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How does your Department handle promotions and/or special assignments? Does your department test for Rank promotions or assignments like Narcotics, Investigations, K9, SRT, etc? Or do they simply choose based on other factors like seniority, performance, or the buddy system?
Poll included: GO.
Oral interview board, work record/examples of work, seniority all count a percentage. You have to send some examples of your reports to the board, they give you a topic to write about at the board, then you have an oral interview. Seniority counts for a small percentage. The board scores are numerical and the person with the highest score gets the job. The same process is used for all but SWAT and K-9. Those are work history and oral board exclusively.
Sheriff promotes the person he wants. No test, no interview or the such. Seniority, work history and who you are probably top the list. Depends on what mood he's in.
Promotion is test based. You take a written test after meeting the prerequisites (time in grade, leadership courses etc) after testing a pass point is announced. If you have the grade then when an opening is announced you apply and submit a resume. Then a board interviews and does a review of your file and the person is picked.
As far as special assignments there is no test and the buddy system can still be in play but mostly it is based on your record and the interview.
Promotion is civil service by law.
Positions are appointed from applicants.
It all depends. Sometimes, for specialty positions, letters of interest are requested. Depending on the response, they may do interviews (panel or individual). Other times, or if there aren't enough to bother with a process, they simply appoint. Sometimes... positions get magically filled. (And, then of course, there are the "processes" which are clearly shaped to select a particular candidate.)
As to promotion... well, generally the process exists to allow the chief to select who he wants.
Recieve department wide email posting from HR about open position. It will detail base level qualifications. If you meet them you send in a resume to a POC listed. You will be scheduled for an interview. They look for quality of work, their own specific things such as detectives are adamant about team workers. If it's narcotics they want to know if you are a go getter on patrol with narcotics and wll review your reports to see how you apply yourself in a drug investigation. They find out if you are a team player in your current position and will except 3 references so you can have someone counter anything negative they may have recieved about you from other sources. They will pull old reports and see how well you articulate, and apply your knowledge of the law as well as writing skills. If it's for SWAT or patrol you have to pass the physical standards of that division. For K9 they determine if you are one of the responsible ones since you now have another issue to worry about (the dog). If you come to work, are dependable (in case of call outs) do your work and/or complain alot and your overall display of want for that position ie....help out with training attempting to learn. Seniority has soooome weight but not much, plent of guys not cut out for something that has X amount of time on and the guy with less time on is more of a fit for the job. Lastly who you know always helps to, but MOST of the time you need to have the above qualifications and criteria also. If you are in the top AND you know somebody you stand a good chance you'll get it. Networking never hurt anyone ;-)
Haven't had any since we got a new chief so we'll see.
Previously, it was pretty much like Lew. Depended on who she liked that day, or what benefit might come to her. Can't tell you how many times we've "created" positions for people that couldn't get the job done but she didn't want to fire.
It's treated just like a hiring process, minus the written test.
Application and 2 interviews.
Must submit interest letter to Chief of Police, score well on a written examination, complete Board of Captains interview. Top three candidates are then ranked by Chief of Police, before final interview & selection by Board of Works.
Promotion is testing & assessment center.
Specialized Division is by application & board.
All promotions are Civil Service except Major and Chief. Special positions are filled from applicants but the ones usually picked are the ones who show some strong aptitude for the slot and have spent much time with that particular group on their own time learning the ropes. Dogs for instance would include running with the dog at every opportunity and training as quarry often.
Car 4:D
Special assignments are done by interview/seniority and the chief's pick. Promotions are much longer, and start with a posting of the opening with minimum requirements. We submit a letter of interest and resume, then we are given an essay test. 5 questions, 2 page answer required for each, then a written test. Once that's done, panel interview with command staff from surrounding agencies, then a chief's interview, and finally an interview with the city manager. The process takes about 6 months. All for an extra couple grand a year and the ability to wear stripes.
Covman
:jaw: dude thats nuts! other agencies participate in your promotion process, and a civilian (city manager)??Quote:
Originally Posted by covman454
Letter of interest, spend some time with that division learning, interviews, recommendations from superiors, and some form of testing (usually).
In Minnesota, it is not unusual to have a panel of three people for the interview board and at least one might be an officer from another law enforcement agency. It would not be unusual to have a civilian on that board as well. In fact, a mix that seems to be fairly common around here could be three member panel consisting of:Quote:
Originally Posted by creolecop
-Higher ranking officer at your own agency.
-Ranking officer from another agency.
