Promotional Handbook Guide for Police / Law Enforcement – Oral Boards and Scenarios
By Michael A. Wood Jr.
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2012 Michael A. Wood Jr.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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Table of Contents
• Foreword
• Chapter 4: General Information
• Chapter 7: Interview Questions & Scenarios
• Chapter 9: The Oral Board Scenarios
• Chapter 11: New Shift Low Performance Administrative Scenario
• Chapter 12: New Shift Deficiency Administrative Scenario
• Chapter 13: New Shift Introduction Administrative Scenario
• Chapter 14: New Shift Delinquent Reports Administrative Scenario
• Chapter 15: New Shift Introduction 2 Administrative Scenario
• Chapter 16: Corruption Personnel Issues Scenario
• Chapter 17: EEOC Personnel Issues Scenario
• Chapter 18: EEOC 2 Personnel Issues Scenario
• Chapter 19: Alcohol / Drugs Personnel Problem Scenario
• Chapter 20: Domestic Violence Personnel Problem Scenario
• Chapter 21: Performance Issues Personnel Problem Scenario
• Chapter 22: Juvenile Problem Routine Situation Scenario
• Chapter 23: Robbery Problem Routine Situation Scenario
• Chapter 24: Shooting / Crime Scene protection Routine Situation Scenario
• Chapter 25: Use of Force Routine Situation Scenario
• Chapter 26: Active Shooter, Hostage, Barricade Tactical Situation Scenario
• Chapter 27: Bomb Threat / Explosion Tactical Situation Scenario
• Chapter 28: Hazmat Tactical Situation Scenario
• Chapter 29: Barricade Tactical Situation Scenario
Foreword
This guide is the oral board portion of a complete guide that I wrote for the promotional process in the Baltimore Police Department. While the written portion of police promotional testing is unique to the rules and laws of a particular jurisdiction, the elements of the oral board are relatively universal. When you partake in the written portion of your promotional testing, study hard and integrate those local policies and laws into this guide. While I am speaking from a Baltimore Police Department perspective, the vast majority of everything will apply to any agency.
While I was with my first and only squad as a Sergeant, in the Eastern District, there was a moment when I was sitting with my Lieutenant discussing various aspects of policing, as we often did. This particular Lieutenant, although I have been with many supervisors that I respected and some that I loathed, remains the member of the department that I respect the most. We came upon the subject of who on our shift would make Sergeant on the upcoming test. The Lieutenant began naming a few potential candidates, many of whom would have made excellent Sergeants. I laughed at him and stated that there was no way any of them would make Sergeant, because they were either aggressive Eastern District style (i.e. real police) police, more concerned with the art of their craft then getting promoted, or they simply lacked the initiative, intelligence, and / or desire.
The Lieutenant made attempts in roll call to provide practice test questions and provide a level of education to prepare the shift as a whole. While preparing one of the practice tests he wrote a question; which four things constitute an arrest? He asked me how many officers would get this basic question right; I guessed none and was right once again. The correct answer is (an intent to arrest, real or pretended authority, detention of person, detention is understood by person). I continued to doubt that questions would be answered correctly because I felt that the environment of the Eastern, and the department as a whole, had become so arrest oriented and not conviction oriented that officers became skilled in how to arrest versus how to convict. We lost that professionalism and the Lieutenant and I were too small, too unimportant to change that.
The Sergeant’s test came and went with few officers passing the written let alone getting through the oral and being promotable. There was one officer however; that I thought would make a good Sergeant. He had the courage to consistently stand up for the right thing, instead of following the status quo, and was a very effective covert leader. I saw myself in him in that manner, because I always viewed myself in the same mold, which has gotten me in plenty of trouble with some supervisors, but especially as a Sergeant that is our role. It is the Sergeant’s role to speak up for their officers and stand firm to accomplish the right thing.
It was around this time that I began to realize that it is also the Sergeant’s role, my role, to lead those types of officers in their training in the promotional process. It was our failure that none of those officers on that shift were promoted; it was us who let them down. Sure, I did it on my own without any help from supervisors, but that certainly was no excuse for me to expect the same. For far too long, information has been protected by successful supervisors in this department, we all know it. Those that knew how to get through the testing seemed to protect that information and give it only to those that they liked and were close with. It is time for that to end. I became convinced that I had to find a way to change that.
The materials and education needed to get through the promotional process had to get through to anyone motivated to move up the ladder. False assumptions run rampant through this department just like the rumor mill. Officers do not apply for certain positions because they think they do not have a chance of making it, just as many do not take promotional tests, or apply themselves appropriately, because they do not think they can make it. I had to find a way to pull back the curtain on the process.
