Careers: Police/oral interview

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Expert: - 3/25/2008


Question
what questions might be asked in an oral interview for police officer? and what answers might the board look for?

Answer
Hi Ed,

Well welcome to the law enforcement profession! I am always pleased to see people getting into this field.

OK lets address your question. First instead of repeating things here that have been better said elsewhere, here is a really good web page on police oral interviews and how to stand out in them. I give it to my recruits from my academy and they say it really helps. SO give it a look over, print it out and read it carefully: http://www.realpolice.net/police-oral-boards.shtml

I will tell you in addition to whats there here are a few things I can say from sitting in on oral boards as a rater myself some of the things we look for.

If the provide a pencil and paper, use it. Use it to write down the points of the questions they want you to ask. In some oral interviews I have been a part of they will purposely ask multi-part questions and see if the interviewee writes things down to keep track of the points, and then answers them in the order they were asked.

Answer questions in a chronological order. When they give you a scenario and ask you to tell them what you would do, answer from the beginning to the end and don't jump around.

Always notify your supervisor of anything that you may think of as being of that nature your boss would like to know about. And make sure you request him/her to any scene that they need to be present on. One question I remember from the boards I sat on was "You respond to a possible suicide. When you arrive it appears to be a suicide, what wold you do and who would you notify?"

Well first you treat all deaths as homicides until proven otherwise, and street cops don't make that call. First thing you would do is notify your supervisor in this case and advise him/her of what you have. And then answer the rest of the question as you would.

Also make sure you ALWAYS put the departments interest first, over all other things. The typical question of "You see another officer steal a candy bar from a store while you are there on a burglary call, what do you do?" is actually a very simple one. You would tell the officer you saw what he did, and you have no choice but to notify your supervisor immediately. You just observed a crime and you can not overlook that. And it places the department in a bad position. Most stores have cameras, and if they find out about it and you did not report it, you would also be fired along with the officer for failing to report the crime. get the idea? Other officers do not pay your rent or put food in your families mouth. You do not cover for anyone, you take care of yourself and the department. The days of cover-ups and stuff like that is gone, about 20 years ago.


Hope these suggestions help. Good luck and stay safe!!

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Chris Wagoner

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I have been a police officer for 30+ years! I am the Police Academy Commander at the Santa Fe College, Institute of Public Safety in Gainesville Florida It is a full service Law Enforcement and Corrections training facility. I can answer most questions concerning law enforcement procedures, law enforcement training and general questions about law enforcment. I can also answer questions about becoming a law enfocement officer. I have a booklet and web page I have written that answers many questions about how to become a police officer called "So you want to be a cop (police Officer) in Florida?", which is free, Google it.. All you have to do is ask. I teach the following subjects: RADAR/LASER, Law Enforcement Driving, Law Enforcement Firearms and Patrol Techniques, Officer Safety, WMD's for Patrol Officers, Application of Law, Communications skills, Dealing with the Mentally and physically handicapped, and many more subjects. I have worked as a subject matter expert for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and helped to write the police curriculum for the State of Florida. I like answering questions about how to become a police officer, and questions about why did an officer do this or that type questions. I also like answering any questions you may have about police work in general. I do not mind helping with homework questions or trying to answer your questions about legal subjects that I have knowledge of. You will never know the answer until you ask! If you do ask a question, PLEASE take the time to at least rate the answer. I do not get paid to answer these questions and do it on my own time. If you ask, please rate it when I answer. Thanks!!! If its a question about becoming a police officer, it may be answered here: http://sites.google.com/site/flaleohelp/ My "hobby" website - http://www.youtube.com/user/3rdID8487 Military Videos on YouTube and Facebook!!

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I am a 30+ year veteran police officer, I am currently the Police Academy Commander of an Academy in North FLorida. I have been training police officers since 1993 and have trained them in all aspects of law enforcement, including firearms, Driving and legal subjects including patrol techniques and others and training all over the world. I have trained over 5000 officers worldwide in the last 16 years of training.

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I am a published author in Accident Investigation from the University of North Florida, Institute of Police Technology and Management. Also have written and published on the Internet, "So You Want to be a Cop (Police Officer) in Florida?" you can Google it..

Education/Credentials
I have 2 degrees, in Criminal Justice.

Awards and Honors
Phi Theta Kappa, plus 50+ Departmental Awards over the years. FBI Directors award for assisting in a Nationwide investigation into Child pornography.

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