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The first step toward becoming a police officer in Los Angeles is to pass a written examination. The second was an oral interview, the only portion of the process that the candidate is given a weighted score, as all the other sectors are pass/fail. Next comes a background check, physical ability test, and a mental evaluation, but not necessarily in that order. Once a month for the last 10 years of my career, I sat on the interview board for new police officer candidates.
I chaired a three member interview board for entry level oral interviews once a month during my last 10 years of service. The remaining board members were professional civilians selected from the community.
Now, it used to be that a candidate was ranked for hiring by the score he/she obtained in the oral interview process, highest first, providing they passed the other screening tests. But that changed with Affirmative Action. Since AA, protected classes of candidates can be selected for employment, regardless of their interview score (as long as they achieve a 70% or better), in any order, if the LAPD is still behind on achieving their parity goal. In essence, that means a non-protected class with a higher interview score, may have to wait while protected classes with lower scores are hired. And this concept carried into promotions and specialized assignments as well.
Well even this couldn't provide enough protected class hiring. It was determined that many of the protected class applicants could not pass a background check, the physical ability test, or show adequate work experience. So, LAPD reduced or eliminated these requirements all together. You can now be accepted as an officer if you have a prior history of narcotic use, been involved with gangs, had theft, DUI, and misdemeanor assault convictions. The mental (ink blot) test was eliminated and the physical ability test was lowered so that most anyone that could breathe without a wheezing while walking would qualify. And bonuses were awarded for things like speaking a foreign language, so some candidates that couldn't score a 70 in their interview because they didn't speak English well enough, actually were raised to the qualification level because of the bonus. You no longer have to show a history of applicable work experience, so selling chocolate dipped bananas from your unlicensed food cart in the park, is good enough.
So how does this affect the overall big picture? Your comments are welcome. Still blurry for you. I've given a few real examples with the prior post, but some more will be detailed in the next. Some of you like this crap, others think I'm full of crap. But all this crap provokes Thought from the Dock.
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Thinking must come more slowly when not at the dock. Write some more. Enlighten me.
ReplyDeleteDon't think that because I haven't posted that I haven't been reading... or thinking. But I suspect at the end of the day we are on the same page. It's frustrating, disgusting, unfair, and more. My computer's acting hokey so I'm signing off now. But keep writing.
ReplyDeleteI certainly don't have the experience you do, so I don't claim that you are wrong.
ReplyDeleteBut, have you considered (and I'm only speaking on behalf of white women which is where I derive my experience from) that maybe the interview boards (likely comprised of majority white males) were biased. Come on, we're all biased.
I just served as a witness on a jury trial where there was no question that a white woman spanked her child with a plastic hanger leaving multiple marks. Clearly, by the letter of the law, whether you agree with the law or not, a violation of PC 273(a). I'm not saying the kid didn't deserve and I've certainly been spanked with worse. But, plain and simple, she did break the law. The jury was hung, and I think it was because she was a WHITE FEMALE. She's certainly not as threatening as a black male who would have definitely been convicted.
I think that it's hard not to show bias because it is ingrained in us. I think LAPD needed to do something to adjust their hired to reflect the community served. I agree that having "protected classes" was not the way to do it.
I read that symphonies in the US were once largely made up of white males. Until, that is, they put up screens (essentially, huge black sheets) to cover up the identity of the performer. Now, women comprise about 50% (actually, i think it's in the 40th %tile) of US symphonies. Good news for your trumpet-playing grandaughter who, as a girl, would have been once considered not as physically capable of playing a "man's" instrument. Good news for me, because I had no experience when I got hired as a police officer either. But let's face it. While it is a dangerous job, let's stop looking down our noses. A monkey could do this job!
--ap
!!! indeed!!!!
ReplyDeleteonce i was passed over for a position at Magic Mountain, Valencia. They clearly stated, "the uniform will not fit you". If you wish to be employed by MMV, you will need to apply for work in the concession stands.
Great. Thats all they need is a fat kid serving up sodas. How refreshing.
I was then passed over in the UNEMPLOYMENT OFFICE (EDD) for a job interview at a vet's office (animal vet, not veterans) because I would not "fit in their filing room" and did not meet the doc's requirement of "svelt chickie poo that looks good bent over".
Here's my point. If these had been affirmative action employers, I may have stood a chance of getting a job. But they weren't, and back in those days private employers could pretty much hire who they wanted, no questions asked. Secondly, was it because I perceived myself as "fat" that I gave off "fat vibes" and consequently prospective employers could not face hiring me? Did I in fact, bring this upon myself when I wasn't "fat" at all because of my very own uneducated perception of my self ~ low self esteem~
I certainly agree that we are limited by the things that we *think* we cannot do. Subconsciously, we are programmed to believe that we do not *deserve* to be something and therefore do not attempt to try to reach that goal.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, I think we are limited by things that others think we cannot do and do not deserve to be. Therefore, we often do not have the same advantages or opportunities as others. Thus, affirmative action.
-a
Geo & aap- As far as I know fat people have never been protected classes of LAPD. Perhaps they wouldn't hire you because larger uniforms cost more money to make. lol.. Nice comment though. And I heard the airlines might charge moore for heavy weighters. Fair?
ReplyDeleteThe entry level boards that I sat on were of mixed gender and race. I can only attest though to the ones I personally did. Bias is everywhere. I've seen how females and Blacks are treated differently than ale Whites when they walk into buy a car, but let's focus on the facts of what I know first hand at LAPD. Thanks