-Civilian
I suspect that the panels vary quite a bit around the country. On of the neatest systems I have seen is a four person panel, BUT, instead of 4 on 1, it was 1 on 1 for about 30 minutes each. I think that works well because each person can get a chance to ask what they want of the candidate. I imagine there are even other ways of doing the oral interview process besides what has been discussed so far.
Just out of curiosity, do people here generally find that there is enough opportunity for advancement at their agencies right now or has the current economy left a whole bunch of us in the position that many agencies are just stagnant? Places where about all that can be done is the basics. Some folks on patrol, some investigators, and not much movement because everyone is afraid to retire due to the economy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by creolecop
It's actually quite common around here. I was on Charlie Moose' Lts test....he worked for Portland PD. Moose went on to be chief and then was chief back in Maryland during the DC sniper case. The Chief of Everett PD was on my Captains board.
Car 4:D
In my area, it's fairly standard for agencies to use graders from different agencies in the area on assessment centers and promotional panel interviews. Especially for the small agencies, it's kind of the only way that makes sense to get a somewhat objective evaluation.Quote:
Originally Posted by creolecop
(Of course, there's a huge part of me tempted to say "save the $10000+ developing the assessment process, sit down with the current people at that level, get their input, and then pick the guy you're trying to justify picking anyway...")
Hard to say if it's due to the economy, or just the facts of life in a small agency. Right now, the only way there'll be a new sergeant in the next few to several years is if one gets demoted. If or when the chief leaves -- there COULD be a ripple down, if the current deputy chief is promoted. I'd guess the odds to be about 50/50. If not -- there could easily be no ripple-down promotions. We've got a couple with the time to retire -- but they ain't going to anytime soon. Most of our sergeants have 10 or more years till retirement...Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim1348
Investigations is locked down, as are most of the other specialties. Three detached positions (2 narcotics, 1 gangs) do rotate... slowly.
So... is it the economy? Maybe for a some that could but won't retire due to kids in school or just the idea of actually having to get a real job. But others? They just ain't going to go anytime soon.
I must admit that is a pretty common sentiment in a lot of places. I am retired from sworn work now, so I don't "have a dog in the fight." I have worked for more than one agency over the years and interacted with folks from a number of different agencies. It does seem, at least from my perspective, that the whole promotional process is one of the more controversial and emotionally upsetting things in police work.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jks9199
I have certainly heard from people in other agencies that some people that should be promoted ate not promoted and, conversely, some people are promoted that should not be. I have heard of people with just barely meet the absolute minimum requirements getting promoted at their earliest opportunity and others with great qualifications like college degrees, lots of great training, and significant relevant experience getting passed over.
I have also found it interesting when some agencies go to great lengths to develop a promotional process, perhaps an in basket assessment center, panel interview, etc. Then the results come down and they reach down, passing by the # 1 and # 2 candidate, and promoting # 3. I find that kind of interesting because if they have so much faith in the system, why wouldn't they promote the person that scored the highest after all that?
Does anybody have a feel if this is the same anywhere? For example, in other areas of government, say fire service, public works, etc. is it the same? I have also wondered, too, if say nursing or teaching have similar issues? I am inclined to think that both education and nursing place a greater emphasis on advanced education, but then again I could be way off base here.
I think it will be interesting in a few more years to see what develops. Maybe in the future we will look back at this time frame and laugh at the methods we used for selecting people for promotions and/or special assignments. On the other hand, maybe nothing will change at all.
I do think that there are places right now that are more fair in this process than others. The ones that I Admire are the ones that tell the officers up front ahead of time what is necessary to get promoted. I have heard of Career Development programs that tell officers right up front that to get to sergeant you must have:
- X Number Of Years Experience With This Agency
- Good To Excellent Performance Appraisals (Reviews)
- Bachelors Degree
Note, I am not necessarily saying these should be the precise requirements, rather I am saying that the factors should be know well ahead of time, they should be reasonable, and achievable. I don't think someone who just completed their one year probation should be able to get promoted. (Yes, I DO know of agencies where this has happened and I don't mean 5 officer departments, either.)
I have a sneaking suspicion that there others here that have seen some similar disparities. Places where the Sheriff's nephew gets hired and, gee, as soon as he is off probation he is on days with stripes! Or other places where the chief's son gets hired as a CSO. Magically, as soon as he is eligible, he gets promoted to sworn officer, and just as soon he is eligible to apply for sergeants there is an opening and, what a shock, he gets promoted!
Okay, I am getting back down from my soapbox now. Let's hear it. What are your best stories about people promoted that passed over more qualified officers, or ones that are constantly passed over despite excellent qualifications