When I began to study for the Lieutenant’s test I realized that this was my opportunity to document the process and create the educational materials needed, and to create a single source for promotional preparation. I teamed up with my great friend and former Violent Crime Impact Division partner, James Shawn Glanville, and we began the process of creating this guide. It was a daunting project, but it would kill two birds with one stone as it had to also help me study for the Lieutenant’s test.
This guide cannot make you motivated to study and apply yourself to getting promoted, and motivation is a huge factor, but everything you need other than that is here. When it comes to motivation consider a few things that should help you with that motivation. I will start with the most universal, money.
Without getting into overtime, pay raises, benefits, and so forth let’s take a look at the difference in pay. Keep in mind that pay raises are usually done in percentages which only makes the gap grow. Using this guide, you can define your career path much better than how I did mine. I graduated from the academy in December of 2004, was promoted to Sergeant in June of 2009. I joined at 23 years of age and suppose a retirement at 43, death at 81. At this time, I will make at least $426,591 more than I would have as an officer. With a promotion to Lieutenant in 2013 I would make at least $729,630 more than I would as an officer. Three quarters of a million dollars should be serious motivation. That is an incredibly nice house, college for your children, vacations every year, ten corvettes, trips to the super bowl, enough money to make a significant change in life style. You owe that to yourself, your spouse, your children, or whoever else you provide for.
Backing up your criticisms is another motivation. We have all sat there and complained about our supervisor, marveled at how someone unworthy was promoted, and moaned about how we could do it better. Well whose fault is it that we have a bad supervisor, that someone unworthy was promoted, or why we are not the ones doing it better? It is OUR fault, no one else’s. It is our fault because we did not do it; we let some excuse get in our way. There is a certain amount of professionalism that we let slip from our department. Now is the time to eliminated those excuses, the things you need are right here, the only thing that can stop you is yourself.
Take this guide, learn it, live it, make it become everything you think about. Know the rules, regulations, laws, and procedures inside and out. Then when you get promoted remember what helped you get there and do not make the mistakes I made at first. Lead your officers and teach them every last thing that you know. Once those stripes are on you, remember my biggest lesson in leadership. Those stripes DO NOT make you respected and they do not make you a leader. Only you can make yourself a respected leader; those stripes are just podiums for the opportunity to be better than all of those before you. Listen to your officers and make the squad a team, motivate them, you will never effectively lead police with an iron fist. You can only lead police with earned respect, earned, and not handed to you by the Commissioner and at the Quartermaster.
In order for true leadership to grow, we must look in the mirror and face our failures. We cannot be afraid to make mistakes because rarely is anything learned from success; it is in the failures that we learn. The results from the 2011 Lieutenant’s test were posted just as I completed this book. I have been in the Southern District, the Northern District, VCIS (VCID at the time), the Eastern, and Personnel, but I consider my home as the Eastern. So of the Sergeants that were in the Eastern when I was there, six of us will most likely be promoted to Lieutenant. Carrie Everett at 11, Joel Fried at 15, Steven Baublitz at 18, Ted Friel at 20, Me at 27, and Steve Harris at 37. So why is it that we did not have a ton of police officers get promoted to Sergeant? There was an element of leadership in which we failed.
Part of the purpose to this guide is to learn from those failures, to not be afraid of them as learning experiences. I am not telling you that I have done things perfectly. What I am doing is not being afraid to admit my failures, so that you can learn from them. The mistakes I made on the Sergeant’s test provided lessons that helped me on the Lieutenant’s test, and now my mistakes on the Lieutenant’s test will help all of us on both tests. I will get into those mistakes in the book but the main mistakes were that on the Sergeant’s test I did not take the written seriously enough, then on the Lieutenant’s test I tried to give perfect oral board answers. I learned that the written is one area you can completely control and should take it extremely seriously. I then learned that the time constraints do not allow perfection on the oral board questions; you must have a broad spectrum of knowledge, hit the major points, and then go into detail after that if there is time remaining.
This guide goes into detail covering the training scenarios; this chapter is about developing the mindset that needs to go into the oral board. While I can discuss what has happened in the past (which is highly likely to happen again) the process is subject to change. That potential for change, or surprise questions, is why we must have the right mindset in preparing for and executing the oral board part of the testing.
