Nine new police officers were sworn in last week and we are
already preparing for our next hiring process which will begin in about four
months. I am often asked about our
hiring process; what do you look for in a potential officer? How do you weed out candidates who are not
suitable? Well, our hiring process is
extensive and begins 12 months before the chosen few hit the streets on solo
patrol. We begin with an application
process and those qualified are allowed to continue on to take a written
test. Minnesota law requires you must
meet certain educational requirements to be eligible to become a police officer
(Of the nine officers that hit the
streets last week, eight had a bachelor’s degree). If you meet the minimum requirements to
become a licensed police officer in Minnesota you are allowed to take our
test. Last year we received over 300
applicants and about 280 were qualified to test. The tests are scored and ranked. Those scoring the highest are moved onto an
interview with department and community members.
The first interview is scored and those receiving the
highest scores undergo an extensive background investigation. Credit scores are examined to ensure there are
no red flags in this area. Past and
present neighbors, employers and co-workers are visited and questioned about
the candidate. Additionally, friends
and ex-boy/girl friends are interviewed to determine character and uncover any
concerns. We dig and dig - looking for what kind of candidate we
have. After the background is completed
and there are no concerns the candidate is allowed to continue onto a
background interview and an interview with me.
The background interview consists of an in depth questioning of the
candidates background. Any areas of the candidate’s
background that have the slightest of concern are further addressed at this
time. Parallel to the background panel
interview, I, along with other department members, interview the candidate.
Our ideal candidate is someone who has life experience. I began as a police officer at the age of 20,
which, in retrospect, I think I was too young for me to deal with the
complicated issues many police must deal with.
I would like to take back some of the decisions that I made early in my
career when dealing with people; most of which revolved around lack of life
experience and maturity. I would really
like to see more second career candidates to choose from. We have had great luck with a couple of
engineers who decided in their 30’s they were interested in police work and
decided to change careers.
In addition to life experience, I want to hire individuals
who treat people well and have strong communication skills; someone who can go
into a tense situation and use their interpersonal skills to resolve a
situation calmly without escalating matters.
Many of our officers could make a lot more money in sales, because they
can talk their way in and out of all kinds of bad, sad and terrible situations
that police officers face on a daily basis.
Past work habits are telling. After talking to past supervisors and
co-workers, we are almost always able to discover concerns. Our officers must have a strong work ethic
because so much is demanded of them.
With our performance measures, there is no getting around that there is
no down time when you are a police officer.
We expect when an officer is not handling or investigating an incident,
that they will be working on neighborhood issues, patrolling hot spots or
getting to know people and businesses in their beat.
Along with strong character and integrity, one of the best
attributes I like to see in potential police officers is helpfulness. Do they have a track record of being
helpful? The best police officers are
most often helpful in nature. They often
look at a situation not from the stand point of being a police officer, but from
a public servant’s perspective with the concept of simply being as helpful as
possible.
Once we decide on our best candidates, the top group goes
through extensive psychological testing.
This portion of testing measures aptitude for police work, ability to
work in stressful situations, ability to handle stress, I.Q., honesty, behavioral
traits, work ethic, ability to work with diverse communities and any
abnormalities. When the psychological
testing is complete a team of department members meet with the psychologists to
discuss each of the candidates and determine if they are still suitable
candidates. Those who successfully pass
this portion go on for physical testing and potential job offer.
Those candidates who are hired go through an extensive 11
week academy and then a grueling five months of field training where they receive
more training before they transition into handling all calls by
themselves. If they successfully pass
this portion they are retained and certified for solo patrol.
