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Learning Objectives

4-1:  Explain the important of recruiting and selecting officers in a dynamic cultural context

4-2:  Discuss some of the laws and regulations that affect the recruitment and hiring processes of police organizations

4-3:  Evaluate strategies police organizations use to recruit qualified and diverse entry-level applicants

4-4:  Describe the five areas police organizations test to screen applicants

4-5:  Summarize the processes police organizations use to fill supervisory positions

4-6:  Identify the skills and requirements for police chiefs

Article 1
Johnson, Richard R. (2005). Minimum Requirements for Police Chiefs in the USA. The Police Journal, 78 103-118.

In the USA police chiefs of municipal police departments are usually selected by the mayor or city council, and often recruited from outside the local police department. To date no study has evaluated the minimum employment qualifications required by municipalities for their police chiefs. The present study involved a content analysis of 162 municipal police chief job advertisements in order to determine the minimum requirements needed in order to compete for the position of police chief. The study also attempted to determine if community characteristics such as population size, density, racial diversity, and economic affluence were correlated to the specific minimum requirements communities sought in their chiefs. 

1. What are common characteristics of police chiefs?
2. How can requirements offer challenges and benefits to supervisor recruitment and selection?