Generally, the oral board is weighted the heaviest on the final score computation. It is also the only area subject to opinion; the written test is right or wrong and completely in your control. The oral board on the other hand, has other elements involved. Cadence of speech (tone), physical appearance, an in depth understanding of law enforcement principles, the ability to think on your feet, write legibly with proper grammar, and even likeability all play a part.
After I was surprised to learn that I passed the written portion of the Sergeant’s test, I decided that I may as well go ahead and take the oral board preparation seriously. It was my success in the oral board that made me promotable and overcame my poor written score and lack of seniority. Ironically, I sought improvement for the Lieutenant’s test and changed my oral board tactics. The change in tactics hurt my Lieutenant’s test score, requiring my written score to make up for the oral board mistakes. The written test can be learned casually by taking your time and studying whenever you can. If you truly want to be promoted the oral board must be a focused effort, all distractions must be temporarily eliminated.
This need to focus is why I would have never been able to make promotions or this guide without the support and love of my beautiful wife, Jessica, and my amazing daughter, Katlyn. Feisty J and Crazy K.
Chapter 1 The Oral Board
What Happens?
Once the results of the written test have gone through their paces (confusing questions will be eliminated, inaccurate questions will be eliminated, and most likely a curve will be applied if the results do not yield a satisfactory number of passing scores) an order will come out stating where the oral board testing will be held, what time, and your candidate number.
Before the oral board date, scope out parking, travels routes, and contingency plans; the last thing we would want is to be late or have something else go wrong at this critical time. Relax the day before the test; if you don’t know it now you won’t know it then. Science shows that the brain does not work that way; it will not recall that last minute information when stressed. Get a haircut and whatever else grooming makes you look your best. Go get a massage, go to the gym, or do something which you enjoy and relaxes you.
Ensure that your attire is professional, clean, and complete. There are many opinions regarding what to wear. I have researched many and here’s my two cents. Men, light to dark grey or dark blue suit, laced smooth black shoes, subdued tie, and white shirt. Avoid the black; you do not want to look like you are going to a funeral or a formal event. The idea is to look confident but not slick, a nice black suit can make you look too good and give off an air of arrogance, which is great in certain situations, but not here. Remember that this is an investment so I suggest going down to a professional business outfitter, and tell them what you are trying to achieve and let them pick out your suit. They tend to treat officers well and know what they are doing; you can’t go wrong doing this.
Women, a stylish pant suit in the mold of the male color pattern has always looked good in my opinion. But thin pinstripes can help with women because it slims and makes you look taller; for some reason women can also get away with wearing the black better. I believe that women have to do their best to give off that air of confidence that truly boarders on arrogance because you have to overcome some prejudices that still exist, whether admitted to or not, they are there. Get your hair done, go to the spa, treat yourself well in preparation and get that feeling of looking and feeling your best. If you have the assets do not flaunt them, you will end up with a strong women assessor that takes offense to that; instead, accentuate with a tailored outfit. A long skirt with the right blouse can look extremely professional, but get help with your wardrobe from a professional if the pant suit is something you do not want to wear.
Get to bed early and ensure plenty of sleep. Wake up with plenty of time to spare and avoid the stress of a rush. The test will be held downtown and if you are early there are plenty of places to relax and have a drink or a light snack. While you do not want to be so hydrated that you have to visit the restroom every five minutes, I have not found that the bathroom breaks are an issue. There are 2 to 3 opportunities while you are in the process.
Sign in and wait to be called up. Once called upon you will go to a room and complete some administrative paperwork and get briefed on the process. You will then go into another room and be assigned the Inbox portion of the test, move to the speech portion, and then to the scenarios. It will be stressful and seem like a blur. When you leave you will begin to think of all of the things that you missed and feel like you did awful because of those things that you missed. Be aware of this and remember that everyone feels that way.
Chapter 2 Mindset
There are a few key mindset issues that you must understand right from the beginning:
As a supervisor, whether you like it or not, you must begin to protect the department and your actions must be for the best interest of the department at all times. In reality, of course, there are going to be situations where you look out for an officer and may not follow the black and white rules but that is never the case in an answer you provide during promotional testing.
The assessors are human beings; they are swayed just as much by likability and first impressions as anyone else. It is only human that whether consciously or subconsciously they view themselves as the gatekeepers of the club. The club is the Sergeant’s or Lieutenant’s supervisors club. You want to be likeable; you want them to want you in their club. Do not under any circumstances, just like in any positional interview, talk about how you would do things differently or better than the way it has been or that the rules are written. Remember, they have most likely been doing things that way so you would essentially be telling them that they have been doing it wrong. Not a good way to make a solid impression!
