“What we’re doing is broadening our outreach to reinstitute the use of a different kind of examination that is scenario-based and a nationally validated examination process that is being used by communities beyond Vandalia,” Knight told this newspaper prior to Thursday’s meeting.
National Testing Network is an entry level testing service based in Lynnwood, Wa.,that allows testers to be tested on real-life scenarios that police officers face while on the job.
Testers pay $49 online to take the Frontline National test offered by the Washington-based company.
“The test would be called Frontline National and it’s a video simulation test for entry-level police officers,” said Katie Amodei, marketing coordinator for National Testing Network. “After the video scenario is done, they would have to select how they would respond in that situation.”
The real-life scenario testing is beneficial to both the police departments and the testers for various reasons.
“It benefits the person taking the test because it’s going to have the best people who are best matched to the job,” Amodei said. “So, they are actually going to know what to expect and their scores are going to reflect personality type, their decision-making skills, human judgement skills and how they would actually react on the job.”
Knight added that this testing process also includes reading comprehension and writing ability.
Amodei added that the departments benefit because “the candidates that they are getting are the best suited for the position, so they don’t have as much turnover.”
Test results usually take one to three days and the tester’s scores are given to the departments that the tester selected.
National’s testing system also provides multiple times to take the test and multiple test sites across the country, including one at Sinclair Community College in Dayton and one at Edison Community College in Piqua.
Having testing sites across the country will help Vandalia’s police department recruit beyond this area, according to Knight.
Vandalia’s police department has one officer vacancy and will have another vacancy by the end of October due to retirements, according to Julie Trick, the city’s Human Resources director.
“We think we’re an attractive employer and we’ve been successful in recruiting officers locally, but we want to broaden the pool of applicants,” Knight said.
The police department has 31 sworn officers, three of them are females and all of the officers are white, according to Knight.
“We want our police department to reflect the composition of our community,” Knight said.
Vandalia has an estimated 15,139 residents, according to the U.S. Census bureau. The city population is 91.5 percent white, 4.1 percent African-American, 1.6 percent Hispanic or Latino, 1.4 percent Asian, and 0.1 percent American Indian or Alaska Native.
If the city does get a contract with National Testing Network, it will cost the city approximately $500 for a yearly subscription, according to Knight. He added that this new testing will be in addition to what the department already does to advertise for officer positions. Those efforts include advertising in local newspapers and mailing out notices to various law enforcement agencies or associations.
In the meantime, the city is still waiting to receive a report from a team of assessors with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies who visited the police department in July.
The purpose of the CALEA visit was to get feedback from the community about the police department’s policies, procedures, management, operations and support services.
The CALEA report is scheduled to arrive sometime in October, according to Rich Hopkins, city spokesman.
“In late November we will meet with CALEA officials to discuss the report, after which time the CALEA Commission will vote on our accreditation,” Hopkins said.
For more information about CALEA, call 937-898-5868 ext. 2267 or visit www.calea.org.
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