Residence Requirements:

THIS EXAMINATION IS OPEN TO ALL QUALIFIED EMPLOYEES OF THE SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT.  At present there is one vacancy in the Jail Management Division.

The eligible list resulting from this examination will not supersede currently existing promotional eligible lists for this title, if any.  The duration of all promotional eligible lists is four years from date of establishment unless otherwise indicated.

Examples of Duties:

A Captain Officer is an intermediate level command title which involve responsibility for supervising a large number of subordinate Officers assigned to one or more of the following functional areas; providing custodial care and transport for inmates of a Holding Center or in supervising the security of other designated public offices and buildings; 

Directs the receiving, searching, assignment, care and transfer or release of persons under confinement;

Supervises all personnel on an assigned shift in the Holding Center who provide for the custody, care and well-being of inmates. This includes providing for feeding, for medical treatment or transfer to a medical facility when other than routine medical care is required, for attendance at church services, for enforcement of personal hygiene standards, and for recreational activity under supervision;

Receives and reviews daily census and head count reports, incident reports, etc;

Supervises the transfer of inmates to other correctional and penal institutions;

Confers with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, the District Attorney’s office, the courts, and parole departments;

Maintains staffing for all workstations or units, prepares schedules, maintains time sheets and attendance records, approves or disapproves requests for time-off;

Performs periodic inspections of personnel, property and equipment assigned to the function for conformance to established standards;

Receives and/or reviews oral and written reports and initiates action appropriate to the circumstances;

Prepares detailed periodic and special reports concerning division activities;

Assist in conducting new employee interviews;

Conduct regular evaluations of all sworn and non-sworn subordinate employees;

Conduct investigations into Policy and Procedure Violations by subordinate employees and impose progressive discipline as appropriate.

Qualifications:

QUALIFYING EXPERIENCE FOR TAKING THE TEST:  Candidates must be permanently employed in the competitive class and must be serving and have served continuously on a permanent or contingent permanent basis in the competitive class for 12 months immediately preceding the date of the written test as a Lieutenant – Officer.

Persons who are currently employed under Section 55a, New York State Civil Service Law, and who meet all the above eligibility requirements in the non-competitive rather than competitive class may compete in this examination.

Notes:

None.

The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However, candidates may find information in the publication 'General Guide to Written Tests' helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at:https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm.

Subjects of Examination:

Scopes / Subjects of examination: A test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas.

Preparing written material
These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.

New York State minimum standards for correctional facilities
These questions test knowledge of the Minimum Standards for state, county, and local correctional facilities that are promulgated by the New York State Commission of Correction in areas such as the admission/discharge, care, custody, movement, correctional treatment, security, supervision, and discipline of all persons confined in these systems.

COORDINATING APPROPRIATE RESPONSES TO EMERGENCIES, DISTURBANCES AND OTHER UNUSUAL SITUATIONS
These questions test for knowledge in such areas as: anticipating possible correctional emergency situations, responding to situations promptly and allocating staff where needed; notifying supervisors of situations when appropriate; acting within rules to alleviate problems as quickly as possible with minimum use of force; investigating the causes of incidents; submitting reports on incidents.

Administrative supervision
These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices involved in directing the activities of a large subordinate staff, including subordinate supervisors. Questions relate to the personal interactions between an upper level supervisor and his/her subordinate supervisors in the accomplishment of objectives. These questions cover such areas as assigning work to and coordinating the activities of several units, establishing and guiding staff development programs, evaluating the performance of subordinate supervisors, and maintaining relationships with other organizational sections.

Basic skills training
These questions test for the knowledge and abilities required to train individuals, often on a oneto-one basis, who need to acquire basic information and learn to perform simple tasks. They address topics such as planning activities to promote learning, presenting information, providing guidance, and evaluating learning. These questions cover the most basic level of training.

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES: Unless otherwise noted, candidates are permitted to use quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculators. Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", “Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited. You may not bring books or other reference materials.

INFORMATION FOR PROMOTION CANDIDATES

Unless otherwise indicated, the eligible list resulting from this examination will have a duration of four years and will not supersede existing promotional lists, if any.

RATINGS REQUIRED:  Test is rated on a scale of 100 with a passing mark at 70.  Test instructions may further divide the tests into parts and set minimum standards for each part.

Points will be added to scores of candidates who achieve a passing mark as follows: Seniority:  For each year of service in the classified service:

Less than 1 year……………………..................…0 points

1 year up to 6 years…………….…........................1 point

Over 6 years up to 11 years.....………......….........2 points

Over 11 years up to 16 years….…........….........…3 points

Over 16 years up to 21 years………..................…4 points

Over 21 years………………………..................…5 points

VETERANS:  Disabled and non-disabled veterans as defined in Section 85, New York State Civil Service Law, will have 5 and 2.5 points, respectively added to their earned scores if successful in the PROMOTIONAL examination.  You must claim these credits when you file application but you have an option to waive them any time prior to appointment.  If you have already used these credits for a permanent position in NYS, you may not claim them again.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $30.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.