Policing is a rewarding and fulfilling career. It gives you the opportunity to make your community a better, safer place. Being a police officer is also difficult, demanding and trying, and the simple truth is that not everyone is a good fit for the job. Police officers hold prominent positions in the community that come with influence and responsibility and require them to wear many hats, and our ability to choose the right candidates when hiring new officers can significantly affect this department, community and profession as a whole for many years to come. When we are looking to hire new police officers, we are looking for people who are passionate about serving their community, compassionate, skilled at problem solving, intelligent, resourceful, hardworking, meticulous, vigilant and so much more. Because of this, the hiring process for police officers is lengthy and detailed, and requires firm commitment on behalf of the candidate. There are many steps to the hiring process, each of which helps us ensure we choose the best candidate(s) we can to serve this community.
The Arlington Police Department is a Massachusetts Civil Service department. Therefore, the first step for anyone interested in becoming an officer with this department is a written exam. Generally, candidates must have a high school degree or equivalent and be at least 19 years old to take the exam, though candidates must be 21 to be appointed as an entry level police officer. The exam, administered and facilitated by the Massachusetts Civil Service Unit, consists of three aspects: the Written Ability Test, Work Styles Questionnaire, and Life Experience Survey. The tests gauge cognitive abilities and skills, character attributes and experiences that will contribute to the prospective success of a police officer candidate. Candidates who receive a passing score of 70% on the written exam are then placed on the eligible list.
The Town of Arlington began a search for new entry level officers in September 2020. When we are looking to hire entry-level officers, we request the eligible list from the Civil Service Unit and select candidates to invite to move forward through our individual hiring process.
The first step of APD’s individual process is to bring the selected candidates from the eligibility list in for a department orientation. During this step, which took place in October 2020, candidates learned about the department, including our history, structural organization and divisions, and specialty services. Candidates also undergo basic background screening through fingerprints and photographs and bring other application materials, such as transcripts, to submit for consideration.
Our officer candidates also complete a written essay at the orientation. This time, candidates were required to write an essay responding to the question of how policing has changed. In our latest search for new officers, I also added a verbal communication aspect. Once their essays were written, candidates talked about their essay and how they answered the prompt in front of the APD command staff and their fellow applicants. I felt that this was an important addition to the application process as clear communication is an important part of being a police officer. In the past several years, the overall mission and concept of modern policing has transitioned from a “warrior mindset” to a “guardian mindset.” We’re no longer just looking for officers who are skilled in tactical work, but are looking for officers who embody the role of community caretakers and understand the importance of the service aspect of policing. Today’s officers need to be able to communicate with the public and work with community members to solve problems. The essay portion of our process not only helps us learn about the candidates’ perspective and thoughts on the profession, but how they’re able to communicate and explain those thoughts to people they don’t know.
Following orientation, candidates were assigned a background investigator. The investigator is usually a detective or other high-ranking officer within the department who completes a thorough background check of the candidate. This check looks at many details of the candidate’s background, including visiting their homes and speaking with neighbors, talking to past employers and looking at credit records. Due to the many challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and the safety measures that were in place during the time that we were evaluating our most recent candidates, much of this step was done virtually during the fall and winter.
The investigator then writes their findings into a report, which is shared with those who sit on a panel for initial interviews. For our recent hires, this panel included the Deputy Town Manager, Human Resources Manager, myself, a captain who oversees department hiring and a member of the Arlington Police Patrolmen’s Association. Following the initial interviews, a second round of interviews is conducted with the Town Manager and me. Following the interview process, we send our conditional offers of employment. APD’s individual hiring process — from department orientation to conditional offers of employment — usually takes around 60 days.
The candidates were then required to undergo a thorough medical examination, physical ability test and psychological screening. The state’s standard physical ability test puts candidates through exercises that simulate some of the physical actions officers would be likely to encounter in their career. Candidates are tested on an obstacle course simulating the pursuit of a suspect, a separation event that requires the candidate to imitate the actions necessary to separate and control individuals, and a dummy drag. The physical test measures endurance, muscular strength, flexibility and more.
The psychological screening consists of an in-person interview with a psychologist to learn about a candidate’s attitudes, values and morals, personality and character traits. Policing is a mentally and emotionally taxing career. Police officers are often interacting with people on some of their worst days, and this can result in stressful, tense and frustrating situations. As first responders, police officers are also often among the first people to arrive at an emergency event or traumatic scene. We need to ensure we hire people who have the personality traits and stability that will allow them to remain level-headed in any situation and respond ethically and professionally.
Once hired, candidates attend a full-time recruit police academy authorized by the state Municipal Police Training Committee. Before attending the academy, recruit officers also complete an additional physical test. APD has hired four new officers who began in the Plymouth Police Academy at the beginning of March. The 20-week academy is a comprehensive law enforcement training experience and consists of practical and classroom training covering 21st century policing best practices and focusing on the core principles of problem solving, procedural justice, ethical decision making, and fair and impartial policing. Following their graduation from the police academy, which is expected to be in July, the new recruits will be sworn in as Arlington Police officers and will begin our 12-week field training program. They will each be paired with a field training officer to complete on-the-job training specific to this department. During these 12 weeks, they will be familiarized with our policies and procedures, and will be observed and evaluated by their field training officer throughout the program. Once they successfully complete field training, they are prepared to work independently as a patrol officer within the Arlington community.
All of the steps in this process are specifically designed to help us choose those candidates who are most likely to succeed as a 21st century police officer. Our goal is to find police officers who will contribute to our mission to create and maintain productive partnerships with residents, local businesses and community organizations to address community concerns. Ultimately, we are looking for police officers who will represent this department well and will carry out our commitment to serve our community professionally and with dedication and excellence for many years to come.
For anyone interested in pursuing a career in policing in the Town of Arlington, the deadline to apply to take the exam is April 20, 2021. The exam will be given on June 6, 2021. To sign up to take the exam, please visit https://www.mass.gov/info-details/2021-municipal-police-officer-mbta-transit-police-officer-and-state-trooper-examination. Questions about the Arlington Police Department or the hiring process can be directed to Captain Sean Kiernan at Skiernan@town.arlington.ma.us.
Chief of Police Julie Flaherty