Chapter 4 Selection and Hiring Process Police Officer Selection o Funneling Process o Agencies typically put the less costly steps toward the front of the selection process and reserve the more expensive items for latter portion o Weeding out vs screening in Weeding out focuses on approaching each application looking for grounds to disqualify a person from further consideration Screening in implies that the agency is looking for people who match a profile of what a good police officer should look like o The biggest drawback of the screening out approach is its failure to distinguish between mediocre and outstanding job candidates the remaining candidate pool is a conglomerate of people with widely varying abilities and attitudes This system does not allow identification of the most promising applicants The Ideal Officer o Wisdom Courage Strength Patience Leadership Kindness Strategically training Faith Intimate knowledge Equal Opportunity o Federal Civil Rights Act Monitors unfair labor practices Prohibits refusal to hire due to race color religion sex or national origin o Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EEOC Federal agency in charge of overseeing obedience Major task to identify and eliminate unfair and discriminatory hiring practices intentional or not Monitors hiring patterns involving minority and female applicants o Bona fide occupational qualification BFOQ Gender specific hiring practices can continue ONLY if employer can show that a particular hiring practice is NEEDED to operate business in a safe and efficient manner Height as a restriction Courts deemed unconstitutional because no demonstrated connection between height restriction and job performance o I e eliminated protected classes of women and Hispanics Swim test requirement Swimming depends upon local conditions o Valid BFOQ for Seashore PD o Invalid BFOQ for Death Valley PD o Griggs v Duke Power Company If employment restriction was related directly to job performance it would be a valid selection criterion Prima facie discrimination A job prerequisite that excludes members of a protected group from being hired Burden of proof shifts from accuser to the employer who has to demonstrate the validity of the BFOQ 4 criteria in order to prove a facie discrimination case 1 Person complaining must be minority member or female in order to establish he or she belongs to a protected class 2 Complainer must meet minimum entrance requirement for position 3 Employer must have rejected applicant even though person satisfied entrance requirements 4 Employer must have continued to interview other candidates after making decision not to hire individual The Selection Process o Application o An overview of the steps involved in selecting police officers Basic information to check compliance with minimum standards Florida minimum standards used to weed out At least 19 US citizen High school diploma Check for criminal history Medical health exam No prior felon convictions Good moral character Complete a basic police training course Complete state law enforcement certification examination Driving record check o Written psychological exam Fitness for duty assessment Avoid civil liability for improper hiring Psych Tests to avoid improper hiring MMPI CPI and IPI instruments o Paper and pencil testing inexpensive Better for weeding out NOT screening in o Background investigation Search for questionable credentials Look for good work history and habits Sound character No criminal arrests Credit check Aims to uncover any flaws o Polygraph testing Lie detector Measures physiological deviations when responding to inquiries Heart rate blood pressure respiration skin respiration Pre employment drug testing Crucial to be upfront and honest before the agency uncovers something you may have lied about Issue of reasonable expectation of privacy Application submission is voluntary Public safety supersedes individual s privacy o Psychological interview expectations Fitness for duty assessment Accuracy of clinical decisions Detection of extreme cases only o Oral board interview Face to face between applicant and board members Resolve dilemmas under pressure Ex board might ask person how would handle a drunk driving stop involving civilian Focuses on how well candidate articulates position reasoning and skill Review candidate scores and compile list of prospective police o Eligibility list recruits o Medical check Satisfies minimum health standards ADA standards Hiring Issues Education Are college educated recruits better hires Education more cultured person Greater moral fiber and molds a more ethical just person Police Personality o Authoritarianism Very rigid and dogmatic Conservative prejudice domineering and cynical o Why do police officers tend to be authoritarian Self selection Only authoritarians apply to become police officers Organizational selection Occupational socialization Law enforcement agencies seek authoritarian Police occupation extracts such heft personality adjustments and so recruits cannot help but become authoritarian o Experiment consisted of college sophomores o All participants were psychologically fit average and took less than a week for guards to turn into sadistic keepers o Guards vs inmates o After 6 days prisoners were so withdrawn depressed etc o Guards did not want simulation to end Some worked extra shifts without pay o Pathology of power Zimbardo Experiment Sudden transformation of normal college students into sadistic power hungry ogres College educated persons tend to be less dogmatic and less authoritarian Do college educated officers perform better o Mixed evidence on whether or not college educated officers perform better Whom are agencies hiring o Only 1 of local law enforcement agencies require a bachelor s degree o Another 9 require an associate s degree AA o About a quarter of officers today have a 4 year degree Obstacles o Recruitment o Salary o Promotions 25 30 years Change takes place slowly especially if a law enforcement career spans Negative impact upon minority recruitment Any demonstrable return to the taxpayer o Whether taxpayers would respond favorably to these developments is not a risk community leaders prepared to take Hiring Issues Race Why should agencies hire more black officers o Less than 1 of all local law enforcement officers in 1930 and 1950 o In order to defuse tension many communities started hiring more were black black officers o Civil disorders found that percentage of
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