Police Recruitment and Screening of Job Applicants - Essay Example

Insert Multiple Hurdle Approach and Some of the More Common Hurdles Used To Screen Applicants The Multiple Hurdle Approach refers to an array of selection tests that are used to evaluate the applicability of candidates for specific offices or jobs, in that candidates must pass the tests they are being subjected to, before they are studied on the proceeding instrument. Candidates must pass every single station before proceeding to the next step of evaluation. The more common hurdles that are used to screen police applicants include citizenship, age, height, weight and grooming, education, medical condition and physical fitness, vision, psychological stability and psychological examination, criminal history and drug history, aptitude tests and personal interview.

As touching citizenship, the candidate can be considered legible by birth, naturalization, permanent residency or asylum status. The case law Foley v. Connelie (1977) shows that rational reason for requirement of citizenship may suffice. The age of the applicant is expected to range from 21 to 36. The candidate is also required to have 20/20 vision and have body weight that falls between 148 and 204 pounds. As touching education, the department or field the candidate has applied for will stipulate the educational standards expected of the candidate (Sanders, 129-30).

The candidate’s employment, residential, educational, driving and credit-standing records are also scrutinized during the exercise. Some of the legal issues involved (“Equal Employment Opportunity”) It is obvious that the Multiple Hurdle Approach brings with it, several legal issues. At a casual glance, the Multiple Hurdle Approach appears to flout the values enshrined in the Equal Employment Opportunity Act (EEOA, also known as Executive Order 11246): the latter hinders specific federal subcontractors and contractors from exercising discrimination in employment on the basis of color, race, sex, religion or nationality, while the former premises legibility for jobs on meeting specific hurdles.

However, the Multiple Hurdle Approach does not breach the EEO Act if it is used in enforcing desired standards and not discriminating against candidates. One of the ways the Multiple Hurdle Approach is carried out without the contravention of the EEO Act is to use and observe the minimum standards that are related to the job requirements. The import of this is that failing to use the minimum standards will be tantamount to subjecting candidates for tests that are more difficult or complex than the job itself (Sanders, 144-7).

Final part: Personal Choice As the chief of a department with limited resources allowing for the use of only one recruitment test to select officers, I would use aptitude test. This is because, aptitude test factors intelligence and cognitive skills. Since aptitude test is department-and-field-specific, the standards of educational background will have been satisfied. Psychological fitness is relative and as long as it is undetectable, it may be dispensed. Physical fitness is good but with limited resources, it will be expedient to appreciate the fact that law enforcement requires the application of brains and not brawn.

Works CitedSanders, A. Beth. “Using Personality Traits to Predict Police Officer Performance.” Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 31.1 (2008): 129 – 147. Print