SYRACUSE — Representatives from Syracuse–area criminal-justice organizations described how they handle their jobs during a forum held last month at Bryant & Stratton College’s downtown Syracuse campus at 953 James St. The for-profit college offers an associate of applied science degree in criminal justice. The panel included representatives from the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Department, the […]
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SYRACUSE — Representatives from Syracuse–area criminal-justice organizations described how they handle their jobs during a forum held last month at Bryant & Stratton College’s downtown Syracuse campus at 953 James St.
The for-profit college offers an associate of applied science degree in criminal justice.
The panel included representatives from the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Department, the Onondaga County Probation Department, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the Altamont Program, Inc., Rapid Response Monitoring, Inc., and Syracuse Behavioral Healthcare.
The eight panelists described their backgrounds, the duties of the position they hold, and the qualities and skills their agency looks for in hiring entry-level candidates.
A probation officer is the entry-level position at the Onondaga County Probation Department, Scott Snyder, department supervisor, said during his remarks.
Candidates need to pass a civil-service exam before the department hires them as a probation officer, Snyder told the audience.
“It’s the way of the world with civil service. We can have the most qualified person we think that will make an excellent probation officer … if they don’t do well on the exam, they don’t even get an interview,” he said.
Much of the exam involves writing, Snyder said.
The position handled a plenty of written communication between the department and the courts, as well as the treatment providers, he added.
The probation department includes a separate unit of probation officers that write pre-sentence reports, which are the reports the court orders when a jury convicts a defendant of a crime but is awaiting their sentence.
“The court is looking for, basically, background information to use in deciding the sentence for the person that’s been convicted,” Snyder said.
Probation officers are also expected to be well spoken because they occasionally have to appear in court, Snyder added.
Snyder also advised the students to be honest about their involvement with drugs, because if they’re not, and the department discovers information about past drug use without prior knowledge, it can mean termination of employment.
Knowing how to write is also a key component for those seeking to become a parole officer, said Margaret Montfort, a senior-parole officer at the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
“When I was a probation officer, you were writing … these were documents for the courts. These are documents for highly-educated people and were going into a record somewhere,” Montfort said.
She recommended the students enroll in a writing class if they’re concerned that their writing skills need improvement.
Because it hires primarily entry-level employees, training at Rapid Response Monitoring, Inc. is “extensive” and it continues throughout an employee’s time with the firm, said Mallory Doherty, a recruiter at the company.
“Any time that there’s training that you need to attend in order to do your job better, if we won’t provide it at the office, we’ll send you out of the office to go and do that,” Doherty said, noting that she is also involved in manager and supervisory training.
Headquartered in Syracuse, Rapid Response is a security-monitoring company offering central-station monitoring services nationwide and internationally. It employs more than 350 people, according to its website.
Rapid Response Monitoring, a contractor with the U.S. Department of Defense, will help an employee secure secret clearance through the department, and if a candidate would be interested in monitoring those accounts, Rapid Response provides “significant training,” Doherty said.
It also provides Spanish-language courses for people who would want to learn a secondary language and work on international accounts, such as those in the Caribbean, Doherty said.
She also noted that pay raises are available for employees who earn their Department of Defense clearance and successfully complete the 16-week Spanish course.
For those interested in law-enforcement work, positions on the road patrol begin at $40,000, Lieutenant Jon Anderson with the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Department said. That pay increases to $48,000 following a “probationary period,” Anderson added.
Police agencies and sheriff’s departments also hire “civilians” for administrative and accounting positions and for jobs that focus on chemistry and biology in a crime lab.
“Education, reading, and writing comprehension are critical for your survival and your advancement in the field,” Anderson told the students assembled at the forum.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
