Transcript Selection & Development

Selection & Development
Method of selection—far-reaching implications.
Civil
service: affects selection, promotion, and discipline.
Enacted in 1883 with passage of Pendleton Civil Service Act
(to eliminate spoils system).
Departments gained autonomy and freedom from political
influence.
Negative aspects: too much protection for incompetent
officers.
Point
of entry - lowest level in dept.
A few departments - lateral entry of sgts, lieuts,. Captains.
Some - chief selected from outside.
All states—promotion standards
Selection & Development
Recruitment
Where:
(1) advertisements, tv etc. (2) special interest groups,
(3) public announcements, (4) university career
placement/planning offices (5) referrals from current
employees.
Police image: presents police as crime-fighters, however may
be inconsistent with realities of police work.
Ethnic differences in reasons for becoming a police officer.
•Variety
Rank
•Responsibility
Rank
•Serve Public**
Rank
•Adventure**
Rank
•Security
Rank
•Pay
Rank
•Benefits
Rank
•Advancement
Rank
•Retirement
Rank
•Prestige
Black
65.5%
(19)
1
51.7%
(15)
3
62.1%
(18)
2
27.6%
(8)
6
41.4%
(12)
4
37.9%
(11)
5
24.1%
(7)
7.5
24.1%
(7)
7.5
20.7%
(6)
9
3.4%
(1)
Hispanic
62.8%
(27)
1
51.2%
(22)
2.5
48.8%
(21)
4
44.2%
(19)
5
37.2%
(16)
7
51.2%
(22)
2.5
39.6%
(17)
6
30.2%
(13)
8
22.3%
(10)
9
16.3%
(7)
Asian
46.2%
(6)
3
61.5%
(8)
1
53.8%
(7)
2
30.8%
(4)
5
38.5%
(5)
4
38.5%
(5)
4
38.5%
(5)
4
23.1%
(3)
6
15.4%
(2)
7
15.4%
(2)
Caucasian
81.8%
(54)
1
53%
(35)
3
43.9%
(29)
4
60.6%
(40)
2
51.5%
(34)
10
40.9%
(27)
5
34.8%
(23)
7
37.9%
(25)
6
25.8%
(17)
8
19.7%
(13)
Total
68%
(106)
51%
(80)
48%
(75)
45%
(71)
43%
(67)
41%
(65)
33%
(52)
31%
(48)
22%
(35)
15%
(23)

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

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Race, color, religion, sex, or national origin
Protected class – Affirmative Action
Job related qualifications


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B.F.O.Q.
Height & Weight
Physical Agility
Women and Minority Local Police Officers, 1987, 1990, and 1993
20
Percent of full-time sworn personnel
15
10
5
0
Female
All Minorities
Black
Hispanic
Table 12.2 Race and Ethnicity of Full Time Officers in Local Departments,
by Size of Population Served, 1993
Percent of full-time sworn employees who are:
White
Population served Total
All Sizes
1,000,000 or more
500,000-999,999
250,000-499,999
100,000-249,999
50,000-99,999
25,000-49,999
10,000-24,999
2,500-9,999
Under 2,500
100%
100%
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
Total
Black
Male Female Total
80.9%
69.2%
66.2
71.9
80.6
86.3
89.8
91.6
92.8
91.7
75.2%
61.7%
60.1
64.5
74.2
80.7
85.1
87.1
88.9
89.3
5.7%
7.5%
6.1
7.4
6.3
5.5
4.6
4.5
3.9
2.3
Hispanic
Male Female Total
11.3%
17.7%
21.0
17.7
12.4
7.2
5.4
5.1
4.1
5.3
9.1%
12.8%
16.1
14.3
10.4
6.3
5.0
4.8
3.8
5.0
2.2%
4.9%
5.0
3.4
2.1
.9
.5
.3
.3
.3
Other
Male Female Total Male Female
6.2% 5.5%
12.0% 10.0%
7.0
6.1
9.0
8.2
5.4
4.9
5.1
4.7
4.3
4.1
2.6
2.5
2.6
2.4
1.9
1.8
.7%
2.0%
.9
.9
.4
.5
.2
.1
.1
.1
1.5%
1.2%
5.8
1.4
1.6
1.4
.6
.6
.5
1.2
1.4%
1.0%
5.4
1.2
1.5
1.3
.6
.6
.5
1.1
.1%
.2%
.4
.4
.1
.1
-
Figure 12.3 Percent of Black Officers in
Representative Large Police Departments and
Percent in Supervision, 1992
Chicago
Dallas
Detroit
Los Angeles
New Orleans
New York
Philadelphia
Seattle
0
10
20
% of All Officers
30
40
50
% in Supervision
60
Figure 12.4 Percent of Hispanic Officers in
Representative Large Police Departments and
Percent in Supervision, 1992
Chicago
Dallas
Detroit
Los Angeles
New Orleans
New York
Philadelphia
Seattle
0
5
% of All Officers
10
15
20
% in Supervision
25
Figure 12.2 Percent of Female Officers in
Representative Large Police Departments and
Percent in Supervision, 1992
Chicago
Dallas
Detroit
Los Angeles
New Orleans
New York
Philadelphia
Seattle
0
5
% of All Officers
10
15
20
% of Supervisors
25
Selection & Development
The Legal Legacy of Title VII: Determining which
candidates are best suited for the needs of the dept.
The
4/5 rule. A selection rate of a group must be must be 4/5
the selection rate of the most successful group.
Disparate
impact: Standards cannot be used that
have a discriminatory impact intended or otherwise.
Griggs v. Duke Power Company (1971): High School diploma

