Page 20 - November 2017 Magazine

Honesty is the exploited policy
The Mayor recently announced that he was planning a hiring surge to bolster the ranks of the Chicago Police Department. This came as welcome news for all those living and working in Chicago. He promised to fill the vacancies that have grown throughout the years due to hiring failing to keep pace with attrition. Ideal- ly, the Department seeks to attract the best and brightest candidates for the job. However, in
reality, many desired candidates will forego the ap- plication process due to the challenges and scruti- ny confronting law enforcement today.
tions with a full evidentiary hearing before the Human Resources Board of Chicago. However, applicants who are disqualified based upon psychological testing results are not afforded the same right to a hearing. There is no reason given. How can this be fair? What is more, appli- cants are not allowed to see the test results which alleged- ly were the basis for the disqualification. Applicants are informed of their failure via an email which states, simply,
DANIEL HERBERT
The loss of qualified candidates is unfortunate
but understandable considering the current cli-
mate. What can’t be tolerated, however, is losing qualified applicants due to arbitrary and discrimi- natory practices during the hiring process. Transparency has been the central theme of many Police critics. Most departments, including the Chicago Police Department, have recognized and heard the cries of the critics and have transformed their policies and procedures to stim- ulate a more transparent Department. Accordingly, we should assume that the application process to become a Police Officer will also become more transparent.
For years Chicago Police applicants have been disqual- ified for a variety of issues. In most cases, applicants are afforded an opportunity to challenge their disqualifica-
FOP
Legal Rep t
that the disqualification is because of “the results of the psychological test.” The email is sent from a civilian member assigned to the Police Department’s Hu- man Resource Division. No further explanation is given. When an applicant attempts to see his or her test results, the City refuses, and claims that HIPPA prevents such a disclosure. I have no idea how HIPPA would prevent an applicant from seeing
his or her own test results.
I’ve been very critical of the psychological testing com-
ponent of the hiring process, for good reason. I could write a years’ worth of articles describing the problems with the psychological portion of the hiring process. However, it is not the only testing component that is broken within the Chicago Police Department’s hiring plan. The polygraph examination is also veiled in secrecy and rife with ques- tionable and discriminatory aspects.
To begin, an applicant cannot be disqualified for “fail- ing” the polygraph examination. Instead, applicants are
20 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ NOVEMBER 2016