Hiring Standards and Related Law Enforcement Officer Recruitment Challenges
Issue:
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Write My Essay For Me- Recruiting qualified law enforcement personnel is one of the major goals of HR professionals operating in the field of law enforcement. There are several administrative and operational challenges faced by the HR Departments of law enforcement organizations. First, HR professionals need to select and hire the candidates who share the mission, vision and values of the law enforcement organization (Oliver, 2016).Second, HR professionals need to make the recruitment process more efficient and attractive to candidates (Oliver, 2016). Third, HR professionals need to foster diversity and conclusiveness in the recruitment process (Oliver, 2016). According to recent report, there is a need for understanding “the importance of hiring officers who reflect the diversity and values of the community, and who have both the mindset and the skills needed to engage with the community” (Oliver, 2016, p. 1). In today’s environment, it is very difficult to select the candidates who meet the basic standards because of the growth of diverse population. HR professionals should not rely on traditional disqualifiers such as drug use tests and assessments of financial status because of the changes in national policies associated with legalization of marijuana and the growth of poor economic conditions at the national level. They need to use new approaches to improve the recruitment process and avoid the identified administrative and operational challenges that lead to reduction of public trust and poor organizational performance. Researchers suggest that “specific strategies and policies are designed to help them meet the challenges of recruiting, hiring, and retaining qualified sworn personnel” (Reaves, 2012).
Background:
- The key factors that contribute to emergence of the specific administrative or operational challenges facing the HR professionals in law enforcement organizations are “low pay, antiquated hiring practices, negative public perception, high attrition rates, exposure to chronic stress and trauma, and increasing responsibilities” (Cain, 2018). These factors are closely linked to the social context and antecedent events, such as high profile incidents which show abuse of power. The incidents like Michael Brown’s shooting in Ferguson have a strong impact on the public and contribute to the growth of the challenges the HR professionals in law enforcement organizations are facing now, while conducting the recruitment process. The administrative and operations challenges in hiring and retaining of qualified candidates to serve in law enforcement organizations are defined as the crisis in the field of law enforcement. The impact of discussion of recent high profile incidents in the media sources and the availability videos of law enforcement actions in social media platforms made the recruiting process challenging. These facts contribute to the difficulties in finding young people who are interested in making a career in the field of law enforcement, as well as the difficulties with hiring the members of minority groups and women who are ready to accept these negative features of the occupation. Recent study shows that “the level of employment of women police in the United States is relatively low and no longer seems to be increasing” (Cordner & Cordner, 2011, p. 207). Researchers found that women officers face shortcomings in the recruitment process because of the impact of the male-dominated cultures of police academies and law enforcement organizations (Cordner & Cordner, 2011).
Discussion & Critical Analysis:
- There is a need for considering the factors that plays a critical role in rendering a decision or taking action to address the identified administrative and operational challenges faced by HR Departments in the field of law enforcement. According to researchers, HR professionals have difficulties with measurement of job performance and linking job tasks to personality characteristics (Sanders, 2003). HR professionals should work collaboratively to ensure that they can select and hire the proper candidates who will be able to demonstrate their professional skills and apply the knowledge obtained in educational institutions to take actions that do not violate the mission, vision and values of the law enforcement organization. Also, HR professionals understand “the importance of the police organization in influencing officer behaviour, sometimes despite personal characteristics” (Sanders, 2003, p. 313). HR professionals in law enforcement organizations are responsible for maintaining the organizational climate and culture that shape the decisions and actions of law enforcement staff. These factors point out to the need for utilizing the proper strategies that could help to establish more positive environment in the recruitment process. As the personality traits are considered to be a key characteristic of a good law enforcement officer, it is vital to utilize personality assessment tools to measuring or predict organizational performance of candidates. Moreover, in today’s environment, HR professionals face certain problems with fostering diversity and conclusiveness in the recruitment process, which leads to the lack of opportunities to hire minorities. In other words, HR professionals should be aware of the value of diversity in the field of law enforcement. According to researchers, “it is critically important to have a police force that mirrors the population served; this has been the objective of law enforcement for some time now” (Bing et al., 2017, p. 2). Specifically, they should understand that successful integration of minorities into law enforcement organizations is a challenge that is associated with tensions between law enforcement personnel and the members of minority communities.
