Scene Investigator

Modified: February 12, 2018 8:36am

COUNTY OF ERIE - DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL
invites applications for the position of:

Scene Investigator

#64-045 - Open Competitive (open to the public)

Salary: $38,378 -$49,229 Annually
Opening Date: February 12, 2018
Closing Date: March 14, 2018
Application fee: $20.00

Residence Requirements:

CANDIDATES MUST HAVE BEEN LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY FOR AT LEAST ONE MONTH IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE WRITTEN TEST AND MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY AT THE TIME OF APPOINTMENT. There are two present vacancies at the Erie County Department of Health.

Examples of Duties:

Scene Investigator works in the Medical Examiner’s Office investigates the cause of deaths occurring within Erie County as outlined by NYS County Law Article 17-A and receiving and caring for human remains and their property;

Answers routine inquiries from legal or other authorities;

Receives bodies as they are delivered by morgue wagon or other means;

Receives telephone requests for case reporting and/or investigation;

Investigates deaths and does a scene investigation to help determine cause and manner of death;

Makes on-scene decisions as to the type of case and what courses of action must be taken;

Determines jurisdiction in deaths reported by hospitals and other healthcare facilities;

Secures medications at scene and places in tamper-proof bag to secure custody and transports to office and logs samples into computer;

Photographs the scene as appropriate and downloads photographs to computer system;

May fingerprint the deceased;

May assist Medical Examiners in the performance of post-mortem examinations;

Provides a detailed account of the body and its conditions along with a complete description of the scene;

Reports deaths to the appropriate public agency;

Requests and secures hospital specimen(s) as directed by Medical Examiners;

Retains personal effects of the deceased until disposition is made;

Releases bodies to undertakers or others as authorized and prepares required release forms;

Removes all personal effects, records and places property in the designated property holding area;

Tags and places remains in coolers;

Obtains medical records, police reports, ambulance records and other pertinent documentation according to Medical Examiner’s direction;

Receives requests for organ/tissue donation from local procurement agency; acts as liason between the agency and Medical Examiners;

Works cooperatively with coroners conducting business with the office;

Performs follow-up activities, including reviewing medical records and writing comprehensive reports;

Takes x-rays of the deceased;

Other duties as assigned. 

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet one of the following requirements on or before the date of the written test: 

A) Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice, Forensic Science, or a related field in the life sciences; or

B) Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college with an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice, Forensic Science, or related field in the life sciences and two (2) years of experience in investigations; or:

C) An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A) and (B). 

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

Candidates must possess a valid New York State driver's License and have automotive transportation available for use at the time of appointment; and:

Candidates must obtain American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigations (ABMDI) basic certification within two years of employment and advanced certification within six years of employment. 

Notes:

1. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the experience requirements.

2. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. A grade of "D" or better is necessary for a course to be credited as successfully completed. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to this Department for a list of acceptable companies providing this service; you must pay the required evaluation fee.

Notice to Candidates: Transcripts will now be accepted by the Department of Personnel ONLY at time of application.
All subsequent transcripts must be submitted at time of interview.

Examination date:

April 21, 2018

Applications Must Be Postmarked or Hand Delivered By:

March 14, 2018

A Guide for the Written Test for Investigators is available at the New York State website:www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm . Candidates not having access to a computer or the internet may request copy of the test guide from the municipal civil service office conducting this examination using the contact information found elsewhere on this announcement.

 

Subjects of Examination:

SUBJECTS OF EXAMINATION: A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:

1. Evaluating information and evidence

These questions test for the ability to evaluate and draw conclusions from information and evidence. Each question consists of a set of facts and a conclusion based on the facts. The candidate must decide if the conclusion is warranted by the facts.

2. 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.

3. Understanding and interpreting written material

These questions test for the ability to understand and interpret written material. You will be presented with brief reading passages and will be asked questions about the passages. You should base your answers to the questions only on what is presented in the passages and not on what you may happen to know about the topic.    

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.


**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 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.