and 2 written tests disqualified a higher percentage of Blacks
and could not be shown to affect job performance.
Albemarle Power Company v. Moody (1975): selection and
promotion must be job related.
If a standard is valid, it can have a disparate impact: Davis v.
City of Dallas (1985). DPD requirement of 45 hours university
credit. Called bona-fide occupational qualification (BFOQ)
Selection & Development
Preemployment Standards.
Age, vision, height and weight, and physical agility standards.
Departments must comply with ADEA (Age Discrimination
in Employment Act). Discriminatory if individuals over 40
are discouraged from applying.
.Minimum height requirements: challenged by women.

Vanguard Justice Society v. Hughes: 5'7" requirement
discriminates against 95 percent of women.
Physical
agility. Must be job related. In recent years it has
moved toward health-based testing instead of physical
endurance.
Selection & Development
Residency. Two types of requirements.
a.
Must reside in jurisdiction.
b.
Must relocate within specified period of time.
c.
About 92% of state and 25% of municipal
departments have a residency requirement.
d.
ROP (Resident Office Requirements): provide
officers with low interest or free/low rent housing in
selected troublesome areas (low income/high crime).
Selection & Development
Education.
1993
study of 3000 departments. Only 1 percent
require a college degree; 865 require only a high
school diploma.
Population 100,000 to 250,000: rate is 7 percent.
50,000 to 100,000: 17 percent require 2-year
degree.
Why is degree development so slow?
Discrimination
toward minorities. (Unfounded)
Fear of lawsuit if education is not linked to job
activities. (Unfounded)
Inertia: fear of change.
Selection & Development
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General suitability.
Background investigation.
Based on the candidates personal history.
 Includes military records, family background, credit record, employment
history, drug use.
 Candidates highly rated generally show low level of misconduct (Cohen
and Chaiken, NY police recruit study).
 Drugs: Dallas requires “no recent or excessive histories of marijuana
use.” (Davis v. City of Dallas, 1985).
 1995 BJS survey: 80 percent of departments required applicants to take
a drug test.
Dept leniency toward past drug use.
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In Baltimore County, more than 50 percent of successful candidates
have had drug use in their past. Automatic rejection for use of
hallucinogens.
Most stringent: FBI: no illegal drugs other than experimental use of
marijuana. Candidates who have been “rehabilitated” might be
considered. No previous drug use while on a post of public trust. Past
10 years only experimental marijuana, absent mitigating circumstances.
Selection & Development
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Polygraph examination.
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Psychological standards.
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Its accuracy is disputed and controversial.
Stress of polygraph results in false positives.
Some departments still ask about sexual preferences or lifestyle.
Most common MMPI: Minneapolis Multiphasic Personality
Inventory), CPI (California Personality Inventory). Also popular
for police: the Inwald Personality Inventory(IPI).
Considerably controversial: are they job related? Some are
racially biased. Do not predict job performance.
Medical records.

