Police Hiring Process Analysis

List and discuss the different phases of the police hiring process. There are 100 applicants for every police officer position. In larger cities announcements for police officer positions usually generate about 1000 applicants.
A civil service type of application is one of the most commonly used application process for police recruits. The application contains basic information; name, address and background information like education and experiences, some applications will even go beyond the simple stuff to ask about your criminal history information or any convictions of a criminal nature. On the application it may also ask the applicant to provide a list of references who can affirm the applicant’s reliability, honesty and other personal
qualities. Depending on the venue of the police position, it’s common for the applicant to be required to take a civil service (merit system) exam prior to applying directly to the police organization. One of the main reasons for the civil service exam is to help police personnel officers in the selection process. The civil service exam helps eliminate applicants who don’t possess the most basic qualifications; reading and writing. The civil service exam also helps put together a list of eligible candidates, so police departments can choose from it. Determining if a candidate can physically handle the job is very important, this happens when candidates take the physical agility test. The test usually consist of a physical agility course, on this course you will probably carry a dummy, climb in and out of windows, run a mile in 8 minutes, a grip strength and a trigger pull test along with many other things. Physical traits are one of the more important aspects to the basic police qualifications. The oral interview is a meaningful part of the selection process.
The interview is conducted in front of the police review board which usually consists of 4 to 6 sworn officers along with a department personnel officer and maybe a representative of the community. Usually the police review board will ask questions regarding his or her reasons and motivations for wanting to become a police officer. Other questions will be geared toward the candidate’s willingness to adjust to the work environment (shift changes or overtime). Also the review board will ask candidates questions about hypothetical situations; this will allow the review board to judge the candidate’s exercise of
discretion. Over half of police agencies use the polygraph exam to screen applicants. One reason police agencies use the polygraph exam is to identify problem areas in statements made by the applicant that might need further investigation. Polygraph can usually convince the applicant it is better to confess any wrong doing, instead of the polygraph finding out the truth. A background investigation is probably the most important determinant of an applicant’s suitability for the position of a police officer.
Some areas that are checked out would be education, employment history, military service and criminal records. Another component to background investigations is for police agencies to interview spouses of the applicants and give them a general idea of the job that their spouse is seeking. This component helps the spouse understand danger on the job, shift changes and overtime and other important aspects of the job. Usually police applicants are asked to submit a medical exam. The medical exam can be done by the designated physician for the police agency or can be done by a physician of the applicant’s choice. The medical exam is a crucial part of the selection process; it helps identify any medical impairment now, so later on down the road it won’t hurt the applicants job performance; like heart, back or knew problems. These problems if not taken care or not really looked at can cause problems down the road which can jeopardize the applicant’s life or a fellow
officer. The last step of the hiring process is the psychological testing procedure; which is designed to determine the emotional stability and maturity of the applicant. Some tests are given in oral format, but the majority of them are given in writing. The tests are given then they are reviewed by licensed psychologist or psychiatrist. The tests are reviewed to determine any personality flaws that may disqualify the applicant. Many applicants are disqualified following this phase of the selection process. After all the exams are done your last step would be going into the police academy. In the academy there will a crucial number of weeks where you will learn about the laws, also you will learn the basic skills of being a police officer; procedures, firing your firearm and also driving. After passing the academy you will graduate.