11Police ProcessDae-Hoon KwakMichigan State UniversityCJ 335 Summer 20065/23/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006Lecture 5Police Officers I:Entering Police Work2Outline for the lecture5/23/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• Describe recruitment standards for P.O. applicants• Explain motivations for entering police work• Recognize factors that have affected changing composition of police forces• Identify the impact of Equal Employment Opportunity on police employment practices• Explain the various components of police officer training3Aspects of the Personnel Process5/23/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• A Career Perspective- Good personnel practices at one stage can be undermined by poor practices at another- A department might recruit great persons then fail to train them adequately- They might recruit and train well but lose personnel because of poor management4Aspects of the Personnel Process (cont.)5/23/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• Beyond Stereotypes of Cops- Most stereotypes are inaccurate- The average P.O. is a rather average person in terms of values and beliefs- There is a distinct among officers but no study has concluded that officers are radically different from others5Recruitment5/23/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• Shared with other governmental agencies attracting a pool of applicants• Three components of recruitment- Minimum qualifications- The recruitment effort- Applicant’s decision to apply6Recruitment (cont.)5/23/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• Minimum qualifications- Most 21 years of age- Height and weight- Educationa. Requirement: in 2000, 63% of P.D.s required high school diploma, 37.1% some college, 4.8% a four-year collegeb. By 1988, 65% of all S.O.s had some college degreec. Educational incentive pay programs (e.g., 72% of municipal Police)- Criminal Recorda. No felony , Drug history27Recruitment (cont.)5/23/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• Minimum qualifications (cont.)- Residencya. About ¼ of dept.s require living within the city limitsb. A Major controversy- Recruitment Effort: the applicant tool8Choosing LE as a Career5/23/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• Motivations (in two Midwestern police dept.s)- Help people- Job security- Fight crime- Excitement of the job- Prestige of the job• Aspect of the people who do not apply- Some potential applicants like minorities, do not apply because of the negative image of the police in their community9Selection5/23/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• Selection Tests- Various tests are used to select a group of new officers from the poola. Personal interview 96%b. Criminal background check 96%c. Background investigation 96%d. Driving record check 93%e. Medical exam 81%f. Psychological screen 61%g. Drug test 67%h. Written aptitude test 43%i. Physical ability test 44%j. Polygraph exam/voice stress analyzer 21%/2%10Selection (cont.)5/23/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• Oral Interviews- Almost all big city PDs- To detective attitudes that might be incompatible with the Police- Time consuming, expensive, and open to interviewer bias• Background Investigations- The most important part of the selection process- Can identify factors that indicate potential success or failure on the job11Predicting who will be good P.O.s5/23/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• The difficulty of predicting who will be good P.O.s- Screening Methods- Measuring Police Performance- Screening Efforts vs. Actual job performance- Some experts believe that the best predictor of officer performance is actual performance on the job- Careful evaluation of the probationary period is very important and use of Early Warning Systemto give notice of marginal performance12Equal Employment Opportunity5/23/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• The Law of Equal Employment Opportunity-The VII of the 1964 Civil Right Acta. Discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex-The 1972 Equal Employment Opportunity Acta. Extended the coverage of the 1964 law to state and local governments• Job related Qualifications- Employers may establish bona fide occupational qualifications (BFOQ) and refuse to hire people who do not meet BFOQ313Equal Employment Opportunity (cont.)5/23/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• Job related Qualifications (cont.)- Defined as any requirement that is “reasonably necessary to the normal operation of that particular business”- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) concerned with disability issues that may disqualify police applicant14Equal Employment Opportunity (cont.)5/23/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• Employment of racial and ethnic minorities- Increased significantly in recent years- Federal courts have used the percentage of minorities in the local adult work forceas the standard in setting employment discrimination suits- To increase the diversity in the work force, an active recruitment process and offering incentive pay for special skills- Reflect the composition of the community it serves (i.e., EEO Index= % of particular minority/ % in population in the community)15Equal Employment Opportunity (cont.)5/23/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• Hispanic and Latino Officers- Fastest growing population- Spanish speaking officers recruited• Women in Policing- More seriously underrepresented than racial and ethnic minorities, concentrated in lower ranks- Barriers to women in policing: entrance exam (i.e., emphasize upper body physical strength), military recruitment (male dominated occupation)• Gay and Lesbian officers: increasingly open over the last 20 years16Diversity of Police Employment5/23/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• Three basic goals- Compliance with existing law- Belief that a diverse work force will better serve the community- Improve the image of the PD and lead to better community relations with a work force that reflects the community• The AA Controversy: an employer must take positive steps to remedy past discrimination and must:- Conduct a census of current employees- Identify the concentration of minorities and women- Develop a recruiting plan to correct any deficiency17Diversity of Police Employment (cont.)5/23/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• The Issue of Quotas- AA includes goals and timetables for correcting underutilization- An employer establishes a goal of having a certain percentage of female employees by a certain data- Supporters: Necessary to correct past employment discrimination - Opponentsa. Reverse discrimination against whites/malesb. lower personnel standards18Diversity of Police Employment (cont.)5/23/2006CJ 335 Summer 2006• Diversity as a “Compelling State Interest”- The U.S.
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