Interviewing On The Police Oral Board
There's no question Police Oral Boards intimidate recruits more then anything else when trying to become a police officer. Many police recruits become nervous and unsure of what they can expect. In fact, this is the critical step necessary to getting hired, but failure to understand and prepare yourself properly can result in all your hard work tossed out the window. So let's look at some basics when it comes to Police Oral Boards.
First of all, understand that the panel of members on your board use specific tactics to see if you're telling the truth by testing you to see if you "tell them what they want to hear." Believe it or not, one of the worst things you can do is tell the board what you "think" they want to hear. Here's an example question and WRONG answer:
Question: Mr. Smith, let's say you were working standard patrol and made a traffic stop on one of your best friends. You clocked his vehicle for speeding at 59 MPH in a 35 MPH zone. How would you handle this situation?
Your response: I would write him a ticket just like everyone else. He's not above the law. Believe it or not, this is the absolute worst answer you could give as a potential police officer, generally speaking (The reason we say generally is because we do believe there are a few departments out there that may want that answer, but this is not the norm). These types of questions have one goal in mind: see if you're being honest. Your interviewers know you're not going to write your best friend a ticket, or even a family member. It just doesn't happen. You should tell the truth in this situation and explain your answer.
So what is the truth? The truth is "Sir, I would not write my friend a ticket. However, I would ask him to not put me in this situation again as I might write him a ticket next time.This by far is more convincing and your panel knows it. A lot of police applicants have removed themselves from scenarios like this. Just tell the truth and explain your answer.
What if your senior police officer stole a candy bar on a breaking and entering call?
This is not the same as the previous question as its much more serious. But how do you answer a question like this? Well here's how one applicant answered it, and it seemed reasonable to me (and he was hired by the way). When asked what he would do if he saw his training police officer put a candy bar in his pocket while on a burglary call of a convenience store, he said he would take .75 cents coming from his pocket to put on the counter for the store. The panel responded "So its ok for him to steal?" The applicant said "No, its not ok, but I don't know anything about this person. It's very possible he's simply having a bad day. Fifty cense out of my pocket isn't worth his career.As expected they said "Well, what would happen if he took money directly out of drawer?" His answer was "Well changes everything; a candy bar versus something of more value, and I would ask him to put it back.My point is this: You must explain your reasoning. As a police officer you will make decisions every day, sometimes in a split second. Just how you decide to explain those past decisions are very important, more then the actual decision itself. Take the police interview serious and prepare now.
