SCOTs Sergeant

SCOTs Division Sergeant

Under limited supervision and at the direction of the chief of police or designee, the SCOTs division sergeant plans, coordinates, supervises, and evaluates specialized police functions involving criminal investigations, intelligence, threat assessment and management, strategic investigations, organizational planning, data-informed public-safety initiatives, executive support, and assigned strategic programs.

The SCOTs sergeant provides direct supervision and leadership to sworn and civilian personnel assigned to the SCOTS division and coordinates the work of employees, task forces, committees, and subject-matter specialists whose responsibilities support the division mission.

The position has primary supervisory responsibility for the departmental behavioral threat assessment and management function and as the designee of the Chief of Police, coordination and management of the university multidisciplinary Threat Assessment Management Team (TAMT). Prior professional experience in behavioral threat assessment and management, especially experience supervising or leading threat-management work, is preferred but is not required for eligibility.

The SCOTs sergeant works collaboratively with the Thistle and Highland divisions. SCOTs generally owns follow-up and complex criminal investigations, intelligence, threat assessment and management, strategic investigations, analytics, and assigned strategic initiatives; Thistle maintains primary responsibility for patrol and field response; and Highland maintains primary responsibility for planned major-event coordination, community engagement, institutional partnerships, compliance, accreditation, and assigned programs.

Responsibilities

Division Leadership and Administration

• Supervises, develops, and evaluates sworn and civilian SCOTS personnel; establishes priorities, expectations, assignments, and accountability; develops employees and organizational capability rather than concentrating specialized knowledge or responsibility in individual employees; coordinates division workload and resources; represents SCOTS within the department and with university and outside partners; and maintains appropriate continuity and succession within specialized functions.

Threat Assessment and Management

• Provides supervisory leadership for the department behavioral threat assessment and management program. Coordinates law-enforcement participation in TAMT and supports multidisciplinary identification, assessment, management, documentation, and monitoring of concerning behavior at Utah State University. Ensures threat-management activities are based on behavior and reasonably available information rather than protected characteristics, viewpoints, or unsupported assumptions. Coordinates appropriate information sharing, case management, intervention planning, reassessment, documentation, and transition or closure of cases. Develops and maintains relationships with university, mental-health, student-support, legal, human-resources, and public-safety partners necessary for effective multidisciplinary threat management.

Criminal Investigations

• Supervises follow-up, complex, sensitive, and specialized criminal investigations assigned to SCOTs as well as all criminal investigations at USUPD after Thistle Division has finished preliminary investigation. Reviews investigative priorities, case assignments, investigative plans, legal process, reports, case progress, and case disposition. Ensures investigations are lawful, objective, timely, appropriately documented, and coordinated with prosecutors and partner agencies when necessary. Develops investigative capability in assigned personnel while avoiding unnecessary dependence on the sergeant personally conducting specialized investigations.

Intelligence and Strategic Investigations

• Supervises criminal intelligence, protective intelligence, open-source research, strategic investigations, and other authorized intelligence activities. Establishes appropriate collection priorities and ensures information is evaluated for reliability, relevance, legal authority, and operational significance. Coordinates information sharing with appropriate law-enforcement and university partners while maintaining applicable privacy, civil-rights, records, and information-security requirements.

Strategic Planning and Organizational Development

• Supports the chief and command staff in developing, implementing, and evaluating department strategic plans, organizational initiatives, performance measures, and improvement projects. Converts identified problems into defined objectives, assigns responsibility, establishes measures of success, monitors implementation, and reports progress.

Data Analysis, and Executive Support

• Coordinates development of analytical products, executive briefings, dashboards, reports, workload analyses, crime and incident analyses, and other decision-support products. Ensures analytical work is translated into understandable operational or executive information. The sergeant is not required to personally perform every technical analytical function but must be capable of evaluating the relevance, limitations, and operational implications of analytical products.

Major Events and Special Operations Support

• Supports Highland division planning for major events and planned special operations by coordinating intelligence, threat assessment, investigative support, analytical products, and related SCOTS capabilities. Ensures relevant information is communicated to planners and commanders in a timely and actionable manner. Coordinates investigative and intelligence functions arising during or following significant events.

University and Interagency Coordination

• Develops and maintains productive working relationships with university administrators, General Counsel, Student Success, Human Resources, mental-health and behavioral-intervention professionals, prosecutors, local/state/federal law-enforcement agencies, intelligence partners, task forces, and other organizations relevant to SCOTS responsibilities.

Executive Briefings and Strategic Communication

• Prepares and delivers concise, accurate, decision-relevant briefings concerning investigations, threats, intelligence, organizational risk, emerging issues, strategic initiatives, and other assigned matters. Clearly distinguishes verified information, analytical judgments, allegations, information gaps, and unresolved questions. Communicates uncertainty without either minimizing legitimate concerns or overstating available evidence.

Policy, Training, and Professional Standards

• Develops or assists with policies, procedures, training, and professional standards within assigned SCOTS subject areas. Identifies training and professional-development needs for assigned personnel and coordinates opportunities to maintain or expand specialized capability.

Special Projects and Assigned Programs

• Leads specialized programs, projects, committees, partnerships, or emerging public-safety initiatives assigned to SCOTS by the chief of police. Program assignments may change as organizational needs, risks, technology, or university priorities evolve.

Critical Incidents

• Performs appropriate supervisory, investigative, intelligence, threat-management, or command-support responsibilities during emergencies and critical incidents. Coordinates effectively with Thistle field command, Highland planned-operations leadership, Emergency Management, university leadership, and outside agencies according to the nature of the incident.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Current Utah POST Law Enforcement Officer certification.
• Substantial professional law-enforcement experience sufficient to perform first-line supervisory responsibilities.
• Demonstrated leadership, supervisory, project-leadership, or comparable experience involving responsibility for people, significant programs, investigations, or complex public-safety operations.
• Demonstrated experience in at least three SCOTs functional areas, such as criminal investigations, intelligence, strategic investigations, strategic planning, data analysis, executive support, major-event intelligence/threat support, or comparable specialized higher education public-safety work.
• Valid driver license and ability to meet applicable university, department, POST, and position requirements.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in psychology, criminology, criminal justice, security management, behavioral science, or multidisciplinary studies.
• Substantive professional experience assessing, managing, monitoring, or reassessing behavioral threats or concerning behavior in a multidisciplinary setting;
• Advanced training or professional development in behavioral threat assessment and management.
• Prior supervisory leadership responsibility for behavioral threat assessment and management, including supervision of threat-management personnel, or accountability for threat-management processes and outcomes.
• Law-enforcement supervisory experience.
• Experience with complex or sensitive criminal investigations and investigative case management.
• Experience with criminal intelligence, protective intelligence, strategic investigations, or open-source research.
• Experience in higher-education public safety or similar complex institutional environment.
• Experience working with prosecutors, mental-health professionals, university administrators, legal counsel, human resources, student-support professionals, or other multidisciplinary partners.
• Experience with strategic planning, program development, project management, data analysis, performance measurement, or organizational improvement.
• Experience preparing executive briefings, analytical products, or decision-support materials.
• Relevant college education, professional certifications, or specialized training related to leadership, investigations, intelligence, threat management, analytics, public administration, or higher-education public safety.

Required Documents

Along with the online application, please attach:

• Resume/CV to be uploaded at the beginning of your application in the Candidate Profile under "Resume/CV"
• Cover Letter to be typed/pasted at the end of your application
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