Exam 4: Becoming a Police Officer

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has opened up law enforcement jobs to __________.

How does one go about finding a position in policing?

Once a recruit has been hired and placed in the field, __________.

Internship programs provide a criminal justice student __________.

Which restrictions have been foundations for lawsuits against law enforcement agencies?

A good job analysis can be used to __________.

What are typically the last steps in the recruitment process before a candidate is hired?

Law enforcement agencies are having difficulty recruiting qualified candidates to be sworn officers. Agencies are now looking to identify future officers at a young age and determine how well they will meet the stringent hiring requirements of police agencies via police cadet programs. Given budgetary and staff limitations, the challenge then is deciding who should design cadet programs. Police officials may task sworn police officers, civilian personnel, or a mix of both with recruitment and hiring responsibilities. Officials must consider the cost of diverting the personnel from their other duties, what image they want to project, and how to accurately represent the holistic day to day of working in the agency. This scenario focuses on deciding who the best people are for designing cadet programs. Jackson, Tennessee, is a growing city that sits 84 miles northeast of Memphis. The population grew from 65,211 in 2010 to 67,265 in 2012, and has grown by 12.9 percent since 2000. Jackson has a historically high overall crime rate. Additionally, over the last several years, the city's police department has had a difficult time recruiting qualified police candidates. Thus, as the rates of burglaries, robberies, and rapes have increased steadily, the numbers of police officers has declined slightly. Last week, Jackson's mayor, police commissioner, and city council met to discuss how to address the need for increased numbers of qualified police officers. One idea was to begin recruitment of cadets by asking high school counselors in the precinct for recommendations of students they felt would make good police officers. Everyone who attended the meeting approved of this idea. The meeting adjourned with the police commissioner in charge of the next steps. -What is the title of a nonsworn, paid, part-time position for young adults 18 years of age and older who are interested in a law enforcement career?

Choosing to use only officers or civilian employees to create the cadet program will result in losing input from a group of employees who have a unique view into what is necessary to be a police officer. However, using only one group of employees will also limit the amount of politics that may obstruct the committee. You create and send out a survey to all department captains and lieutenants describing the purpose of the task force. The survey includes questions about which type of employee would be best suited to working the task force. -What agency has been the motivation for more highly educated police officers?

KSAs are standards used to __________.

A job analysis does NOT __________.

What Would You Do? The survey provides important results but is not completely clear. Twenty percent of those answering the survey suggest the task force be made up of entirely civilians. The other 80 percent are split between using only sworn police officers and having the task force be comprised of half civilians and half sworn police officers. -You are Jackson's Police Commissioner. What final decision do you make?

The probationary period __________.

The website discoverpolicing.org is the official job board of which organization?

What makes recruitment more difficult?

Law enforcement agencies are having difficulty recruiting qualified candidates to be sworn officers. Agencies are now looking to identify future officers at a young age and determine how well they will meet the stringent hiring requirements of police agencies via police cadet programs. Given budgetary and staff limitations, the challenge then is deciding who should design cadet programs. Police officials may task sworn police officers, civilian personnel, or a mix of both with recruitment and hiring responsibilities. Officials must consider the cost of diverting the personnel from their other duties, what image they want to project, and how to accurately represent the holistic day to day of working in the agency. This scenario focuses on deciding who the best people are for designing cadet programs. Jackson, Tennessee, is a growing city that sits 84 miles northeast of Memphis. The population grew from 65,211 in 2010 to 67,265 in 2012, and has grown by 12.9 percent since 2000. Jackson has a historically high overall crime rate. Additionally, over the last several years, the city's police department has had a difficult time recruiting qualified police candidates. Thus, as the rates of burglaries, robberies, and rapes have increased steadily, the numbers of police officers has declined slightly. Last week, Jackson's mayor, police commissioner, and city council met to discuss how to address the need for increased numbers of qualified police officers. One idea was to begin recruitment of cadets by asking high school counselors in the precinct for recommendations of students they felt would make good police officers. Everyone who attended the meeting approved of this idea. The meeting adjourned with the police commissioner in charge of the next steps. -How can a police department determine what knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) they want in a person they are interested in hiring?

What type of police applicants are departments looking for?

Nonsworn applicants __________.

Summary A Staffing the task force entirely with sworn police officers will provide a better view into what the Cadet Program should include, not include, and what the qualifications should be. Given that the program will be used to recruit future officers it is best that the decisions regarding its composition be decided by officers who know what it required for the job. A significant issue with this decision includes the fact that a large percentage (60 percent) of those responding to the survey stated that they felt all or half of the task force should be made up of civilians. Action should be taken to ensure that this is addressed in order to prevent them from feeling that their input was not ignored and thus have a negative impact on civilian employee morale. To learn more about how today's officer differs from those in recent years, see "The Recruitment Process." Summary B Staffing the task force entirely with half civilians and half sworn police officers will provide a better view into what the Cadet Program should include, not include, and what the qualifications should be. Given that the program will be used to recruit future officers it is best that the decisions regarding its composition include the people who will be directly interacting with them. Civilians can provide a unique perspective on the qualities that are important to cadets who are seeking future employment as officers. A significant issue with this decision includes the fact that a significant percentage (40 percent) of those responding to the survey stated that they felt all of the task force should be made up of sworn officers. Action should be taken to ensure that this is addressed in order to prevent them from feeling that their input was not ignored and thus have a negative impact on officer morale. To learn more about how today's officer differs from those in recent years, see "The Recruitment Process." Choosing to use both officers and civilians will add the most perspectives to the task force. Civilians can provide a viewpoint that officers cannot, while officers know what it takes to do their job. You create and send out a survey to all department captains and lieutenants describing the purpose of the task force. The survey includes questions about which type of employee would be best suited to working the task force. -Of the following options, which is the most used police applicant screening procedure?