Options/Implications:
- Based on the above discussion and analysis of the factors that are important for consideration in rendering a decision or taking action, there are several viable options that should be evaluated by HR professionals engaged in recruitment of law enforcement staff. The first option is a status quo option that intends “doing nothing”. If the identified challenges are not addressed, HR professionals will fail to hire qualified law enforcement staff. As a result, law enforcement organizations will fail to succeed in reduction of crime rate, elimination of police abuse, and prevention of discrimination in the recruitment process (particularity recruitment of minority groups and women). As the real consequences of this option are negative, it is not appropriate for HR Departments in law enforcement organizations. The second option is to address the identified administrative and operations challenges that emerge in the recruitment process through the use of specific tools like new technology that can help to select reliable candidates to the assigned positions in the field of law enforcement, training programs that provide opportunities to increase the level of professionalism of HR specialists in the process of recruitment, and HR staff expansion to increase the number of HR professionals engaged in the hiring practices in order to make the recruitment process more efficient (more speedy, less complicated and intricate) and attractive to candidates. The potential consequences of this option are positive as the results of utilizing the above mentioned tools can benefit the law enforcement organizations which rely on competent personnel in completion of the established goals. The third option is to handle the administrative and operations challenges in the recruitment process faced by HR professionals through the use of external recruiters (or third party recruiters). This options has certain implications which include increased additional costs, information flow, lack of security, and others. The potential consequences of this option for law enforcement organizationals are negative because of the unreliability of external recruiting techniques. External recruitments are more expensive because there is a need for paying recruiting fees. Also, external recruitments need much time to find the proper candidates.
Recommendation(s):
- It is recommended to use the second option which requires ensuring operational effectiveness, fairness of HR practices, reasonableness and accountability of decision making, efficiency and affordability of the recruitment process, effectiveness of the selected tools to address the identified administrative and organizational challenges, and stakeholder sensitivities. The recommended procedures include the use of the proper online programs that can help to select reliable candidates to the assigned positions in the field of law enforcement, including online personality and behaviour tests, live chats with candidates, and other procedures that depend on the use of new technology. These procedures have the potential to save time and reduce costs due to their efficiency and affordability. Also, it is recommended to utilize new training programs that provide massive educational opportunities for HR specialists to succeed in the process of recruitment through making right decisions, avoiding violation of ethical principles, and ensuring compliance with the established hiring standards. The development of a comprehensive plan of training of HR specialists should reflect the key goals and values of law enforcement organizations. These training programs specially developed for HR specialists can improve operational effectiveness because HR specialists will be able to select the right candidates and contribute to organizational growth, provide conflict management practices, and increase motivation and job satisfaction of law enforcement staff. Also, it is necessary to include training options that affect HR specialists’ psychological health to ensure they can easily manage stress that takes place during the recruitment process. Researchers found that “ the primary goal of psychological services for police officers is to restore them to an adequate level of functioning so that they can continue to perform their duties safely and effectively” (Steinkopf et al., 2015, p. 1). HR managers should be ready to serve the role of counsellors to address the challenges in the recruitment process. In addition, it is recommended to develop a new policy that is aimed at ensuring HR staff expansion with the goal of increasing the number of HR professionals engaged in the hiring practices. This policy can be useful in making the recruitment process more efficient and attractive to candidates. It is possible to utilize more frequent and regular entry level tests in order to have a large number of candidates (40-50 applicants) and select the best ones for the assigned positions (Oliver, 2016).
References
Cain, N. (2018). A profession in crisis: Addressing recruitment and hiring practices in law enforcement. In Public Safety. American Military University. https://www.policeone.com/police-jobs-and-careers/articles/482312006-A-profession-in-crisis-Addressing-recruitment-and-hiring-practices-in-law-enforcement/
Bing, R. L., Harrison, V., Branch, K. & Coston, C. (2017). Minority Recruitment in the Law Enforcement Profession. Journal of Forensic Sciences and Criminal Investigation, 5(5): 1-3. DOI:10.19080/JFSCI.2017.05.5556
Cordner, G. & Cordner, A. (2011). Stuck on a Plateau?: Obstacles to Recruitment, Selection, and Retention of Women Police. Police Quarterly, 14(3): 207-226. DOI:10.1177/1098611111413990
Oliver, P. (2016). Hiring for the 21st Century Law Enforcement Officer: Challenges, Opportunities, and Strategies for Success. History and Government Faculty Presentations, 190. https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1189&context=history_and_government_presentations
Reaves, B. A. (2012). Hiring and Retention of State and Local Law Enforcement Officers, Statistical Tables. US Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. Bureau of Justice Statistics. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/hrslleo08st.pdf
Sanders, B. A. (2003). Maybe there’s no such thing as a “good cop”: Organizational challenges in selecting quality officers. Policing: An International Journal, 26(2): 313-328. DOI:10.1108/13639510310475787
Steinkopf, B. L., Hakala, K. A., & Van Hasselt, V. B. (2015). Motivational Interviewing: Improving the Delivery of Psychological Services to Law Enforcement. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice. Advance online publication. DOI:10.1037/pro0000042
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