Public Safety Support Specialist (PS3)

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

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.