Research & Evaluation Assistant - BU bei City of Seattle, WA

About the Department

The Seattle Police Department’s Bias Crime Unit is staffed by a single detective, the Bias Crime Coordinator, and is housed in Homicide Unit. This position will be in the Bias Crime Unit and works in support of the Bias Crime Coordinator under the Homicide and Assault Unit chain of command. The detective is responsible for conducting and consulting on criminal investigations, gathering and analyzing hate crime and incident data for presentation on internal and external dashboards, outreach to the community, and officer training. The research and evaluation assistant will assist the Bias Crime Coordinator in reading all reports designated as involving bias and assisting with correct categorization of the data and identification of tracked incident characteristics. The data is presented in a “dashboard” format but is also requested in written report format for specific purposes. This data is made available to the public, journalists, and researchers. This work contributes to the conversation about hate crime prevention and the best response from the criminal justice community to hate crime and bias incidents and the complex factors which contribute to their occurrence.

Position Duties

• Develop a working understanding of the Hate Crime Offense law and Seattle Municipal Code for Malicious Harassment.
• Read police reports with attention to specific details.
• Categorize incidents as hate crimes, crimes with bias elements, or non-criminal bias incidents based on definitions provided.
• Track data regarding offender and victim mental health, substance use, and housing resources.
• Identify patterns, such as clusters of incidents in a geographic area, patterns of victim selection based on race, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender, or gender identity.
• Work with the Bias Crime Coordinator to ensure they are briefed on patterns and offenders.
• Works closely with the Data Driven Unit.
• Interacting with agencies and individuals in the community in instances including, but not limited to, providing information and resources when there has been a hate incident, attending community meetings about preventing and addressing hate crime, or assisting individuals in accessing hate crime data.
• Follow all agency guidelines and policies regarding public disclosure and privacy.

Minimum Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

One year of college level course work in research methodology, and data and mathematical/statistical analysis, and two years of experience in data gathering and general analysis, statistical analysis, technical research or a closely related field along with knowledge of computer software and database management techniques. (Other combinations of education, training and experience will be evaluated on an individual basis for comparability).

Desired Qualifications:

• Exceptional written & verbal skills.
• Experience with Word, Excel, Outlook.

Position Requirements:

• Must pass a Seattle Police Department background investigation.
• Must have a valid Driver’s license.
• Must perform work onsite. No remote work option is available for this position.

Other Qualifications

About the Department:

The Seattle Police Department is comprised of approximately 1,600 dedicated law enforcement professionals all committed to creating and fostering a work environment that is collaborative, innovative, and leading the way in law enforcement principles and practices. Ours is a culture that encourages top performers to adhere to a standard of excellence in the identification of and resolution to complex challenges. At SPD we acknowledge and honor the fundamental value and dignity of all individuals and pledge ourselves to creating and maintaining an environment that respects diverse traditions, heritages, and experiences.

Additional Information:

The City of Seattle offers a comprehensive benefits package including vacation, holiday, and sick leave as well as medical, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance for employees and their dependents. More information about employee benefits is available on the City's website at: https://www.seattle.gov/human-resources/benefits/employees-and-covered-family-members/most-employees-plans.

The full salary range for this position is $37.11 - $43.18 per hour.

New employees begin at Step 1 of the pay progression, which is $37.11 hourly. Current City employees’ starting rate of pay will be based on Personnel Rules regarding promotions. This is a full-time (1.0 FTE) regular position with full benefits. This is a Civil Service position eligible for overtime.

How to Apply:

• Apply online at http://www.seattle.gov/jobs. Please refer to: Job# 2025-01061
• A cover letter and resume, that provide additional information on why your skills and experience make you qualified for this job are required.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered.
If you have any questions, please contact Roth Lim at [email protected].