Public Safety Support Specialist (PS3)

Salary Range: $61K - $72K
$3,000 Hiring Bonus

View open positions in the Police Bureau.

Hiring Process

The Hiring Process for Public Safety Support Specialist is broken down into phases.

Phase 1: Apply Online

Phase 2: Personal History Questionnaire

You will be invited to take the Personal History Questionnaire (PHQ) online.

Phase 3: Personal History Statement

Only applicants who submit complete personal history statements (via POBITS) will be invited to the background phase.

The personal history statement is very thorough and takes time to complete, so start early!  You will have 14 days to complete this process. Please note, incomplete applications will impede your ability to get to the next step.

Please read the instructions carefully, as it is critical that it is completed correctly and accurately. Omissions or untruthful information can get you disqualified. Remember, we are here to help! Contact us at any time during the process with questions.

Phase 4: Background Investigation

Public Safety Support Specialists work alongside Portland Police Officers and are entrusted with various responsibilities to assist in keeping our city safe and maintaining community trust. We want to ensure every Public Safety Support Specialist has been through a thorough background investigation. We appreciate how difficult this wait can be; please know that we have done extensive work to our process to ensure that it is thorough but completed in a timely manner.

During the background process, an investigator will take your personal history statement form and contact your current and prior employers, relatives, and personal references. The investigator will check your employment history, credit status, driving record, criminal history, police contacts and other pertinent information necessary to conduct a thorough investigation.

It is important to be completely honest with your background investigator. Negative spots in your background will not necessarily result in failing your background; however, deliberate misrepresentation, falsifying or omitting information will most likely result in disqualification and you will be ineligible to re-apply.

Phase 5: Command Interview

After you pass background, you will be invited for a command interview.  The interviews are comprised of both sworn and civilian panel members.

They will evaluate your ability to meet the following psychological dimensions and training core competencies:

·       Social Competence/ Assertiveness & Persuasiveness / Leadership / Teamwork

·       Conscientiousness / Dependability

·       Decision Making & Judgment / Integrity & Ethics

·       Cultural Competencies

If you successfully pass the command interview, you will receive a conditional offer of hire.

Phase 6: Psychological Evaluation

              After receiving a conditional offer of hire, you will be invited to complete the psychological evaluation, which consists of a formal interview and testing with a psychologist. The psychologist will have reviewed your background investigation along with the California Psychological Inventory and personal history questionnaire that you will have filled out in phase 3 of the process.

Phase 7: Medical Exam

              Your last stage in the hiring process will be a comprehensive physical examination, including a drug screening.

View open positions in the Police Bureau.

 Job Scope

What Public Safety Support Specialists can do independently  (Note: This list is not exhaustive.)

Write police reports for non-emergency situations that do not require police officer authority, and do not involve potential evidence, suspects, or a crime scene.  

• Respond to non-injury traffic collisions to facilitate information exchange between involved parties; coordinate tow services for disabled vehicles.

• Conduct follow-up on property crimes where there is no suspect information, either by phone or in person, with an emphasis on crime victims’ rights and referrals to other City Bureaus.    

• Process evidence or property, including writing reports and properly securing property.  

• Attend neighborhood meetings, community and/or public events. (This does not replace attendance at such events by sworn officers.)  

• Assist police officers in searching for missing persons such as elderly adults, medically fragile adults, or children when there is no reason to believe they are a threat to themselves or the community.  

• Assist with inventory and maintenance of PPB-issued equipment, excluding weapons and ammunition.  

• Assist drivers in stalled vehicles and summon other necessary assistance; respond to pedestrians, bicyclists, and other community members in need of assistance.  

• Broadcast and receive messages via police radio and Mobile Data Terminal (MDT); maintain contact with field units; ask for assistance when appropriate due to incident type and scope.  

• Assist with temporary street closures, detours and other public service duties identified by police supervisors.  

• Summon a police officer for situations they encounter in which enforcement action is necessary. 

What Public Safety Support Specialists Can Assist Officers With

• Assist police officers in searching for missing persons such as elderly adults, medically fragile adults, or children when there is no reason to believe they are a threat to themselves or the community.
• PS3s can also help sworn officers with things that, in the past, would have required the help of
another sworn officer. For example, a NRT team could bring PS3s along to inventory property seized at a search
warrant. PS3s could help canvas a neighborhood and collect video after a robbery or other crime.

What Public Safety Support Specialists Cannot Do Because They Do Not Have Police Authority

• PS3s do not have police authority, the power granted by the state to enforce criminal laws.
• PS3s cannot respond to calls by themselves if police authority is required.
• Search warrant service
• Make arrests
• Carry firearms
• Civil holds such as mental health or detox holds
• Any situation involving weapons or the potential for violence
• Traffic collisions where a citation is necessary (for example when someone doesn’t have insurance)
• Traffic collisions when a police investigation is required (trauma-entry injuries or traffic crimes, such as DUII or hit and run, although a PS3 could take a hit and run if the suspect is gone and there’s only property damage)
• Situations requiring community caretaking functions of police, such as forcing entry to a home to do a welfare check
• Persons crimes, such as assaults, sex crimes, and child/elder abuse
• PS3s will not serve as front desk clerks. There is already a position for this and that work is protected by AFSCME.
• PS3s will not drive patrol vehicles. They will have their own specially-marked vehicles.

View open positions in the Police Bureau.