RE applicant/recruit quality/process
911 around here government jobs including police officer are used for political favors. Meaning unless one gets a politician or high ranking government official for a reference they're not going to be hired. Wether a secretary, trash man/women or police officer it's all about those politician references. If you don't know a politician they unofficially tell you off the record if you want x job in the town, county or state 'volunteer' for a politician doing what ever then after a year or so ask them to be a reference when you apply for a government job.
I've heard the recruitment trouble stories for several years now. Last century(oooy) it wasn't uncommon for 200-300 applicants show to take a test for 4-16 openings on the local forces and those test were good for several years. We've gone through periods where government work including law enforcement was one of the higher paying more steady jobs around. It's wasn't until the mid-late 90s local police started getting rid of the I just want a job candidates. I think the tv show COPS actually help create more ambitious applicants/candidates.
The politics with local police hirings got so bad at one point they got caught several times, not just one ignoring civil service test scores. After they rescored them the average applicants test score increased by 10 points or so. They didn't even give combat veterans their points. They hired/approved people with criminal records, didn't meet residency requirements and trouble passing the physical requirement tests. And this was in a day and age before internet so to get exposed and hit the press it had to be pretty bad/notable.
The qualities you suggest/note are ideal but as with any job one doesn't know how a person will really react until they're on a job on their own. Can they learn/adapt beyond the classroom. I picking up almost a not paranoid but over emphasis on potential danger, not eminent danger with many of these shootings. To me thats' training and culture.
911 around here government jobs including police officer are used for political favors. Meaning unless one gets a politician or high ranking government official for a reference they're not going to be hired. Wether a secretary, trash man/women or police officer it's all about those politician references. If you don't know a politician they unofficially tell you off the record if you want x job in the town, county or state 'volunteer' for a politician doing what ever then after a year or so ask them to be a reference when you apply for a government job.
I've heard the recruitment trouble stories for several years now. Last century(oooy) it wasn't uncommon for 200-300 applicants show to take a test for 4-16 openings on the local forces and those test were good for several years. We've gone through periods where government work including law enforcement was one of the higher paying more steady jobs around. It's wasn't until the mid-late 90s local police started getting rid of the I just want a job candidates. I think the tv show COPS actually help create more ambitious applicants/candidates.
The politics with local police hirings got so bad at one point they got caught several times, not just one ignoring civil service test scores. After they rescored them the average applicants test score increased by 10 points or so. They didn't even give combat veterans their points. They hired/approved people with criminal records, didn't meet residency requirements and trouble passing the physical requirement tests. And this was in a day and age before internet so to get exposed and hit the press it had to be pretty bad/notable.
The qualities you suggest/note are ideal but as with any job one doesn't know how a person will really react until they're on a job on their own. Can they learn/adapt beyond the classroom. I picking up almost a not paranoid but over emphasis on potential danger, not eminent danger with many of these shootings. To me thats' training and culture.