CHAP 7

FIELD OPERATIONS: FOUNDATIONS CHAPTER SEVEN

1

Selection & Development • A police department makes 3 selection decisions

• Entry • Reassignment • Promotion

• If high-quality recruits are to be selected, the process should be designed to screen-in, not screen-out, applicants • What is the difference?

2

Recruitment • The recruitment of qualified candidates is first step in selection • Of course, a variety of recruitment methods exist

• Newspaper ads • Career fairs • The Internet

• Programs to recruit young people also exist • What are these programs?

3

Recruitment: Targeting Females and Minorities • The recruitment of minorities and females is essential • A 2009 study revealed 5 findings about attracting such candidates:

1. Only about 18 percent of agencies used a targeted recruitment strategy 2. Annual recruiting budget & the number of applications 3. Special entry conditions 4. Starting pay had no impact on hiring 5. Higher education had no impact

4

Recruitment Toolkit • Helps police departments navigate the difficulties of

recruiting qualified officers • Innovative strategies include:

• collaboration with other police agencies in recruiting • engaging and including the community in recruitment efforts • streamlining the recruitment and selection process • involving everyone in the department in recruiting

5

Targeting the Service Oriented • An innovative recruitment strategy is being tried in a range of

departments that focuses on service-oriented individuals • Known as Hiring in the Spirit of Service (HSS)

• Involved new marketing strategies • Also involved developing valid pre-employment testing procedures,

job task analyses, and performance measures relating to community policing and service-oriented practices

6

Selection • Selection process comes after recruitment

• Aims to determine which candidates are best suited • Various selection criteria and tests are used

• Validity • Reliability

• What’s the difference?

7

Selection • Validity is important because invalid criteria may have disparate

impact on protected groups • Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 (Title VII)

• Prohibits discrimination in the workplace • Griggs v. Duke Power Company (1971)

• Albemarle Paper Company v. Moody (1975) • Davis v. City of Dallas (1985) • Bona fide occupational qualifications (BFOQ) • Job task analysis

• Identifies behaviors necessary for adequate job performance

8

Pre-employment Standards • A number of standards must be met prior to employment

• Standards vary across departments, however • Age • Height and weight • Vision • Physical agility and strength • Residency • Education

9

General Suitability • Departments usually conduct extensive investigation of an

applicant’s past experience , behavior, and work history to assess suitability • Background investigation

• Davis v. City of Dallas (1985) • Shield Club v. City of Cleveland (1986)

• Polygraph examination • Psychological condition • Medical condition

10

Pre-employment Testing • Written exam • Validity of written exams • Written exams and performance • Too smart for policing • Personal interview • Americans With Disabilities Act

• prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with a disability

• blanket exclusions of individuals with a particular disability are not permissible

11

Recruit Screening Methods • A variety of methods are employed

• criminal records checks • background investigations • driving record checks • personal interviews • medical exams and drug testing • physical agility tests • written aptitude tests • polygraph examination

• Selection of candidates is time-consuming and expensive

12

Development • Recruit Training

• Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) • Program orientation • Philosophy and instructional methods • Problem-based learning (PBL) • Curriculum development and content • Diverse nature of subject matter

13

Recruit Training • An important aspect of program development concerns what type

of instructional methods to use • Pedagogy • Andragogy

• What differentiates these two methods? • Cognitive and problem-based learning

• What differentiates these two learning approaches?

14

Curriculum Development and Content • Program curricula should include two primary criteria:

• Mission statement • Ethical considerations

• A host of instructional topics are included in programs • Firearm skills, self-defense skills, health, and fitness • Patrol, investigation, and community vehicle operations • First aid and CPR, report writing, and use of non-lethal weapons

15

Curriculum Updates • Outside of community policing and terrorism-related policing,

other curriculum updates have occurred • Ethics and integrity • De-escalation of force • Communication • Conducted Energy Devices (CEDs) • Juveniles • Mentally ill

16

FTO and PTO Programs • Following the academy, recruits go through a final phase of

training, field training, to prepare for realities of police work • New officers being broken in by experienced old-timers • Exposure to values, and department culture; “real world” of policing

• Recently, the PTO program has been adopted, emphasizing: • Problem-based learning

• What does this learning approach entail?

17

Career Growth • Officers shouldn’t remain stagnant after training; development

is essential • Development can be achieved in various ways

• In-service training • Specialized training • Promotion and assessment centers • Lateral entry

18

Summary • The move by police departments to more community policing

oriented practices requires attention to personnel quality • Importance of recruitment and pre-employment standards

• Dictated by department’s view of what an effective officer is • Attention to training and education are also essential

• Important of andragogy as opposed to pedagogy • Shift from FTO to PTO programs • Officers must be ready for changes, new assignments, promotions

19