NCJ Number
175460
Journal
Policing Volume: 20 Issue: 4 Dated: 1997 Pages: 777-785
Date Published
1997
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This analysis found several persistent difficulties associated with using oral boards as a police personnel selection tool in Florida.
Abstract
Data were obtained from admission interviews of applicants seeking to attend Florida's basic police recruit academy. The study group consisted of five police recruit classes that enrolled in and completed the training program between January 1994 and the middle of 1996. Records documented oral board scores, test scores while in the police academy, leadership roles assumed during the training period, attendance patterns, disciplinary actions, medical information, and other noteworthy items. Problems arose in conjunction with using oral boards as a personnel selection tool, even though care was taken to construct rating components that mimicked behaviorally anchored rating scales. For instance, correlational and factor analysis indicated the identified dimensions did not tap empirically distinguishable domains. Although ratings were not tainted by rater characteristics, scores failed to meet conventional standards for reliability. Despite dissatisfaction with oral board operations, sponsored police recruits as a whole registered poorer performance and required more instructional resources than nonsponsored trainees. Sponsored police recruits required more remedial training and were more likely to quit or be dismissed from the police academy. Findings made it difficult to justify continued use of the oral board interview as a condition for admission to the police academy. 10 references, 4 notes, and 6 tables