LOWERING POLICING STANDARDS GAINS MOMENTUM
DO WE REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME? THIS IS THE WORST THING WE COULD BE DOING RIGHT NOW!
During the last thirty years, almost every agency has made the occasional mistake by hiring someone below established standards. Exceptions were made but they were calculated risks. Sometimes they paid off and sometimes they didn’t. In the worst cases, they were the negative news story of the year and a poor reflection on the agency. Some poor candidates were fired and got their jobs back in arbitration but what got them in trouble always came back to bite them, and their agency, again.
“It’s the mayor’s son’s fraternity brother who’s no angel but we shouldn’t let a couple of mistakes ruin his whole life. Chief, can you take another look at his file?
STANDARDS UNDER ATTACK
Fueled by retirements and mass resignations along with a recruitment crisis, almost everything is on the table. From past criminal convictions, drug use, tattoos, physical fitness to education, all five of those previously critical traits are being reconsidered. While some are looking at loosening up one category, large major agencies are taking on all or nearly all at once.
CRIMINALS TAKING A SEAT AT THE TABLE
The most concerning are the past criminal histories. This will be a stain on the profession for years to come. Today, the Memphis Five are bringing this conversation forward, while a criminal past may fail to explain the events of January 7, it muddies the water.
Great cops will not work with post-criminal cops. An officer who molested a lady while working an off-duty detail surprised none of his fellow officers who had long before made a rhyme using his name and dirty deeds. The furious chief wanted to know how officers hadn’t come forward prior and it was because they recognized his nature but didn’t know any chargeable deeds.
There will be attrition on a scale never seen before. Every officer who joined to help people will move or leave. Criminals and police don’t exist in the same space.
We will never succeed by filling our ranks with those who will inevitably bring dishonor on themselves and our profession. ‘Criminals are people too’ is the failing argument. An elected sheriff told me, you never let a car thief become a trustee in your jail.
BANNING THE BOX
Outside the law enforcement bubble, there have been similar movements. The ‘ban the box’ crusade made it to be illegal to have a job application asking if the applicant had a criminal conviction. Obviously, jobs in banks, pharmacies, armored transport, and other positions of trust would eventually discover past conduct which made it unwise to hire candidates that couldn’t be bonded.
Patricia Barnes, citing a study published in the University of Chicago Journal of Labor Economics wrote in Forbes in 2020:
“Instead of helping minority ex-offenders, a new study finds that ‘Ban The Box’ policies appear to harm the job prospects of all young, low-skilled African American and Hispanic job candidates…Some 34 states and the District of Columbia have adopted Ban the Box (BTB) policies that prohibit employers from including a box on a job application that applicants must check if they have been convicted of a crime.”
In Aurora, Colorado: Recent drug use is also no longer an automatic disqualifier, including use of marijuana within the last year or use of illegal drugs within the last three years…The rule changes also mean candidates whose backgrounds include “dishonesty and/or integrity issues” can be hired as police officers or firefighters, as can those whose applications are found to contain “falsification, misleading statements (or) omissions.” Candidates who have been convicted of or received a deferred judgment for DUI in the last three years, or as many as two convictions or deferred judgments for DUI in the last seven years, may also apply.
TATTOO RESTRICTIONS
Tattoos have come of age. They came of age some time ago. When I started, there were plenty of Vietnam era veterans in uniform with those dark blurry tattoos on their forearms while we wouldn’t hire new officers with any visible ink. That just wasn’t fair. I know plenty of doctors, lawyers, judges, and some legitimate clergy who are proud of their tattoos.
We must recognize there is messaging in the art and that must be moderated. Imagine you are the chief at the scene of an officer involved shooting and the forensic photographer is taking pictures of your officer with a Punisher tattoo in the black and blue pattern of the thin blue line flag. There are lots of other problematic scenarios expressing either an ethnic pride or solidarity with a struggle.
WTSP reports that the Lakeland (Florida) Police Department is granting some concession for the sake of broadening their recruiting pool.
“Some tattoo restrictions will remain in place. No neck or face tattoos. And nothing on hands or fingers… Some say they understand the policy shift, but others were concerned about what the tattoos symbolize or say. ‘I guess depending on what the tattoo represents is like a big thing,’ a Polk resident, Syderia Hall, said. ‘Like I don’t think somebody should have a tattoo of a devil, or something on their arm trying to save the city or protect the city and do their job.’”
