Victim Notification Clerk - Grant-Funded

City of Mesa•Mesa, AZ

2d•Onsite

About The Position

This is a full-time, grant-funded vacancy in the City Prosecutor's Office, designated as a non-classified, non-merit system, at-will position. This recruitment will also establish a Citywide list for future grant-funded vacancies in the Police Department or the City Prosecutor's Office. A Victim Notification Clerk performs responsible work involving a variety of paraprofessional tasks in support of the Victim Services Unit within the Mesa Police Department or Victim Services Unit of the City Prosecutor’s Office. The role involves reviewing case files, identifying victims, entering data, and providing statutorily mandated notifications to crime victims regarding their rights, court dates, and defendant status. Additional duties include answering phones, providing victim input to judges/prosecutors, generating notification letters, processing mail, researching victim contact information, explaining the restitution process, providing limited personal advocacy for protective orders, participating in community victim assistance efforts, and connecting victims with Victim Services Assistants in high lethality cases. This class is distinguished from Victim Services Assistants and Specialists by its primary focus on mandated notifications, while Assistants and Specialists provide more direct advocacy, crisis response, and referral services. Supervision and training are received from the Senior Victim Services Assistant or the Victim Services Administrator. This class is FLSA nonexempt.

Requirements

Graduation from high school or GED.
Considerable (3 – 5 years) experience performing office clerical/secretarial work OR any combination of training, education, and experience equivalent to graduation from an accredited college or university with an Associate’s Degree in a related field (Social Work, Criminal Justice, etc.) AND a minimum of one-year full-time work experience involving public contact.
A Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, Criminal Justice, or related field can substitute for the required education and experience.
Must possess a valid Class D Arizona Driver’s License by hire or promotion date (by assignment).
Must pass a background investigation through the City of Mesa Police Department, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and Federal Bureau of Investigation prior to commencing employment with the City of Mesa (City Prosecutor’s Office Assignment).
Successful completion of a background investigation and polygraph is required.
Candidates given a conditional job offer will be required to pass a psychological test battery and a drug screening (Police Department Assignment).
Individuals in this classification assigned to the Police Department shall be subject to pre-employment or pre-placement alcohol, drug and/or controlled substance testing as outlined in City policy and procedures (Police Department Assignment).

Nice To Haves

Supplemental training in typing, computer software, word processing, data entry, office equipment, and office procedures is highly desirable.
Experience in a social services or criminal justice environment and/or working with victims of crime is preferred.

Responsibilities

Reviewing case file documents to determine who is a crime victim according to statute.
Identifying the victims’ relation to the charges and the defendant.
Entering data into a case management system to track victim contact and demographic information for statistical and programmatic grant reporting.
Providing statutorily mandated notifications both in writing and through extensive phone contact to crime victims which include: victims’ rights as defined by Arizona law and how to invoke those rights; upcoming court dates and changes to victims’ case status; and defendants arrests and release from custody.
Answering phones and answering victims’ rights related questions.
Providing judge/prosecutor with critical victim input regarding the release of a defendant from custody.
Reviewing case status.
Generating and editing appropriate written notification letters.
Processing incoming mail (includes scanning and updating the case management system).
Utilizing the internet, databases, and other resources available to research and identify and/or locate victims contact information.
Explaining the restitution process, criminal restitution eligible expenses, and obtaining required documentation and/or information related to restitution expenses.
Providing limited personal advocacy and assistance in obtaining protective orders.
Participating in community-wide victim assistance efforts.
Connecting crime victims with a Victim Services Assistant, especially in high lethality cases as needed.