The Behavioral Personnel Assessment Device, or B-PAD, shows police recruits real-life scenarios they may face in the field. Before a police force hires you, you have to pass the B-PAD as a part of a battery of tests. The B-PAD differs from traditional tests in that there are no right or wrong answers; it?s a test of character and how you respond to police work. Here are some techniques that break down behavioural questions on the B-PAD. What Are Behavioural Questions? Behavioural questions ask how you respond to certain scenarios. The basic premise goes, ?How would you act if you see? .? For example, you see officers approach a house where a robbery suspect is allegedly hiding. One officer knocks on the door loudly while others aim pistols at the door in case there are any surprise. The B-PAD would pause the scenario at this point to ask you a question about what you would do next as the police try to ascertain what?s going on behind the closed door. Do you kick down the door? Do you scour the rest of the property first? When do you fire your weapon, if at all? How do you apprehend the suspect without any injuries? Police in the field must act quickly and according to procedures. How you answer the behavioural questions depends on your knowledge of scenarios, police tactics, ethical decision making and officer presence in the field. …show more content…
How Does the B-PAD Work? You have just a minute or two during the B-PAD to list your thoughts on the scenario.
You give an oral response, which is video recorded, and then trained test scorers gauge your responses to each question. Clear, precise communication is a must for this test. The better you communicate, the more information you can convey in a short amount of time. Once the test resumes, you can?t go back and change your answer because you don?t get any do-overs in the field. The B-PAD is supposed to be as real as police work gets without physically going on actual duty. This test works because it uses unconventional methods to make
assessments. How to Study Study police lingo and procedures. Gauge how you respond to each situation with split-second timing. Ask yourself about your initial gut reaction to a certain situation. You could face an ordinary traffic stop, a drug arrest or a mass murder. Police officers have to be prepared for anything. Consider finding a tutor or study group. Talk to experienced officers and ask what they do in certain situations. These people can talk to you about your ideas and responses to given scenarios. First-hand knowledge can be just as valuable as pre-recorded test prep materials. Preparation materials also come in handy for this test because they give you a feel for what to expect. Preparation videos examine various scenarios, go through videos and tell you how test evaluators score your responses in terms of judgment and common sense principles. Once you get your behavioural questions down, passing the B-PAD becomes easier.
For this paper there are many current events in the united states and across the world that directly correlate with my literature I am reviewing. What I was chosen to research, or what my research question ended up being was. In what situation can a police officer use lethal or deadly force. There are many variables and situational characteristics that play into how police officers handle high risk violent encounters. for instance, some variables could be how the police officer was trained, public attitudes towards police officers, psychological makeup of the police officer, previous or current behaviors of the police officer, the police officer current mental state, also previous incidents with police officers having to use lethal or deadly force. This topic is very challenging because there is not as much
Birzer, Michael L., and Cliff Roberson. Police field operations: theory meets practice. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon, 2008. Print.
As a police officer there are a lot of social psychological factors that come into play every day. You must constantly be helping people, not discriminating, unbiased in every way, and of course keeping an open mind at all times. All of the theories presented here should be taught to police officers, while they are in training, to help them to be able to handle these situations if any arise.
Having strong morals and ethics are important for all law enforcement professionals. Decisions need to be made that can greatly impact the lives of others. For this reason there is a higher expectation from the public for law enforcement professionals to have strong morals and ethics (Gleason, 2015). It is important that all law enforcement agencies conduct ongoing education with realistic scenarios to help be ready to make the right decisions. When responding to a situation there are two issues that occur for the law enforcement professional, reaction and action. The reaction is the feelings and thoughts, and the action is what is actually done. The action is the one that must adhere to the law (Gleason, 2015).
It is a myth to believe that an officers job is spend fighting dangerous crimes, in reality officers spend more time handing smaller cases. For example, police officers spend a lot of time doing daily tasks such as giving speeding tickets and being mediators in disputes (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Handing out speeding tickers and handling minor disputes are far from fighting crime. Police officers spend more time doing preventive measures (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Preventive measures involve officers intervening to prevent further altercations. Victor Kappeler and Gary Potter discussed the myth of crime fighting as invalid and misleading notions of an officer’s employment.