Here are some key things to keep in mind throughout the oral board:
GMP The Three Cs of LEADERSHIP STYLES:
This is an acronym that I created when trying to think of the keys of leadership that I would want to convey no matter what type of questions were asked of me in the inbox or potential speech sections.
G – Goals and Milestones
M – Motivation
P – Problem solving
T – Teamwork
T – Training
C – Commend in public
C – Constant improvement
C – Common sense
L – Lead from the front
E – Ethical
A – Always document
D – Disciplined
E – Enthusiasm
R – Respect is earned
S – Strategic planning
H – High morale
I – Integrity
P – Professionalism
S – Supervise
T – Trust
Y – Yes men (Avoid them!)
L – Leadership development
E – Expert in subject matter
S – Self critique
The UMUC Leadership Certificate Course drove this principle home which I also integrated into the inbox portion of my Lieutenant’s test:
Successful Organization = Positive vision of the future, Resources, Knowledge – Skills – Attitude, Constant positive reinforcement, and Strategic planning.
AEDEMIC is another anonym that I created to think about what I needed to do when taking over a new unit and it also applies to any problem.
A – Accept the mission of my unit
E – Establish goals and objectives
D – Defines roles and functions
E – Establish expectations and standards
M – Monitor for adjustments
I – Intelligently appraise for effectiveness
C – Continually do better
Similar to AEDEMIC:
State the Problem
Investigate
Notify
Document
Critique
Training
Follow-up / Monitor
PRELIMINARY
PProceed to the scene safely
RRender Aid
EEffect the arrest of the offender if possible
LLocate all witnesses
IInterview all witnesses
MMaintain Evidence
IInterrogate Suspects
NNote all conditions
AArrange for the collection of evidence
RReport all the facts
YYield investigation (i.e., give it to AIU, Homicide, etc...)
Chapter 3 Resources
Do not limit yourself to the resources that are at your disposal, in the oral boards it is a perfect situation where everything comes together, even that which we know is impossible and will never be at our disposal.
Environmental
Light Towers
Portable Cameras
CCTV Cameras
Forestry Service
Public Works
Environmental Crimes Unit
Rat Control
Sanitation
Liquor Board
Health Department
Tactical
Emergency Services Unit
Armored Vehicles
K-9 for security and presence
Bomb Squad
SWAT
Mounted Unit
Crisis Negotiator
Helicopter
Less-Lethal Kits
Mobile Command Post
Extra Batteries
Log Books
Communications
911 Call Back Services
Phone Directory Communications System
Command Pages
Notifications
Batteries
Additional Radios
Committed Channels
Cell Phones
Social Media (Facebook, websites)
Mass E-mails
Public Works
Transit and Traffic Support
Water Main & Sewage Problems
Intell
Watch Center
Federal Liaisons
Gang Intell and Enforcement
BOLO Repository
District Level
Rank and File Officers
Patrol
Community Relations
Operations units
Administrative Support
Shift Commander
District Commander
Duty Officer
Vehicles
Auto Theft Task Force
District Gang Liaison
Property Officer
Command Level
Detective Division
Special Enforcement Teams
Organized Crime
Crime Lab
Trace Unit
Internal Affairs
EEOC
Education & Training
Safety Officer
Emergency Operations Center
Technical
Technical Response Units
Portable Cameras
CCTV Cameras
Watch Center
Departmental Guidelines
Departmental Websites
Support
Psychological Consultants
Crisis Response Teams
Spiritual Advisors
District or State’s Attorney
Booking / Jail
Civilian Review Boards
Police Foundations
Community
Community Associations
Programs for the Elderly
Crime Watch Programs
Targeting Hardening Pamphlets
Window Flyers
Phone Directory Call Backs
Drug Treatment
Addiction Counselors
GREAT
Police Athletic Leagues
Scared Straight Programs
Adolescence Crisis Centers
Nuisance Law Enforcement
Truancy Services
Tension Squad
Senior Citizen Liaison
Community Newsletters
Community Affairs
Community Mediation
State / Federal
FBI
ATF
FEMA
Chemtrec
Fire Marshall
Attorney General
DEA
HIDTA Task Force
State Police
Neighboring Jurisdictions
Military
Coast Guard
National Guard
EPA
Parole and Probation
Corrections – Recent Releases
Support
Personnel
Radios
Street Blockers
Jersey Bouncers
Cones
Bullhorns
Vehicles
Personal Protective Equipment
Logistics