Job Description

Job Title: Investigator/Detective

Job Objectives: The Criminal Investigator performs specialized, non-supervisory law enforcement work for the Lawton Public Schools Police Department. The position conducts and coordinates criminal investigations involving offenses occurring on school district property, at district-sponsored activities, or within the department's lawful jurisdiction; protects students, employees, visitors, property, and evidence; and prepares cases for presentation to the appropriate prosecuting authority. The investigator exercises independent judgment within Oklahoma law, constitutional requirements, court decisions, district policy, and LPSPD policy and procedure.

The investigator works closely with patrol personnel, school administrators, student services, Human Resources, prosecutors, child-protection personnel, and outside law enforcement agencies while preserving the independence, confidentiality, and integrity of criminal investigations. The position does not exercise routine supervisory authority unless temporarily assigned incident-command responsibilities by an authorized LPSPD supervisor.

Minimum Qualifications:

• High school diploma or recognized equivalent.
• At least seven years of progressively responsible sworn law enforcement experience; prior criminal-investigation experience is preferred.
• Current certification as a full-time Oklahoma peace officer through the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training, or eligibility to obtain and maintain the certification within the period permitted by Oklahoma law and LPSPD policy.
• Valid Oklahoma driver license, insurable driving record, and ability to operate district vehicles.
• Current CPR, automated external defibrillator, and first-aid certification, or ability to obtain the required certification within the period established by the department.
• Ability to lawfully possess and carry a firearm and satisfy all district, LPSPD, and CLEET qualification requirements.

The selected employee must successfully complete all district and department pre-employment or assignment requirements. These may include a criminal-history review, driving-record review, background investigation, drug screening, medical examination, psychological evaluation, and other lawful suitability assessments. The employee must be able to work independently, maintain confidentiality, manage multiple complex cases, meet deadlines, and communicate effectively in writing and orally.

Responsibilities and Essential Functions: Applicants or persons employed in this position must be able to perform the following tasks and functions which are fundamental to the purpose of the position.

• Receive and evaluate reports of criminal activity; develop investigative plans, identify applicable offenses and elements, establish timelines, and pursue lawful investigative leads.
• Investigate assigned cases, which may include crimes against persons or property, threats, weapons, narcotics, sexual offenses, child abuse or neglect, technology-facilitated offenses, employee conduct that may constitute a crime, and other matters affecting district operations or school safety.
• Interview victims, witnesses, students, employees, suspects, and other persons, using age-appropriate, trauma-informed, and legally compliant practices in cases involving juveniles; coordinate with parents or guardians, school officials, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, prosecutors, advocacy resources, and other agencies as required by law.
• Process crime scenes; identify, photograph, collect, package, preserve, submit, and document physical and digital evidence; maintain chain of custody and follow department evidence-control procedures.
• Review video, access-control records, electronic communications, social-media information, digital-device data, and other records in compliance with constitutional, statutory, court-order, and policy requirements.
• Prepare complete and timely initial, supplemental, investigative, arrest, and case-closing reports using the department's records-management system.
• Prepare probable-cause affidavits, search-warrant affidavits, arrest-warrant affidavits, preservation requests, subpoenas, and other legal process in coordination with the appropriate prosecuting authority and LPSPD supervisory chain.
• Execute warrants and lawful court orders, make arrests, and transport or coordinate the transport of prisoners when required.
• Present completed cases to the appropriate municipal, state, or federal prosecuting authority; provide organized case files for charging decisions.
• Testify in district court, municipal court, juvenile proceedings, grand-jury proceedings, administrative hearings, and other lawful proceedings.
• Protect criminal investigative information and disclose it only to persons with a lawful need to know, consistent with Oklahoma law, applicable federal privacy law, court orders, and LPSPD policy.
• Coordinate joint investigations and lawful information sharing with the Lawton Police Department, Comanche County Sheriff's Office, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, federal agencies, and other law enforcement partners as appropriate.
• Respond to critical incidents and major crime scenes; perform investigative or incident-command functions until relieved by an authorized supervisor or unified command.
• Assist with threat assessment, intelligence development, missing or endangered student cases, school-safety planning, special-event operations, and evidence/property functions as assigned.
• Maintain assigned equipment, investigative files, certifications, and required training; report deficiencies or compliance concerns through the chain of command.
• Provide authorized training or technical assistance within demonstrated competence.
• Perform other lawful duties assigned by the Chief of Police or an authorized LPSPD supervisor.

This job description reflects management's assignment of essential functions; and nothing herein restricts management's right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

Authority and Chain of Command: The Criminal Investigator is a commissioned LPSPD peace officer and remains subject to the department's established chain of command. The investigator reports directly to the Assistant Chief of Police. The Chief of Police retains command authority over department operations. In the Chief's absence, law enforcement operational authority passes to the Assistant Chief of Police in accordance with department policy. District administrative and employment matters follow the Lawton Public Schools organizational structure. Direction of criminal investigative methods, case strategy, enforcement decisions, evidence handling, confidential criminal investigative information, and referrals for prosecution remains within the authorized LPSPD chain of command and applicable prosecutorial or judicial authority. Administrative and criminal investigations may proceed separately and may require lawful coordination without compromising either process.

