Recruitment of Candidates:

Minimum Requirements

• At least 21 years old

• Driver’s license in the state

• No prior felonies

• Passing a written test, medical exam, interview, physical agility test, polygraph, and psychology screening.

Education

• Law Enforcement Assistance Administration:

• You must have at least a high school diploma, some may also require college credit

Technology:

• Technology is used for criminal identification.

• Computers are used for multiple things such as facial recognition, fingerprint identification, etc.

• It is efficient and accurate

Legal Knowledge

• Officers need to understand…

  • Constitutional law

  • Criminal law

  • Criminal procedures

  • Rules of evidence

  • Civil law

Residency

• Some departments require officers to live in the same jurisdiction as they policed

• Being in the community help officer understand it better

• This can lead to corruption if the officer wants to protect someone in the community from the law because they are a friend

Selection of Candidates

• Written Exam: First phase in the selection process and it can be a civil, state, department, or privately created exam.

• Background Checks: After an application is submitted the department looks into a person’s history to see if they have committed any crimes

• The Interview Process: Evaluates a person’s suitability for being an officer. It also assesses the person’s professionalism, communication skills, reasoning, appearance, computer, and poise. It is critical to pass this portion and make the best impression during this.

• Psychology and Polygraph Tests: These measure intelligence and identifies personality characteristics. It can also be used to find any mental disorders that could lead to trouble later on.

  • Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI): Measures a person’s psychopathology and determines whether he or she should be diagnosed with a mental disorder.

  • Polygraph: It is a lie detector for examinations although it cannot be used in court.

• Physical Ability Test: Measures the ability of an officer to do physical activity.

Affirmative Action

• Affirmative action: They create equal opportunities for everyone, and they mandate the department to take steps to hire minorities.

• Quotas: Specific number of minorities that departments have to hire.

Legal Acts

• Equal Pay Act: Requires men and women to be paid equally

• Executive Order of 1969: Stated that sex could not be a qualification for hire

• Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act: Stated that discrimination based on race, color, religion, or sex cannot be used to discriminate against anyone in the workplace.

• Crime Control Act: Ensured that police departments did not discriminate against women in employment practices

• Americans with Disabilities Act: Ensured that agencies did not discriminate against any person otherwise qualified for a job because of a disability

Training

• Probation: Allows offenders to stay in the community as long as they are under supervision.

• Police academy: A school for training police officers.

• Field training officer: They train new officers

• Socialization: The process by which people learn characteristics of their group's norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors

Retention

• Burnout: State of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress

• Advantages to departments that retain women on the force:

  • Women are as competent as male officers

  • Women are less likely to be accused of excessive use of force

  • Women help focus on community-oriented policing tactics

  • Less discrimination and harassment if there are more women

  • Changes in the policy. Changes the perspective that it’s a male-only job if there are more women.