California DOJ Special Agents

[vc859]

I saw on another police website that the California DOJ was giving their exam soon. Can anyone advise about this position, both how the agency/position is itself and what it is they do?

Would it be along the right lines to say that they handle state level criminal investigations whereas CHP Detectives handle state level vehicle and traffic investigations?

[L-1]

It's been a while since I dealt with them, but a lot of their work used to deal with multi county narcotics enforcement, investigating civil claims for damages filed against the state (you have to file a claim and get turned down before you can sue) and multi county criminal matters where local agencies asked for assistance.

They took a huge hit several years ago when their association (union) publicly supported the losing candidate for governor. The winner "reorganized" their agency and about half lost their jobs.

On the bright side, the used to get unmarked take home cars, state paid cell phones and pagers and did a lot of work out of their homes. I assume it still works that way.

[RGDS]

They have a lot of agents assigned to healthcare fraud, narco (as stated above), and firearms related issues- retired cops with LE only guns, prohibited persons, licensing... Their pay wouldn't last a week in the SF Bay Area even with their $300 a month locality stipend.

[FlyingPig1]

You have to already be a POST certified officer. Its not an entry level or trainee position.

[RGDS]

FlyingPig1, while I haven't actually seen this, I have heard (and seen online) that occasionally they do hire entry level agents.

Since the OP is on the other side of the country, I am guessing he or she is just curious and not serious about the job.

[scottlacey2014]

The website says its hiring special agents and special agent trainees which I thought meant no law enforcement background...


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[jdlong]

Appears to be a great gig. Our former County Dope Task Force Commander was a DOJ BNE Agent...he had 15 years prior as an S.O. Sergeant...decided to chase dope for the state. Of course DOJ I believe dismantled BNE??? Or calling it something different now?? I know he left the task force when DOJ pulled out due to "lack of funding."

[nobodyjr]

When they disbanded BNE they laid off almost everyone with less than 10 years on. This was several years go, and from what I heard many won't come back now that they are hiring again. I think their main gig now is the Firearms unit and attempting to seize guns from prohibited persons. Which means a lot of pointless knock and talks where no one answers the door. But they also still do some narc, 290 task forces, general investigations, and indian gaming stuff.

I think if you are looking at this type of gig, a DA investigator might be a better fit depending on the county. IMHO.

[ateamer]

That firearms seizure program is just window dressing so Kamala "No Death Penalty For Officer's Murderers" Harris and Jerry "Way Past Halfway to Senile" Brown can pretend to be tough on crime. Nearly a total waste of resources.

Want to do something about crime? Bring back BNE to mid 90s levels. Bring back the task forces. Have special dope prosecutors, and don't give plea bargains to dealers and cooks.

[jdlong]

That firearms seizure program is just window dressing so Kamala "No Death Penalty For Officer's Murderers" Harris and Jerry "Way Past Halfway to Senile" Brown can pretend to be tough on crime. Nearly a total waste of resources.

Want to do something about crime? Bring back BNE to mid 90s levels. Bring back the task forces. Have special dope prosecutors, and don't give plea bargains to dealers and cooks.

Ahhh yes...remember our Multi-agency County Dope Taks Force Well. They had plenty of $$$ for OT necessary to chase...flip...chase....flip....etc. Our BNE Commander was great. Salty Dog from So. Cal. All agencies played too...Probation, CDCR, S.O., PD's, D.A. Investigators...good times. Very productive. BNE had some great tools which we had access to as well. Good times. Then it all went bye bye. $$$$

[LeeRoy]

They are running a firearms task force in Contra Costa now. A rebirth of CCCNET with some tighter controls on how the task force is run. That was a huge embarrassment to DOJ (Read the Diablo Magazine article on the scandal - great reading). They do have their hand in some dope stuff still but it is no longer a primary mission. For example Placer County SIU, a former DOJ BNE task force, still has a DOJ guy running it but it is technically a county sheriff task force now.

Entry level folks are going to find themselves doing healthcare fraud. Firearms is the other big division. Read the AG website and you can make some intelligent guesses where assets will go.

I've worked with DOJ folks off and on for over 20 years. They should be the Texas Rangers of California but they are not. The problem is they are underneath the Attorney General and whenever you have attornies overseeing your organization things tend to be somewhat overly bureaucratic. The days of running and gunning for 24 hours straight chasing cash and dope are over.

CHP investigators now handle all felony investigations on the freeways and crimes on state property. CHP investigators are also on all the JTTF's and many regional task forces. They are taking over much of the territory DOJ once held.

With respect to entry level hiring many of their spots tend to go to insiders such as interns and civilian employees. There aren't that many entry level spots each year and when you have somebody on the inside pulling for you (in New York they call it a hook or a crane) its tough for an outsider to compete.

[Blizz]

Last I was aware, DOJ only had 270 agents for the entire state. That's not very much.

[LeeRoy]

Last I was aware, DOJ only had 270 agents for the entire state. That's not very much.

DOJ is clearly a shadow of its former self. For you entry level types or [email protected] retirement laterals be sure to look at ATF and DEA if you are interested in this type of investigative work. The future of state employment will likely mean more takeaways, higher medical contributions, and an already expensive retirement (you pay half of the total retirement contribution). Under [email protected] CA was a better deal than being a fed but with pension reform the fed system edges out DOJ in my opinion.

[LeeRoy]

Well so much for them being out of the dope business...

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014/10/06/calif-doj-launches-la-based-anti-meth-task-force/

[FlyingPig1]

Slashing BNE was political pay back. Now they are slowly and quietly trying to replace the asset.... without actually saying they are replacing what they cut. Lets lay off a ton of agents to send a message that you don't go against the governor.... and then try to hire back those same people later. I flew for a BNE task force... the number of solid and active cases that were literally just dropped in place was beyond derelict on the part of the AG and the Governor. For the AG to now resurface and claim that she's identified a need is classic politics. Nobody in CA remembers or cares that there was an agency handling this for decades prior.