POLICE APPLICANT SELECTION PROCESS

The selection process for Police Officers is vital to the operational effectiveness of any law enforcement agency, as a department can only be as good as its people.

As you move into the selection process, you would do well to treat each step as a "test". The application is not unlike much of police work, in that it requires a great deal of written instruction and communication. The work you do to retrieve the requested information is not unlike some investigative tasks performed by officers. We request that you are completely honest when you fill out the application and when you provide any other information, so that our assessment of your qualifications may be equally as honest.

The selection process is quite lengthy and cannot be accomplished in a short time period. The process includes several steps, including:

• Initial Application
• Written Entrance Examination
• Physical Agility Test
• Oral Interview Board
• Comprehensive Personal Background Investigation
• Psychological Background Form
• Polygraph Examination
• Medical Examination
• Pre-employment Drug Screen
• Interview with the Chief of Police

Applicants should note that the information they provide to areas of concern such as employment history, driving record, criminal history, use of alcohol and/or illegal use of controlled substances or drugs, may not automatically be disqualifying. However, any false information, misstatement, or omission of material fact in reference to these concerns will subject the applicant to disqualification or dismissal.

The stages in the selection process are evaluated in different manners. Various stages of the selection process require a specific passing score, or they may be scored pass/fail only, while other steps do not receive any scoring. The following description of SPD's selection process will explain the steps in the process and how they are evaluated.

Initial Application

The initial application  form introduces you to us and informs us of your interest in our department. It is reviewed at each subsequent stage of the process to assist in evaluating your suitability for employment. You need to fill it out in detail by following the attached instructions. The form receives no point score, but the information is used to assist in the comprehensive personal background investigation which is a pass/fail step in the process.

Written Entrance Examination

The written entrance examination is a nationally accredited testing document. The test is timed and consists of  multiple choice questions that assess reading comprehension, abstract reasoning, and judgment, among other traits. You MUST score a minimum of 70% to pass the test.

Physical Agility Test

The physical agility test is a pass or fail portion of the selection process. The physical agility test consists of a continuous circuit of approximately 1200 feet and includes the following skills tests:

• Obstacle Course
• Car Push
• Body Drag/Carry

The entire course and skills test must be completed within five minutes. The obstacle course includes a four foot wall, climbing through a three foot by three foot simulated window opening, an 18 inch crawl space, a balance beam, two eighteen inch high hurdles, and a four foot running broad jump.

The car push requires the applicant to push a standard sized police car 25 feet while the car is in neutral and on level ground.

The body drag requires applicants to carry or drag a 120 pound simulated body 15 feet.

No points are awarded for the physical agility testing.

Oral Interview Board

The oral interview board consists of four evaluators. A fifth member of the board acts as the moderator and is a non-scoring member of the board. The interview is approximately 25 minutes long. A series of standard questions are asked of each applicant along with questions that may assist the board in evaluating the information contained in the applicant's personal history background. Applicants will be scored from 0 to 100 by each evaluator. You will be scored in 10 categories such as maturity, educational experience, communication skills, and decision making. The evaluators' scores are then averaged. Applicants MUST score a minimum of 70% to pass the oral interview board.

Comprehensive Personal Background Investigation

Applicants' scores are now computed. The written entrance examination score and the oral interview board score are totaled and applicants are listed in order. The top scoring candidates are taken by groups and the comprehensive personal background investigation is conducted by a member of SPD.

The personal history background form is a comprehensive, 36-page document. This document asks detailed and in-depth questions in order to better evaluate your suitability for employment. It needs to be filled out in detail, following the attached instructions. Should any problems or difficulties in an applicant's background cause that candidate to be passed over, the investigator will begin processing the background investigation on the next applicant. In most cases, approximately twice as many applicants will be processed through the background investigation, as there are vacancies. This allows for a natural attrition of applicants. Some applicants will accept other positions or withdraw; yet others may develop significant areas of concern in their background that cannot be overcome.

Various other steps in the background investigation include: fingerprint submittal to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), computer inquiries into your driving record and criminal history, and telephone and personal interviews of various references and acquaintances. The background investigation is a pass or fail step in the selection process.

Psychological Background

The psychological testing consists of a battery of tests that are evaluated by a licensed professional and are only offered to the top competitors. These tests will include the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (M.M.P.I.), which is state mandated for police applicants. Therefore, all applicants must take the M.M.P.I. (and the other battery of psychological tests) regardless of their current profession or if they have similar test results on file at other law enforcement agencies. No score is awarded for this step in the selection process. The results of these tests, however, may cause a more detailed investigation into an applicant's personal background. The results of this subsequent investigation may be grounds for dismissal.

Polygraph Examination

As the pool for competitors decreases, the leading candidates are offered a polygraph examination, which is administered by a licensed polygraph examiner. The applicant will be given the questions prior to the test, and their intended responses are then discussed prior to the actual test. Although this step in the process is not scored, specific areas of concern may arise that require a more detailed investigation into the applicant's personal background. The results of this subsequent investigation may cause the applicant's disqualification.

Medical Examination

Currently, SPD must have 100% participation in the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System. To become a member of the Retirement System, applicants must submit to and successfully pass a comprehensive medical examination. Some of the standards for which an applicant is evaluated include: vision, proportional height/weight, hearing, blood chemistry, stress EKG, blood pressure, and a chest x-ray. Applicants who have known health conditions that may cause disqualification are encouraged to submit detailed medical records to assist the examiner in making informed decisions on the applicant's passing or failing the medical standards. SPD incurs the expense of the initial medical examination. Traditionally, this examination is conducted in Oklahoma City by medical personnel that will evaluate the applicant's meeting the Retirement System's medical standards. This step of the selection process is pass or fail.

Pre-employment Drug Screen

At the same time that the medical examination is conducted for the Retirement System, a mandatory, pre-employment drug screen is also administered. The drug screen is a pass/fail step of the selection process.

Interview with the Chief of Police

The final step of the selection process is an interview with SPD's Chief of Police. The Chief will review all relevant information pertaining to the candidate's application. This is a pass/fail step of the selection process.

 RECRUIT OFFICER TRAINING PROGRAM

All applicants to SPD require an 18-month probationary period during which a newly appointed recruit officer must demonstrate their fitness for continued employment with the Department. All employees must be completely available for assignment to any shift assignment including: late evening, night time, day time, weekends, and holidays.

Upon employment, recruit officers attend an in-service orientation seminar conducted at SPD. This consists of classroom and hands-on training, and is approximately four weeks long. Upon completion of the orientation and training, recruit officers are sent to one of the state Basic Police Academies, conducted by the Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (C.L.E.E.T.); one academy is located in Oklahoma City, and the other is located in Broken Arrow. Both academies provide room and board for recruit officers employed as a full-time Police Officer. (Note: Recruits who possess valid and current C.L.E.E.T. certification will not have to repeat this training. Additionally, Oklahoma DOES recognize specific training received in other states through reciprocity.)

Upon graduation from a Basic Police Academy some eight and one-half weeks later, recruit officers enter SPD's Field Training and Evaluation (FTE) Program for 15 weeks of intensive, one-on-one training with specially trained Field Training Officers (FTOs). Recruits are graded daily during this FTE Program, and they receive instruction in the practical application of the academic training they have received to date. Those recruits who successfully complete the FTE Program will graduate to regular, solo patrol duties as a probationary Police Officer to complete their probationary period.