Almost all departments: require a medical exam to weed out
potential liabilities.
Selection & Development
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Preemployment screening.
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Written and cognitive tests.
Oral interview.
Americans with Disabilities Act.
Prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals
with a disability.
 Candidates must be given a conditional offer of
employment prior to taking tests related to the
disability. No questions related to disabilities,
unless it can be demonstrated that the disability is
related to future job performance.
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Officer Development
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Recruit training.
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Program orientation.
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Usually through Peace Officer Standards and Training board.
Some states: all training is carried out prior to hiring. The department does not
have to carry the cost of the training.
Increasingly: testing for literacy skills. Low standards result in marginal
employees.
Quantity of training: 400 to 1000 hours. More training increases knowledge base.
Stress or non-stress? Stress = military boot camp.
Berg, 1990: no evidence that stress training is more valid or
successful than nonstress training.
Earle (1973) nonstress training produces better recruits.
Philosophy and Instructional methods.
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Training - instructing the individual how to do the job.
Education: provision of a general body of knowledge that explains why
things are the way they are and on which decisions are made.
Reliance on training: insufficient because a great deal of policing
requires capacity for reasoning instead of rule application.
Officer Development
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Course content.
 Traditionally, training under-represents non-law enforcement
aspects of the job.
 Too much emphasis a macho notion of police work.
Average training: 425 classroom hours, 215 field training hours.
 Most recent research:
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State police: 823 hours
County: 760 hours.
Municipal: 640 hours.
Sheriffs: 436 hours.
Largest municipal police departments: 1120 hours.
Hot topic: Ethics: currently, 83% require some ethics training,
mostly 4-hour segments.
Hot topic 2: De-escalation of force. Training non-aggressive force
that reduces use of violence.
 Virtual reality training. Programming 3-dimensional experiences
into computers.
Officer Development
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Field Training.
Characteristics.
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Three phases in many programs.
Phase 1: regional academy training, and additional departmentspecific training.
Phase 2: Recruit assigned to FTO on rotating bases, across all three
shifts.
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On the job or apprentice training.
FTO: Field training officer.
Daily observation reports.
Phase 3: Recruit assigned a solo beat outside the training district.
Evaluated every couple of weeks by supervisor. Final 2 weeks:
plainclothes FTO rides along with recruit.
Higher Education
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Is higher education necessary for police
work?
High school requirement implemented for
police was at a time when most nationally
did not get HS diploma: hence police were
highly educated for the era.
Most federal agencies require bachelor’s.
Higher Education
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Vollmer: advocate of college education.
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Officers trained in soc, psych, technical, crime prevention. Should include a
liberal arts emphasis.
Helped establish the first police school in higher education at Berkeley, (became
part time faculty member in 1916 and full time in 1932) CA. Became patriarch of
American Policing.
1920s and 1930s—several departments established. Wichita State University, San
Jose State, Michigan State, U. of Chicago
Early programs—typically called police science.
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Focus of programs: administration and supervision. Also practical applications of the “science” of
policing.
Focused on training needs, not knowledge expansion.
“College cops” (Education) resisted by many police agencies.
Factors leading to educational expansion.
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Increase in crime through the 1960s. Gallup poll: found that crime was “most
serious issue.”
Ghetto riots. Spurred the government and public into action.
1964 presidential election: focused on “crime in the streets.”
Serious-ongoing minority-police problems.
President’s Commission (1967): Challenge of crime in a free society. Focused on
quality of police personnel and recommended higher education for all. All officers
should have B.A.s.
Higher Education
Evidence for expansion in education
Type of Agency
County Municipal Sheriff
(n=30) (n=454) (n=167)
4-yr
3%
2%
1%
2-yr
13%
7%
5%

State
(n=49)
4%
16%
Table: Changes in Police Education
Level by Years
College Level
1960
1970
1974
1988
No College
80.0%
68.2%
53.8%
34.8%
<2 Years
10.0%
17.2%
15.8%
20.5%
2-3 Years
7.3%
10.9%
21.5%
22.1%
>4 Years
2.7%
3.7%
8.9%
22.6%
Higher Education

Positive effects of college on individual police officer
performance indicators:
1. Fewer citizen complaints.
2. Perform better in academy training.
3. Lower absenteeism.
4. Fewer disciplinary problems.
5. Fewer injuries on the job.
6. Tend to use deadly force less often.
7. Effects of occupational development.
a. More likely to be promoted.
b. More likely to seek out leadership roles.
c. More innovative.
d. Less likely to become involved in “individual liability.”
e. Broader understanding of civil rights issues.
f. College educated officers better able to adapt to the
complex needs of policing.
Higher Education
 Higher Education and Discrimination.
A. Title VII civil rights act: employment barriers that discriminate are illegal,
whether or not intended.
B. However, if an employment practice is job related, it may be allowed as a
requirement – Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ exception).
C. Survey of educational levels among Anglo, Latinos and Blacks: Anglos tend
overall to have lower levels of educational attainment in policing than the
other groups. Table 11.7.
D. When gender is examined, women have a full year more of education. Why?
1.
Women believe they need stronger credentials to compete.
2.
Police agencies more rigid in screening women.
3.
Women coming into police come from other occupations
requiring a degree.
E. In other words, the trend toward higher education does not negatively affect
either minorities or women.
Educational Levels by Race/Ethnicity and
Minority Representation in Police
Organizations
Group
Mean
Yrs.
% in
Police
National%
No
college
(%)
Some
Graduate
underdegree
graduate (%)
work (%)
Black
Hispanic
White
Other
13.6
13.3
13.7
13.8
12.3
6.4
80.3
1.0
12.1
8.0
76.9
3.0
28
27
34
19
63
68
62
73
9
5
4
8
Higher Education
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College Education as a Minimum Standard for Police
Employment.
Conclusion: evidence shows that higher education is useful for
police.
Education will move the police toward truly professional status.
Support for College Education Requirement.
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Challenges of community policing. More discretion. More problem
solving. Capacity to think through problems. Need for cultural sensitivity.
In the current era, quality of high school education has declined.
Students inadequately prepared for fundamental needs of policing.
Societal changes. Need for cultural sensitivity and ethnic recognition.
Courses needed in cultural diversity, ethics, cross-cultural comparisons,
foreign languages. Officers so educated are better equipped to deal with
complex multi-ethnic jurisdictions.
Technological changes. Laptop computer. Dramatic expansion of datacollection capabilities. Emphasis on solution-oriented policing. Computer
sophistication necessary.
Officers have to be able to develop ways to self-evaluate the quality of
their work in an objective format—research methodologies.