ROLE-PLAYING TESTS POLICE CANDIDATES
By Miguel M. Salinas, The American-Statesman, November 26, 1995
Todd Smith will find out Dec. 1 whether he was accepted to the Austin Police Department's academy. But the police cadet hopeful already has been put on the beat.
Smith, 28, had to calm an emotionally disturbed person who refused to leave a hotel. He also had to deal with several rude drivers he pulled over for traffic violations.
These real-life scenarios are part of a new video role-playing test, called the Behavioral Personnel Assessment Device, given to academy applicants.
The test, added to the academy's application process this year, is designed to sift out the potential stereotypically gruff cops and find a kinder, gentler officer.
"It's not the biggest, the fastest, the strongest (who get selected) anymore," said Smith, who was one of the first group of applicants given the test. "It's who can deal with the people the best.
"It's difficult to look at a TV monitor and have to respond to a TV like it's a true person," said Smith, who is currently a restaurant manager.
Being put on the spot is an accurate way to judge how he would respond to similar calls in real life, he said.
I think it forces you to show your personality," hesaid.
Applicants are shown eight short scenes -- from an angry motorist to a rape victim -- on a big-screen television and must address the actors within 45 seconds.
The actors stare into the video camera as though they're looking at the applicant. Some of the actors tap their foot impatiently or use other body language to provoke the viewer.
The applicant's responses are videotaped and then rated by a panel of police officials.
Rick Bradstreet, coordinator of the Police Department's psychological services, said potential Austin police officers are being selected for their problem-solving and interpersonal skills -- traits essential for community based policing.
"What we want is to select officers that can think ahead of the problem and who are good at talking with people and working with people to get things done," Bradstreet said.
Statistics show the test is "truly based on skill," Bradstreet said.
According to an evaluation of the first group of 201 applicants, 44 of whom failed, there were no disparate pass ratios among women, minorities, and whites.
White men had a 63 percent pass rate. white women and black men had a 62 percent pass rate, while Native American men had a 66 percent pass rate. Hispanic men had the highest pass rate at 71 percent, the report states. The report did not list pass rates for black and Hispanic women.
Seventy law enforcement agencies in 19 states use the test, which became available two years ago. The Austin, Lubbock, and Denton police departments are the only ones in Texas using the test.
By weeding out undesirable candidates early on, Bradstreet said, the test saves the Austin department money.
More than $40,000 was saved in background investigations, medical and psychological exams and oral interview time for the first group who failed, according to Bradstreet's report.
Applicants also must pass a written entrance exam and an agility test to be accepted into the academy.
David Corey, a California police psychologist who developed the test in 1984, said it represents a shift in the attitudes of police department administrations toward selecting officers.
Interpersonal skills traditionally have been overlooked by departments that emphasize the physical ability of potential officers, Corey said.
"Agencies who utilize (the test) have decided that the ability to solve problems and to avoid the use of force whenever possible is important to them," Corey said. "That is reflected in the decision they make in the people who they hire."
"Cities understand that they can reduce liability and save lives if they hire police officers that have a wide range of skills to avoid circumstances that lead to violence," Corey said.