Quote:For any people to whom have responded, if you need to read this to "secure yourself" for a test to become an officer. Why? Why do you need to know what is on the test to prepare? You shouldn't have to prepare for a test that shows you will be mentally stable to be an officer. If you feel you need to "prepare" you just may not be stable enough to have this job. And for the person who posted... I sure hope you're not a cop in my neighborhood.. Why would you give a heads up on a test so people can research answers that they may not be true to them? That is how we have cop riots and shooting issues. Testing people, passing tests because someone gives answers they are not truly experiencing and are not stable for this job to begin with. Shame on you.
My response is a bit late.
I know great police officers who have failed this test when applying to agencies, whether it's for better pay or specialized position, and fail.
Police officer's have certain ticks, traits, and psychological characteristics that may be weird or "abnormal," but compliment their job well.
Checking their surroundings, watching people's hands, glancing at the door to see who's entering a bar & grill, not one to drink often, or drink with a select few friends / family.
Things that may appear as introverted or even trigger the Schizophrenic scale/code, when in reality they need to be prepared to help others in the event something bad happens.
"Man suffers heart attack or Man chokes to death, off duty Police officer too drunk or having too much fun to help. "
We understand less about the human brain than we do the planet Mars.
When it comes to the Police Officer mentality or thought process the answer is always "It depends." not True or False, right or wrong, good or bad.
I've come to discover that "It depends" happens a lot in law enforcement. And officers are forced to make calculated risks.
I remember being drilled by a shrink on the question
Are you afraid of water
I said no "False."
For some reason he wanted me to expand on why. The firs thought that came to mind when I answered it was, how ridiculous would it be if I was afraid of water, I couldn't go outside if it rained, or shower, and seeing as we drink it... outlook wouldn't be good.
I was applying for boat patrol at the time. It was later told to me that I was risk due to my lack of fear of snakes, water and few other things.
I'm afraid of sharks? maybe a tsunami... it depends on the water, what's in the water, what the water is doing at the time...
a GOOD police officer candidate doesn't do well with black and white, true and false. That's why so many fail this test.
You're patrolling the docks, and approach some one you observed earlier jumping wakes on their jetski. Upon approach the person, identify yourself and reason for contact. You then proceed to issue a citation, however, at that point you observe a capsized vessel sinking. You are the only one working that beat... do you write the ticket or dismiss and move to help?
The answer here is obvious... but how would you do it?
This was an actual question I had to answer in a written exam.
Before I finished reading the question I had already calculated what courses of action I would take. All of them dependent on location, distance, time, and resources available.
How far is the vessel, how many people could possibly need saving, was I assigned a boat or vehicle that could traverse the water? if so how far away is it? How far is the nearest boat patrol?
if you have absolutely nothing? Advise dispatch > ask if the Jetskier could take you along with some floatation devices and rope out to them > let dispatch know you are heading out with floatation devices etc.
Do you enjoy reading mechanic magazines? Depends on the issue, as I don't enjoy magazines much at all, unless I'm pooping or waiting in the doctors office.
I'd take a National Geographic Magazine over a Mechanic Magazine, but if I'm hungry... I'll pick a cooking magazine over the two...
Would that risk showing up as impulsive? What about "this 500 question test sure is long, and I'm starting to get hungry."
The best way a person can answer these questions is truthfully. It usually works out... HOWEVER... I strongly encourage that psychologists open up their perspective a little bit when interpreting the results. What may be abnormal behavior for a civilian may be perfect behavior for a good police officer.
The process is long and hard. And yes, Police Officers are creatures whom "Prepare," it's a required trait.
Obtain 60 college credits or an associate's degree ( some places require bachelors degrees), put yourself through the police academy... that's $3,000 and just raised to $5,000 of your own personal money... take the written exam, physical agility test, panel interview, background investigation, chief or sheriff interview. Some departments require a polygraph. If you make it through all that, then comes the conditional offer. Conditional meaning if you pass the psych, and drug test you get the job.
This is where the frustration sets in. One psychologist decides whether or not that person get's the job. Some one they never met before. A person who proved themselves in the police academy by taking 40 written exams, thousands of push ups and sit ups, waking up every day for 3 months at 6 am to show up to PT before getting a head full of constitutional law and traffic theory, who more than likely moved away from family and friends and are secluded in a hotel room for the entire duration...
All of the sacrifice the candidate has to make on top of their family, colleagues, and friends.
Only to be told that they exhibit too much or too little of personality from a certain code and are failed out of the final stages of the hiring process. On a test that exclusively looks to identify "abnormal" human behavior, of which is interpreted by more than likely abnormal humans?
It's the last step in the hiring process, and therefore bound to cause frustration for many.
Hopefully I offered some insight as to why.