Chapter 4

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# Becoming a Cop

[Justin Nix](https://jnix.netlify.app)  
*School of Criminology and Criminal Justice*  
*University of Nebraska Omaha*

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.white[February 22, 2022]

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# Pop Quiz!

Take out a sheet of paper and write down your answers to the following:

1. What are the **top 3** qualities of a **good cop?**

2. What are the **worst 3** qualities of a **bad cop?**

3. How should agencies ensure they employ **good cops?**

4. How many hours of **training** should people who want to be cops receive?

5. What topics should be **prioritized** during training?

???

Others that may not come up during discussion:
- Knowledge of the law, due process?
- Ability to cope with stress?
- Remain calm under pressure?
- Ability to “shrug it off?”
- Physically fit? 
- Accurate shooter? 
- Tendency toward violence?
- Substance use/abuse?
- Military background?

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# Becoming a Cop

Broadly consists of three steps:

1. The hiring decision

2. Training academy

3. Field training

???

Policing is a **civil service** job, meaning that decisions to hire, promote, discipline, etc., are based on merit
- In contrast to the **patronage system** of old, whereby these decisions were based on who you knew

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# The hiring decision

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# The hiring decision

According to **August Vollmer**, police officers should:

> Have the wisdom of Solomon, the courage of David, the patience of Job and leadership of Moses, the kindness of the Good Samaritan, the diplomacy of Lincoln, the tolerance of the Carpenter of Nazareth, and, finally, an intimate knowledge of every branch of natural, biological, and social sciences.

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***How do agencies recruit such people?***

???

And similarly, how can they screen people who don't have these qualities out of the applicant pool?

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# The hiring decision

## Recruitment

- Historically competitive, particularly at the federal level

- Great Recession of 2008 ➡️ recruitment and retention crisis

- After the George Floyd protests in 2020, [resignations spiked](https://www.city-journal.org/police-departments-recruitment-crisis)

- ***Do you think this is cause for concern? Why or why not?***
      
<img src="turnover.png" width="40%" style="display: block; margin: auto;" />
      
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# The hiring decision

## Testing

<div class="figure" style="text-align: center">
<img src="test.png" alt="(Photo by Nguyen Dang Hoang Nhu on Unsplash)" width="25%" />
<p class="caption">(Photo by Nguyen Dang Hoang Nhu on Unsplash)</p>
</div>

- Written component

???

Written component is an opportunity to determine **personality type**
- And potentially weed out applicants who may be psychologically unfit

- Physical component

???

Physical component can't be used to discriminate agianst certain applicants
- E.G., minimum requirements for height and weight would be problematic because...

- Often, agencies contract with testing companies to ensure they're using **valid** and **reliable** exams

???

Validity: the test actually measures the thing it is meant to measure

Reliability: the test should produce fairly similar results over time and across different samples

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# The hiring decision

## Oral interview

???

So why have a written test AND an oral interview?

- Someone could ace a test but still make for a lousy cop.

- Board of officers, administrators

- Perhaps psychologists and/or other civilians
  
--

- Meant to gauge poise, reasoning, observational, and oral skills

- E.G., hypothetical scenarios
  
???

Most of the applicant pool gets screened out during the written and physical testing phase. Which is good because the interview stage is more labor intensive and time-consuming (and by extension expensive).

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# The hiring decision

## Background investigation

- Review official records

- In-depth interviews with people who know you

???

What is the investigator looking for at this stage?

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# The hiring decision

## Polygraph

<div class="figure" style="text-align: center">
<img src="polygraph.png" alt="[Photo by spiralstares on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)]" width="25%" />
<p class="caption">[Photo by spiralstares on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)]</p>
</div>

- Questions about past behavior

???

E.G., drug use, criminal history

- Used to encourage honesty

- Questionable validity and reliability though

???

Polygraph results inadmissible as evidence in court

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# The hiring decision

## Medical and drug screening

<div class="figure" style="text-align: center">
<img src="health_screen.png" alt="[Photo by Sharon Sinclair on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)]" width="25%" />
<p class="caption">[Photo by Sharon Sinclair on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)]</p>
</div>

- Past and current drug use

???

So the polygraph and background check can **indicate** prior or current drug use...but it's much harder to dispute the results of a formal drug screen.

- Determine if you're medically fit to perform the job

???

Is this person fit to perform the job?
- A serious heart condition might disqualify a candidate, for example
- Many agencies have a minimum uncorrected vision requirement
- Weight requirements

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# Basic Training

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# Training academy

Types of academies:

<div class="figure" style="text-align: center">
<img src="academy_types.png" alt="(Source: BJS - State and Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2018)" width="40%" />
<p class="caption">(Source: BJS - State and Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2018)</p>
</div>

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# Training academy

~60,000 recruits started basic training in 2018

<div class="figure" style="text-align: center">
<img src="recruit_race.png" alt="(Source: BJS - State and Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2018)" width="60%" />
<p class="caption">(Source: BJS - State and Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2018)</p>
</div>

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# Training academy

???

Once the agency has whittled the applicant pool down to the handful of people they want to hire, those people are generally sent to the academy

So here's our chance to teach these people how to be good cops.

- What do we teach them in the finite amount of time we have with them? 
- And how much time do we spend on each topic?

- How should we determine who passes and who fails? 
- What should happen if a person fails a unit?

- On average about 833 hours (21 weeks)

- Not including field training
  
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- Teaching methods and curricula [vary significantly](https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/slleta13.pdf) across jurisdictions

- Topics covered:

- Operations
  - Weapons/defensive tactics
  - Legal
  - Community policing
  - Self-improvement
  - Special topics

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# Training academy

- Basic training also marks the start of an important socialization process

- E.G., the [danger imperative](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2864104)

<div class="figure" style="text-align: center">
<img src="gun_pointed.png" alt="Image by Geoffrey Fairchild at Flickr" width="40%" />
<p class="caption">Image by Geoffrey Fairchild at Flickr</p>
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# Field Training

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# Field training

- On-the-job training

- **83%** of state and local training academies report that field training is mandatory for some or all recruits after completing basic training

- Average length: 508 hours (12-13 weeks)

- Basic logic:

- Learn policies and procedures
  - Training/evaluation
  - Observation by FTO

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# Realities of the Job

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# Realities of the job

Stress resulting from:

- Danger (real and perceived)
  - Organizational issues
  - Boredom
  - Lack of fulfillment
  
--

Police officers have high rates of:

--
  
  - [Alcoholism](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3592498/)
  - [Drug use](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sure-recovery/201803/police-and-addiction)
  - [Health problems](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4734372/)
  - [Suicide](https://bluehelp.org/the-numbers/)
  
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# Realities of the job

Fatigue

- Irregular hours

- Long shifts

- Overtime

- Personal life

A [recent study](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1098611117732974) by Lois James et al. found that fatigued officers are more likely to be influenced by their implicit biases

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# Have a great day! 😄

### *It's one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.*

<div style="text-align: right"> - Maya Angelou </div>