We just concluded a series of interviews last week with 10 police officers wanting to be promoted to the rank of police sergeant. What an uplifting experience that was for the Department's Executive Staff, though the candidates may describe it as something other than uplifting!
Some background information is in order here. We establish a two-year promotion eligibility list for sergeant and lieutenant vacancies, alternating the rank each year. The lieutenant's list was updated last year, and so it's time to update the sergeant's list this year. This approach provides us with a ready-to-go list of eligible promotees whenever a vacancy occurs.
The candidates have already been through an assessment center process to test their knowledge of policy and procedures, as well as to evaluate how they will handle the tasks associated with being a sergeant. The final part of the testing process is a 45-minute interview with the Chief of Police and the three Assistant Chiefs. We have no idea where the candidates ranked in the previous testing scenarios when they come in for their interview - we just know this group comprised the top 10.
The process is definitely easier for the interviewers than the officers being interviewed. Still, I found the officers to be well prepared, thoughtful in their answers, and an extremely talented group of professional law enforcement officers.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of these interviews is the humbleness of each officer as they answered the questions and told of how they do their jobs. In a situation where one's goal is to promote themselves as being worthy of becoming a sergeant, officers seemed almost uneasy talking about their efforts to help a victim or to go the extra mile in arresting a suspect.
This is because cops see such actions as simply doing their jobs and rarely seek any publicity for such efforts. One candidate told the interviewers that going above and beyond was what he expected of himself - anything less was simply not his best effort.
Such a mindset is impressive in a promotional interview situation, but it is even more impressive when you know the candidates and understand this is what they truly believe everyday, not just something being said during the interview.
At this point, we do not know how the final list will rank the candidates' scores. What we do know is the quality of police officers vying for promotion is exceptional. They studied hard for the past six months to do their best in the assessment center process, a grueling ordeal to endure by any standard.
Our best wishes to all the candidates. You did well and deserve a bit of recognition for your efforts to be promoted to sergeant.
- Asst Chief Bill LePere
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