Do Good Recruits Make Good Cops? Problems Predicting and Measuring Academy and Street-Level Success

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to extend White's analysis predicting successful police recruit performance during academy training. Using police personnel data collected on 486 officers hired between 1996 and 2006 by a Midwestern police department, the authors examine characteristics related to academy success as well as active police service. The results show that most demographic and experience variables did not predict academy or active service success. However, White recruits and those scoring higher on the civil service exam consistently performed better on multiple academy outcome measures than their counterparts. In addition, those scoring higher on the overall academy success measure generally received better evaluations from their superiors. The results also show that higher education is not related to any of the measures of academy or on the job success used in these analyses.Policing is a very labor-intensive field, and the nature of police work and organizations is becoming more complex and challenging. This is especially true of contemporary policing strategies that expand the traditional police role and place greater demands on officers. For instance, community-oriented policing suggests that policing be

Baltimore Is Burning: Can I-O Psychologists Help Extinguish the Flames?

“…I-O psychologists also can help to identify other possible areas where additional officer training is needed by conducting training needs analyses. For example, the knowledge and skills taught in the police academy could be better aligned with those needed once on the job (Henson, Reyns, Klahm, & Frank, 2010).…”

Predicting State Police Officer Performance in the Field Training Officer Program: What Can We Learn from the Cadet’s Performance in the Training Academy?

“…Prior research has also examined intelligence and education as predictors of law enforcement performance. These results have not yielded a consistent result as some studies find a relationship and others do not (Roberg & Bonn, 2004;Walker & Katz, 2002;Henson, Reyns, Klahm & Frank, 2010;White, 2007).…”

Police Productivity and Performance Over the Career Course: A Latent Class Growth Analysis of the First 10 Years of Law Enforcement

“…Given the complexity, demands, evolving nature of the police role, and the importance of police work, identifying applicants and recruits who will ultimately be successful as police officers is a high priority for police administrators and other policy makers. Although researchers have investigated this issue (e.g., Forero, Gallardo-Pujol, Maydeu-Olivares, & Andr es-Pueyo, 2009;Henson, Reyns, Klahm, & Frank, 2010;Reaves & Hickman, 2004;Sanders, 2008;Sarchione, Cuttler, Muchinsky, & Nelson-Gray, 1998;White, 2008), there is still no firm answer to the hiring question. In part, this is because it is difficult to measure officer success objectively, empirical data useful to this purpose are generally not available to criminal justice scholars, prior methodologies have inhibited a full understanding of the phenomenon, and the studies that have been published use cross-sectional research designs or provide a limited/shortterm view of officer careers (Sanders, 2008;White, 2008).…”