This document discusses the process of becoming a police officer in the United States. It covers how the police force has become more diverse over the years with more female, African American, Hispanic, and openly gay officers. It also outlines the various steps in the personnel process such as minimum qualifications for applicants, recruitment efforts, screening methods used to select officers, and ensuring equal employment opportunities. Finally, it describes the training process for new police officers which typically involves attending a police academy and participating in a field training program.

1. Police in America
Chapter Five
Police Officers I:
Entering Police
Work
McGraw-Hill
© 2013 McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved.

2. The Changing American Police
Officer



More female, African American, Hispanic
officers compared to 40 years ago
Many college educated or hold masters’
degrees
Openly gay and lesbian officers
5-2

3. Aspects of the Personnel Process
 A Career Perspective
 Many departments have personnel problems
because:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Don’t train recruits properly
Don’t supervise officer adequately
Poor evaluation systems
Failure to discipline
Failure to provide career opportunities
Don’t promote the best officers
5-3

4. Beyond Stereotypes of Cops
 Stereotypes can be either positive or
negative
 Positive: Heroic saints, risking their lives
 Negative: Uneducated, untrained, prejudiced,
brutal or corrupt
 These stereotypes can discourage women
from becoming police officers
5-4

5. The Personnel Process: A Shared
Responsibility
 Shared with other governmental agencies
(civil service system)
 Attracting a pool of applicants:



Minimum qualifications
The recruitment effort
Applicant’s motivations to apply
5-5

6. Recruitment

Minimum Qualifications



Most departments - 21 years of age
Height and Weight
Education
• 82% high school diploma
• Educational incentive pay

Criminal record
 No felony—Drug offenses major problem
 Misdemeanor?

Residency
 About 25% of departments require living within
the city limits
5-6

7. Choosing Law Enforcement as a
Career
 Applicants motivations





Help people
Job security
Fight crime
Excitement
Prestige
 Barriers to recruitment
 Negative image of officers
 Traditionally male occupations
5-7

8. Selecting Officers from the Recruit
Pool
 Selection tests
 Oral interviews
 Written and medical exams
 Background Investigations
 Previous employment, possible criminal
record, interviews with neighbors
 Educational background, financial status,
home visit
5-8

9. Screening Methods Used by Local
Police Depts. (2003)
Method










Personal interview
Criminal record check
Background investigation
Driving record check
Medical exam
Psychological screen
Drug test
Written aptitude test
Physical agility test
Polygraph exam
% Dept Using
99
100
99
99
89
72
83
48
60
26
5-9

10. Predicting Police Officer
Performance
 The difficulty of predicting good police
performance:
 Screening Methods
 Measuring Police Performance
 Screening Efforts vs. Actual Job Performance
5-10

11. Equal Employment Opportunity

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act
 Race, color, religion, sex, or national
origin
 Protected class

1972 Equal Employment
Opportunity Act

1990 Americans With Disabilities
Act
Bona Fide Occupational
Qualification

5-11

12. “Not Your Father’s Police
Department”: Diversity in Policing

Employment of Racial
and Ethnic Minorities

 More seriously
underrepresented than
racial or ethnic minorities
 Concentrated in lower
ranks
 Reflect the composition of
the community it serves

Hispanic and Latino
officers
 Fastest growing population
 Spanish-speaking officers
recruited
Women

Gay and Lesbian officers
 Increasingly open over the
last 20 years
 African American Officers
 Previously underrepresented in the police force
 Employment discrimination litigation has helped to increase
number of African American officers in the police force
5-12

13. Achieving Diversity in Police
Employment


U.S. Supreme Court held that diversity is a
“compelling state of interest”
Three basic goals






Ensure employer is not discriminating
Improve police service
Improve image of police department
Employment Discrimination Suits
Controversy over affirmative action
The question of quotas
 Reverse discrimination
5-13

14. The Police Academy

Provides formal training
 Pre-service training

Process for weeding out unqualified
recruits
 Field training
Rite of passage that socializes recruits
 State training and certification

5-14

15. Training
Average number of hours
1,000,000

Police Academy
 Big departments
have own academy
 Small departments
use state-run
academies

Field training
 FTO program
 2/3 of departments
use this process
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
500,000999,999
250,000499,999
100,000249,999
50,00099,999
25,00049,999
10,00024,999
2,5009,999
under
2,500
5-15

16. State Training and Certification




Every state has some form of mandated pre-service
training for certification
State-required content of training
Decertification
Shortcomings of current police training:
 Don’t cover important subjects like discretion and
ethics
 Pre-service training not adequate
 Classroom training alone is not adequate
5-16

17. The Probationary Period
 Can range to six months to two years after
being sworn in as an officer
 Officer can be dismissed without cause
during this period
 Rules for this process determined by local
civil service regulations
 Average of 7 percent of all recruits
dismissed during this period
5-17