been convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude.
No person with a record of disqualifying misdemeanor convictions shall be appointed to the police department.

Preference Points: Veteran’s and educational preference.

The Charleston Fire & Police Commissioners shall give preference for original appointment by adding to the final grade average to the results of original entrance examination, 5 points to persons who have successfully obtained an associate’s degree in the field of law enforcement, criminal justice, fire service, or emergency medical services or a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university; persons who have been awarded a certificate attesting to the successful completion of the Minimum Standards Basic Law Enforcement Training Course as provided in the Illinois Police Training Act and are currently serving as a law enforcement officer on a part-time or full-time basis within the State of Illinois; and persons who were engaged in the active military or naval service of the United States for a period of at least one year and who were honorably discharged therefrom, or who are now or may hereafter be on inactive or reserve duty in such military or naval service (not including, however, in the case of offices, positions and places of employment in the police department, persons who were convicted by court-martial of disobedience of orders, where such disobedience consisted in the refusal to perform military service on the ground of religious or conscientious objections against war) shall be preferred for appointments to offices, positions, and places of employment in the fire and police departments of the municipality coming under the provisions of this Division 2.1. For purposes of this Section, if a person has been deployed, then “active duty military or naval service of the United States” includes training and service school attendance, as defined in 10 U.S.C. 101(d), which is ordered pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 12301(d). The preference points awarded under this Section shall not be cumulative. (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-8)
Candidates will have a ten-day window to provide the Board of Fire & Police Commission with written evidence concerning preference points for veteran status, education and/or prior police service status. The Board will analyze written documentation received during this ten-day window. Candidates meeting required preference criteria will have preference points added to their score on the Initial Eligibility List. (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-9)
A candidate may not receive educational preference points under this subsection if the amount of points awarded would place the candidate before a veteran on the eligibility list. (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-9)
Applicants for appointment to the Police Department who have been awarded a certificate attesting to their successful completion of the Minimum Standards Basic Law Enforcement Training Course, as provided in the Illinois Police Training Act, may be given preference in appointment over noncertified applicants. (65 ILCS 5/10 2.1 14)

Equal Opportunity Employer: The City of Charleston will not discriminate in its hiring practices on the basis of:

race
color
religion
national origin
political affiliation
gender
sexual orientation
age
marital status
veteran status
disability
or other non-job-related factors, except where such factors constitute a bonafide occupational qualification.
Charleston is an equal opportunity employer hiring those persons whose qualifications best correspond to those of the position being filled.
Equal employment opportunity will be practiced in related activities pertaining to applicants and employees who will be judged on their individual merit and relevant qualifications in a fair and equitable manner.

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