Criminologist and Associate Dean at Tarleton State University Alex Del Carmen says loosening standards are part of a trend that troubles him. "It’s not the tattoo itself that concerns me, but rather what is going to be next. Right?" Del Carmen explained. "What is going to be the next step after that? Are we going to go ahead and waive somebody’s background if they’ve been only in prison for a month versus six months? And before we know it we’re going to be putting people in uniform with a badge and a gun that should’ve never ever been given that privilege of being able to enforce laws."
FIT TO SERVE?
This month, the New York City Police Department, our nation’s largest city police force, made a significant change in their physical abilities training expectations. At first read, I missed the main point, due to intentional subtleties, but they have eliminated a 1.5 mile run, to be completed within 14 minutes, at the conclusion of the six-month academy to graduate.
For clarity, following being paid to attend 120 days or about 240 hours of physical training and defensive tactics administered by highly trained and well-paid instructors, these new young recruits would not be able to complete what most of my retired friends describe as a little faster than a brisk walk.
The New York Post reports: “The NYPD has again lowered its requirement for police recruits, scrapping a timed, 1.5-mile run in the police academy, the department’s head of training told The Post. The controversial move — which training Chief Juanita Holmes said will help more women applicants make the cut — sparked an intra-agency battle between Holmes and NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell that Mayor Eric Adams had to settle. Without the timed run, the only physical fitness criterion for NYPD hopefuls is the Job Standard Test, a multi-step course that needs to be completed in 4 minutes and 28 seconds.”
An eastern Washington State police academy sergeant responding to a Police1 poll: “Since the physical standards were lowered in our state to get into the academy I have seen an increase in injuries during the academy and an increase in injury-related surgeries for post-graduate officers that are directly linked to academy injuries and physical stresses.”
READY TO WRITE?
For years, job task analyses resulted in an average where police work was between 85-89% administrative. The job, much of the time, is to view and listen, process your observations, and write your conclusions authoritatively and persuasively such that a person who wasn’t there would understand that a crime was committed, a suspect was identified, and probable cause exists to arrest this person or get a warrant.
I’ll be the first to agree that you don’t need a university degree to be able to do that, I will also say that more than half of the folks without a two- or four-year degree who made it to investigations struggled.
Newsweek reports: “Chicago is the latest city to lower its standards for police hiring in a trend that some have dubbed "worrisome." The Chicago Police Department (CPD) recently waived its college credit requirements for potential recruits with either two years of military or peace officer experience, or three years in corrections, social services, health care, trades, or education. Under the old rules, these candidates would need at least 60 hours of college credit.
Chuck Wexler, the executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, called the trend "worrisome" in an interview with CNN on Friday.”
"The job has become much more demanding, complicated, sophisticated in terms of technology, in terms of writing, all of the tools—judgment, decision making—all of the things we expect that translates into police officers of [the] future," he said. "If you want to change American police culture, you need to hire the best and the brightest. I'm not sure that's where we are today given what we're seeing."
During the 1930s, the New York Police Department required four-year degrees for all officer applicants. Why, during the Great Depression, when there were tens of thousands out of work and desperate for any means to support their families, would there be such a requirement? Also, they did not care about the field of study. The department was more interested in identifying candidates who had taken on a long-term project and completed it successfully, rather than what they studied.
STANDARDS MUST BE MAINTAINED
Todd Fletcher writes: As a profession, we need to begin having leadership expectations and training at entry-level positions. The vast majority of sergeants and lieutenants in law enforcement had no formal leadership training until after they were selected as supervisors. How is that possible?
We have standards for a reason. Every time we deviate, it is a costly mistake!
Please keep all our law enforcement officers in your prayers!
REFERENCES
https://www.city-journal.org/power-struggle-at-the-nypd
https://nypost.com/2023/03/09/nypd-training-chief-juanita-holmes-to-head-nyc-probation-department/
https://www.newsweek.com/police-shortages-pressure-mayors-lower-hiring-standards-worrisome-1689747
Excellent article.