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Police Selection Practices in the 21st Century
In today’s society, the selection process and hiring of police officers has taken on a whole new outlook. Gone are the days of knowing the local Police Chief, being friends with the Mayor or having an “in” with a local Commissioner. Police officer candidates are put through a series of tests, which are often strenuous, time consuming and lengthy to meet state standards. All Police Officers in the State of Connecticut must meet State Standards set forth by the Police Officer and Standards Training Council (POST). The following are some of the highlights of the recruitment and hiring practices that are in place throughout the State of Connecticut and the Old Saybrook Department of Police Services.
In the Town of Old Saybrook, applicants can apply to be a police officer by filling out a job application and submitting a current resume. If at the time that the person applies for a job and there are no current openings, the application and resume will stay on file and applicants will be notified when a job opening becomes available and needs to be filled. At the time that the applicant drops off their application and resume, the applicant is instructed on how to take an entry level written examination. The Town of Old Saybrook contracts the written portion of the examination process with the Law Enforcement Council of Southeastern Connecticut. The written examination is broken up into three parts: reading, writing and arithmetic. Applicants must obtain a minimum score of 70 in all three phases of the written application to continue onto the next phase of recruitment. The written examination results are then forwarded to the Training Supervisor and maintained on file for future
consideration. If a person fails to obtain a minimum passing grade, they may re-apply to take the written examination after six months.
The second phase of the selection process is the physical agility test, known as the Cooper Standards. The Cooper Standards is a series of four tests that measure flexibility, cardiovascular capacity and muscle endurance. The tests consist of sit-ups, bench press, a sit-and-reach and a one and a half mile run. These tests are administered by age and sex and are scored based on National Standards. If a candidate fails any portion of the agility test, they are eliminated from any further testing. A police agency may add additional testing to the agility test but they cannot deviate from the Cooper Standards.
After successfully completing the first two steps in the selection process, candidates are then invited to participate in an oral board. The oral board is made up of experienced police officers from within the agency. The veteran officers will ask the candidates a series of questions designed to invoke thought and general reasoning when answering the questions. The questions are not intended for the candidate to have a law enforcement background, but to see how the person thinks on their feet, if they can come to a viable solution or if they can be swayed to change their answer. The oral board examiners are looking for certain traits: appearance, manner, speech and vitality. They are also looking for competence, interest level for the job, judgment, use of logic, comprehension, ability to understand and
maturity, if a candidate possess a level of maturity required for the job. The applicants are scored individually by each officer and then the scores are combined to give a final score. The scores from the written examination and the oral board examination are then combined and tallied to rank each candidate. Based on their rankings, the candidate will be informed if they are eligible to continue on in the hiring process or if their combined scores place them below what is needed to continue on.
By this time in the process, the candidates have been pared down to a select few who will be tendered a Conditional Offer of Probationary Employment. This does not mean that they are being offered a job, but that they have to meet additional terms and conditions set forth by the Town of Old Saybrook and the POST Council. Some of these conditions are a medical examination, criminal background check, controlled substance testing, polygraph examination, personal interview and background examination. Successful candidates move onto a final Police Commission Interview and candidates are selected by the Police Commission to attend the Police Academy.
So there you have it, an insider’s look at how to become a member of the finest organization, and to have the most rewarding and challenging job you could ever imagine. Just ask me, I did it and I didn’t even grow up next to the Police Chief.
If you have any questions on becoming an Old Saybrook police officer, pleasse feel free to call me or drop me a line.
Lt. Timothy McDonald
Old Saybrook Department of Police Services
860-395-3142
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