Supervisory Responsibilities: This is a non-supervisory position. The investigator does not conduct performance evaluations, impose discipline, approve leave, or exercise routine command over other employees. The investigator may coordinate case-specific tasks, provide technical direction at a crime scene, lead an assigned investigative operation, or assume temporary incident responsibilities until relieved by an authorized supervisor. Such coordination does not create permanent supervisory authority.

Required Training After Assignment: Unless equivalent documented training has already been completed, the investigator must successfully complete an approved basic criminal-investigator course within one year of assignment, subject to course availability. The investigator must also complete department-approved training in child forensic interviewing, juvenile and school-based investigations, evidence handling, digital evidence, search-warrant preparation, and other assigned specialty areas within timelines established by the Chief of Police. All annual and periodic CLEET continuing-education requirements and LPSPD qualification requirements must be maintained.

Preferred Qualifications:

• An associate or bachelor's degree, or college hours equivalent to the same, in criminal justice, police science, public administration, forensic science, cybersecurity, or a closely related field, together with two or more years of felony-level or complex investigative experience.
• Advanced CLEET certification, ChildFirst forensic juvenile interviewing certification, CLEET basic instructor certification, specialized investigator training, or comparable state or federal investigative training is desirable.
• Preference may also be given for demonstrated experience in complex investigations, juvenile investigations, crimes against children, school-based policing, digital forensics, threat assessment, evidence management, courtroom case preparation, records-management systems, video-management systems, electronic evidence, investigative databases, and Microsoft Office applications.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Ability to read and interpret documents and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence, including investigative reports, probable-cause and warrant affidavits, and case documentation. Ability to speak effectively before students, staff, witnesses, courts, prosecutors, and community partners.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS: Ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions and decimals; ability to apply these skills to evidence documentation, timelines, and investigative records.

REASONING ABILITY: Ability to apply commonsense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations. Requires sound judgment, impartiality, recognition of conflicts of interest, protection of due-process rights, and compliance with professional ethics and department policy.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Working knowledge of Oklahoma criminal law and procedure, juvenile law, rules of evidence, constitutional search-and-seizure requirements, interview and interrogation law, mandatory-reporting obligations, and laws governing confidential student and law enforcement records. Skilled in applying investigative methods, recognizing offense elements, evaluating credibility, documenting probable cause, and organizing complex facts into clear written reports. Must distinguish criminal investigative responsibilities from district administrative responsibilities and coordinate appropriately without compromising case integrity or protected information. Requires professional interaction with students, families, employees, witnesses, suspects, prosecutors, courts, and partner agencies under stressful conditions.

Working Conditions: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The position requires sufficient physical ability and mobility to perform office, school-campus, crime-scene, emergency-response, arrest, and courtroom duties. Essential functions may require prolonged sitting, standing, walking, driving, keyboarding, speaking, listening, and visual observation; occasional climbing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, reaching, twisting, lifting, carrying, pushing, or pulling; and the safe use of firearms, restraints, communications equipment, protective equipment, and other law enforcement tools. The employee must be able to perform the essential functions of a commissioned peace officer, with or without reasonable accommodation.

Work is performed in offices, schools, athletic venues, vehicles, residences, public locations, courtrooms, detention facilities, and crime scenes. The employee may be exposed to inclement weather, noise, traffic, hazardous materials, blood or bodily fluids, emotionally disturbing information, combative persons, communicable disease, and armed or otherwise dangerous situations. Personal protective equipment shall be used when required.

The regular schedule is established by the department. The employee may be required to work outside normal school or business hours, including evenings, nights, weekends, holidays, emergency callouts, and on-call assignments. Travel within and outside the district may be required for investigations, court, training, and official duties. Eligibility for overtime, call-back, on-call, holiday, longevity, or other compensation is governed by applicable law and current district policy or compensation schedules.

Conditions of Employment: Continued assignment requires an active LPSPD commission, current Oklahoma CLEET certification, required continuing education, firearms qualifications, and all licenses or certifications assigned to the position. The employee must comply with Lawton Public Schools policies, LPSPD policies and procedures, lawful orders, ethical standards, confidentiality requirements, and applicable local, state, and federal law. Reliable attendance and availability must be maintained to meet investigative, court, callout, and emergency-response responsibilities.

This position description identifies the principal functions of the assignment and is not an exhaustive list of every duty. Essential functions, reporting relationships, and assignments may be modified by the district consistent with law, policy, operational need, and the non-supervisory classification of the position.