NCJ Number
53214
Date Published
1975
Length
362 pages
Annotation
THIS RESEARCH PROJECT WAS UNDERTAKEN TO DEVELOP AN ENTRANCE LEVEL PATROL OFFICER SELECTION PROGRAM IN AKRON, OHIO THAT WAS RELEVANT TO JOB PERFORMANCE AND FREE FROM FACTORS THAT DISCRIMINATE AGAINST MINORITY GROUPS.
Abstract
THE RESEARCH EFFORT WAS SUCCESSFUL IN PREDICTING THE JOB PERFORMANCE OF PATROL OFFICERS USING A CONCURRENT VALIDITY DESIGN. DATA FROM BLACK AND WHITE APPLICANTS TAKING THE EXAMINATION IN JUNE 1974 SHOW THAT THE TEST BATTERY WAS VALID, JOB RELATED, AND NONDISCRIMINATORY. FIVE PROCEDURES TO GUIDE IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PUBLIC POLICY FOR PERSONNEL SELECTION ARE AS FOLLOWS: (1) DEVELOP A MODEL DESCRIBING HOW INDIVIDUALS FUNCTION WHILE ON THE JOB; (2) DETERMINE INDIVIDUAL ATTRIBUTES REQUIRED FOR SUCCESSFUL JOB PERFORMANCE AND THE RELATIVE CONTRIBUTION OF EACH ATTRIBUTE TO JOB SUCCESS; (3) ESTIMATE THE VALIDITY OF SPECIFIED MEASURES CONCERNING INDIVIDUAL ATTRIBUTES AGAINST PERFORMANCE CRITERIA; (4) STATE EXPLICITLY AND, IF POSSIBLE, QUANTIFY VALUE JUDGMENTS OR DECISIONS RELATED TO PUBLIC POLICY AND PERSONNEL SELECTION; AND (5) DEVELOP AND FORMALIZE A POLICY STATEMENT OR A PLAN OF ACTION. THE DISTINCTION IS DRAWN BETWEEN TESTS THAT APPEAR TO BE JOB RELATED AND THOSE THAT ACTUALLY PREDICT JOB SUCCESS, EVEN IF THEY APPEAR LESS RELEVANT TO THE JOB'S TASKS. POSSIBLE MODELS OF PERSONNEL SELECTION INVOLVE HIRING ON A PROBATIONARY BASIS ALL INDIVIDUALS WHO APPLY FOR A JOB, RANDOM SELECTION OF APPLICANTS EQUAL TO THE NUMBER OF POSITION OPENINGS, SOME FORM OF QUOTA SYSTEM, AND PROCEDURES BASED STRICTLY ON THE SELECTION OF INDIVIDUALS WITH INTRINSIC ATTRIBUTES THAT ARE PREDICTIVE OF JOB SUCCESS. THE LATTER MODEL WAS ADOPTED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PATROL OFFICER SELECTION PROGRAM IN AKRON. INITIALLY, A JOB ANALYSIS AND JOB DESCRIPTIONS WERE COMPLETED FOR THE AKRON POLICE FORCE. THE FOCUS SHIFTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF CRITERIA TO ASSESS POLICE PERFORMANCE AND TO A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE IN THREE AREAS (STUDIES DEALING WITH POLICE SELECTION, POLICE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL, AND POLICE OFFICERS IN GENERAL). PATROL OFFICER PERFORMANCE EVALUATION MEASURES WERE DEVISED, BASED ON EMPLOYEE SERVICE RATING REPORTS IN AKRON FOR PATROL OFFICERS, MONTHLY ACTIVITY POLICE SUMMARY REPORTS, AND EMPLOYMENT HISTORY INFORMATION. PERFORMANCE MEASURES SO DEVELOPED WERE DEPENDABILITY, JOB KNOWLEDGE, COMMUNICATION, CRIME PREVENTION, DEALING WITH THE PUBLIC, JUDGMENT, DEMEANOR, REPORT WRITING, EQUIPMENT, INVESTIGATION, COMMITMENT, RELATIONS WITH OTHERS, INTEGRITY, INITIATIVE, TRAFFIC, USING FORCE, WORK ATTITUDE, PUBLIC SAFETY, AND TEAMWORK. OF 304 OFFICERS IN PATROL AND TRAFFIC DIVISIONS OF THE AKRON POLICE FORCE, 186 (180 WHITE AND 6 BLACK OFFICERS) PARTICIPATED IN TAKING A BATTERY OF TESTS. IT BECAME EVIDENT THAT MOST PERSONS INITIALLY SELECTED AS PATROL OFFICERS WILL NOT PROGRESS TO THE SERGEANT'S POSITION IN A REASONABLE LENGTH OF TIME AND THAT ONE-THIRD OF THE PATROL OFFICERS WILL NEVER BECOME SERGEANTS. PATROL OFFICERS TYPICALLY TAKE LONGER THAN 5 YEARS TO PROGRESS TO THE LEVEL OF SERGEANT. TESTS BELIEVED TO BE JOB-RELATED WERE NOT AS PREDICTIVE OF JOB PERFORMANCE AS EXPECTED. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT ACTUAL JOB EXPERIENCE DOES NOT GREATLY MODIFY SCORES ON TESTS THAT MEASURE INDIVIDUAL ATTRIBUTES IMPORTANT FOR THE GENERAL CONCEPT OF JOB SUCCESS AND THAT INDIVIDUALS MOST LIKELY TO PROFIT FROM TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE RELATED TO A JOB ARE THOSE WHO SCORE HIGH ON ATTRIBUTES IMPORTANT FOR JOB SUCCESS. REFERENCES ARE LISTED, AND SUPPORTING DATA ARE PROVIDED. FORMS, THE POSITION ANALYSIS QUESTIONNAIRE, AND ADDITIONAL NARRATIVE AND STATISTICAL INFORMATION ON THE RESEARCH PROJECT ARE CONTAINED IN APPENDIXES. (DEP)