In the last article, I discussed the expansion of the Bellevue Police Department (BPD), and the process by which noncertified applicants become police officers. In this article, I will discuss the process of hiring sworn officers from other departments within the State of Nebraska, as well as other states. We refer to those hires as ‘lateral hires’.
In the last year, as BPD has been working on our expansion to 111 officers, we have been blessed by the acquisition of several lateral hires with varying experience levels – from two to twenty-plus years. This began with five lateral hires from within the State of Nebraska (Jarvis, Johnson, Manning, Volk, and Wrigley), progressed to a lateral hire from New Mexico (Beltz), then the pick-up of two more Nebraska laterals (Droz and Paulsen), and will be capped by the start of three out-of-state hires (Moore from South Dakota, Safford from Mississippi, and Shell from Kansas).
Lateral hires who come from out-of-state are handled differently than in-state lateral hires. In this article, we will discuss both.
There are many benefits to hiring lateral officers, including the added experience that they bring, as well as their decreased training time – which equates to getting the vacant position filled in an average of six months, as compared to the “16 months” to hire noncertified officers (which was discussed in the last article).
Unlike noncertified applicants that must complete ‘Cooper Standards’ testing, Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE Test), and the Police Officer Selection Test (POST Test), lateral applicants do not have to meet those same requirements – as they are expected to have already completed similar requirements for their former departments. Instead, the lateral applicants move directly to a panel interview for the first phase of their testing.
Similar to noncertified applicants, once the panel interviews are completed; a list is created where the applicants are placed in order according to their overall score. That list is then certified at an open meeting held by the Bellevue Civil Service Commission. The certified list is then held by the Bellevue Human Resources Department (HRD). A request is then made by the Police Department to the Human Resources Department for names, depending to how many positions are being hired. Strict rules are followed for those applicants that can be eligible for hire according to their testing scores.
The remaining pre-employment steps are exactly the same as the noncertified applicants, those being;
“Once the names are received from the HRD, a comprehensive background investigation is completed by a certified police officer. That background includes matching up information from a lengthy ‘personal history statement’ that is filled out by the applicant prior to testing, to ensure there are no discrepancies. The background also looks into everything from an applicant’s criminal and driving history to their credit history. Numerous interviews are completed with the applicant, their references, former employers, and even neighbors and former neighbors.
Once the background investigation has been completed, the report is reviewed by a hiring committee, which includes the Lead Background Investigator, the Sergeant, and the Captain of the Office of Professional Standards. The Lead Background Investigator then meets with the applicant to go through any additional questions or discrepancies noted by the committee.
The applicant will then ride along with a Field Training Officer. This objective of the ride-along is two-fold; the applicant receives an opportunity to gain knowledge of the job functions as a police officer while they are also observed and evaluated by the Field Training Officer.
The Sergeant and/or Captain then conduct an in-home interview with the applicant, at their residence. This is an opportunity to meet with the applicant and his/her family. This gives us a chance to meet with the applicant under informal circumstances and also allows us to educate the family and answer any questions.
A conditional offer of employment is only extended to the finest applicants who meet BPD standards after a review of their background investigation. Those applicants are then scheduled to complete a medical examination, a polygraph test, and a psychological examination. If all three of those tests are passed, then the applicant will participate in the Chief’s Interview. A final offer of employment is typically extended to the applicant during this interview.”
Once an out-of-state lateral hire has accepted employment in the State of Nebraska, they are required to complete a process referred to as ‘reciprocity’. Recent Nebraska Legislation has made this process much more accommodating to departments statewide, by allowing these lateral hires to complete a pre-certification written test, which is proctored by the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center once per month. Once that test is passed, and basic firearms and other qualifications are met, the lateral hire becomes officially Nebraska certified.
With the combined hiring of both noncertified and lateral applicants, BPD is among the very few agencies in the State of Nebraska to be at capacity for personnel.
