CC RES 79-083 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING PARTICIPATION IN THE SUBURBAN POLICE RECRUITMENT SYSTEM

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ANTICIPATED QUESTIONS REGARDING THE SUBURBAN POLICE RECRUITMENT SYSTEM 1. What is the background of the Suburban Police Recruitment System? Establishment of the Suburban Police Recruitment System (SPRS) represents the culmination of a four-year cooperative effort by fifty-five suburban municipalities, the Metropolitan Area Management Association (MAMA) and the Metropolitan Council to develop valid, non-discriminatory selection standards and pro- cedures for entry-level police positions. This effort began in 1975 when representatives of MAMA and several local Chiefs of Police associations approached the Metropolitan Council to re- quest their assistance in securing funding for such a project. A Selection Standards Committee representing each of these groups then was formed to prepare an application for funding and to administer the resultant research effort. The first major phase of the Selection Standards Project ana- lyzed the police officer' s position in depth, beginning with an extensive collection of data on the vaious activities which an officer performs. Based upon this analysis, the Committee se- lected several characteristics and abilities which it felt are • essential for effective job performance and which must be test- ed at entry rather than trained on-the-job. The second major phase of the Selection Standards Project was the development of test instruments and procedures to measure the selected characteristics and abilities, and the ultimate validation of these instruments and procedures. The precipitating factor which most has created the need for valid selection standards and procedures probably has been the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , together with the many court deci- sions and administrative guidelines which have enforced this Act. Basically, these decisions and guidelines require that the selection standards and procedures of municipalities, as well as many other organizations, must be demonstrated to be job-related (i.e. , validated) before they may be 'utilized. Perhaps the most notable local action in this regard was the court decision which prevented the City of St. Paul from hiring police officers for over three years, until such standards and procedures could be developed. 2. Why is a centralized recruitment and evaluation system necessary? One obvious advantage of a centralized recruitment and evalua- tion system is that it will be much more efficient for appli- cants to be processed and tested once than to be processed and tested in each individual community. A centralized recruitment