Everyday law enforcement personal have the possibility to face dangerous events in their daily duties. In performing such duties a police officer could come by a seemingly ordinary task, and in a blink of an eye the event can turn threatening and possible deadly. When or if this happens to an officer they won’t have
The role in which police departments follow is the detail of patrolling communities, responding to emergency calls of service, and conducting investigations in an effort to follow up reported crimes. Reactive policing is responding to a crime that has already been committed. Police officers patrol areas within their own jurisdictions not only to look for crime, but to also be visible so to deter crime from happening. “Routine Patrol” includes the additional element of response time. Officers out patrolling their communities is required in order to facilitate response in a timely manner to dispatch
Police brutality and the use of excessive force are unavoidable in police effort. In many circumstances, the lives of officers or civilians can be taken by not using force when necessary or use it improperly, which officers duties consist of protecting and serving the community. Many influences are involved when an officer resolves to use force toward a suspect in the line of duty. The situational consciousness is important, and officers are noted by the agencies to be proficient to evaluate when a calamity entails the use of force to reclaim control of a situation. In most cases, time converts the significant variable in shaping when an officer selects to use force. Law enforcement agencies falsify and cover-up the use of police brutality all too often in the
The SARA model consists of 4 pieces and they are as follows scanning, analysis, responding, and assessing the results. Scanning refers to identifying the problem and describing it in detail and is usually prefaced by the CHEERS test used for defining if the problem is large enough to entail police man power and resources. Analysis refers to identifying persons involved, documenting the scope of the problem, determining different causes, and describing physical settings and social context. Responding refers to collaborating on solutions, community involvement, and making and action plan. Assessing the results refers process evaluation, impact evaluation, and if a new problem arises from the actions assessing that new problem (“SARA” n.d). The CHEERS test consists of 6 pieces they are community, harmful, expectation, events, recurring, and similarity. Community in the cheers test means that members of the public must experience or be affected by the harmful event. Harmful means that people or institutions must suffer some form of harm. Expectation means that members of the community must expect the police to respond and address the cause of the harm. Events mean that you must be able to describe the events that make
The use of force has always been a controversial topic and the masses are debating on when the use of force can be applied in apprehending suspects. There have been many cases in which officers were criticized for the excessive use of force to apprehend suspects and have caused and uproar from the communities across the states. On the other hand, law enforcement officers face danger when carrying out their duties and when dealing with unpredictable situations. Police officers have little time to assess the situation and use the appropriate measures based on the situation. There is no known universal definition for excessive use of force. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) in its study, Police Use of Force in America 2001, defined
Proactive patrol is still a critical component of police crime control efforts. When it comes to maintaining availability and quality handling of incidents there is a constant strain between the two ( Hoover, 1996). Some of the duties that the police chief may encounter, is the fact of trying to control what all goes on with his police officers. Trying to please the public and taking the responsibility of his officers and making sure that the right man for promotions is selected. A police chief must make sure that they employ men that are able to do the job and if they are incompetent or unqualified officers and removing them. The citizens want to feel comfortable and know that the police are going to respond in a timely manner when an emergency occurs (Hoover, 2014). The ability of quick response times will be based on the areas and the type of communities that they are patrolling. Rapid response is an important component of victim’s evaluation of the police (Cihan, Zhang, & Hoover, 2012). Citizens need that visibility in the residential neighborhoods (Liederbach, Fritsch, Carter, & Bannister, 2007). Responsiveness is a critical component of a well-run police agency. If the citizens want immediate availability, rapid response, and visibility,
A common style of police leadership is a more bureaucratic style where the leader manages “by the book”, everything must be done in accordance with pre-written policies and procedures (Cordner & Scarborough, 2010). When a certain problem or concern isn’t covered by the book the leader refers to the next level for a decision. This style removes the ability of the leader to manage and forces a strict accordance to the “book”. This style can be very effective when dealing with dangerous situations which can be a common occurrence in police work.
A career in law enforcement is a rewarding one, yet it can also be extremely mentally and physically challenging. Cities are growing and developing; with this law enforcement agencies are doing there best to keep up with changing trends in crime. Law enforcement officials often times face scrutiny for how they do their job, recently the use of force has been receiving a substantial amount of coverage.
3. maintain courageous calm in the face of danger: I think that this is very important, police officers must not bring their family problems on the job with them. Doing this will only cause more problems for both his occupation and his family life.
The police must be active members in their community to understand the people they are protecting and how they can be proactive in the crime prevention in that given community. For the second question in the survey I stated that it is the public’s job to obey the law and make the police’s job easier and not more difficult. Once again, I was close minded in my answer. The public is tasked with policing the police; however, it does not mean they are making the police’s job more difficult, it is just about holding them accountable for their actions. Police require a wide set of characteristics, if they want to be successful during the application process and enjoy a long career in public safety. When asked in the survey at the start of this course, I answered that an officer requires the ability to treat all people fairly in all situations. This is a phenomenal quality for a police officer to have, but it is just one of many that an officer must possess. Adaptability was the first the trait that stood out me, when reading the modules, because it is essential for a new and old officer to continue to grow and adapt.