NCJ Number
57149
Date Published
1977
Length
75 pages
Annotation
ORAL BOARD INTERVIEW PROCEDURES WERE DEVISED FOR A CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT TO REFLECT THE LINK BETWEEN JOB REQUIREMENTS FOR POLICE OFFICERS AND APPLICANT CHARACTERISTICS.
Abstract
TO DEMONSTRATE THAT POLICE OFFICER SELECTION PROCEDURES ARE JOB-RELATED, JOB ANALYSIS INSTRUMENTS FOCUSED ON WHAT IS DONE (JOB ACTIVITIES) AND WHAT IS NEEDED FOR AN INDIVIDUAL TO PERFORM A JOB SATISFACTORILY (JOB REQUIREMENTS). CHECKLISTS WERE FORMULATED TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT ENTRY-LEVEL POLICE OFFICER POSITIONS. RATINGS ON A POLICE ACTIVITY CHECKLIST CONTAINING 76 TASKS WERE MADE BY 33 POLICE OFFICERS IN ACCORDANCE WITH TASK PERFORMANCE AND THE FREQUENCY WITH WHICH A TASK WAS PERFORMED. RATINGS BY 22 INDIVIDUALS ON A JOB REQUIREMENTS CHECKLIST LISTING 36 ABILITIES AND 29 PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS INDICATED FACTORS IN SUCCESSFUL JOB PERFORMANCE (EXCLUDING PHYSICAL ABILITIES). ALL JOB ACTIVITIES WERE REPORTED AS HAVING A MEASURABLE LEVEL OF IMPORTANCE OR FREQUENCY. OF JOB REQUIREMENTS, 20 WERE RATED AS ESSENTIAL, 33 AS USEFUL, AND 5 AS HAVING LIMITED RELEVANCE TO JOB PERFORMANCE. MOREOVER EACH REPORTED JOB REQUIREMENT COULD BE RATIONALLY LINKED TO NUMEROUS JOB ACTIVITIES. AN ADMINISTRATIVE MANUAL, BASED ON JOB ANALYSIS FINDINGS, WAS PREPARED, COVERING THE ROLE OF INTERVIEWING IN THE POLICE OFFICER SELECTION PROCESS, THE OVERALL INTERVIEW PLAN, THE RELATION BETWEEN THE INTERVIEW PLAN AND CANDIDATE EVALUATION, INTERVIEW METHODS, AND CANDIDATE EVALUATION. EFFECTIVE INTERVIEWING TECHNIQUES ARE DISCUSSED, WITH PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON GOALS AND PREPARATION FOR THE SELECTION INTERVIEW AND ON INTERVIEW TECHNIQUES TO BE AVOIDED. APPENDIXES CONTAIN POLICE ACTIVITY AND JOB REQUIREMENT CHECKLISTS, THE INTERVIEW PLAN, AND THE INTERVIEW EVALUATION FORM. (DEP)