BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

To become a police officer with the City of Olympia you must . . .

• Have a high school diploma or GED.

• Be a U.S. citizen.

• Be at least 21 years of age at the time of hire.

• Have a valid Washington State Drivers' License at the time of hire.

• Successfully complete a polygraph examination, a physical agility test and a criminal and personal background investigation prior to hire.

• Successfully pass both psychological and medical examinations as a condition of employment.

• Qualify to possess a firearm in accordance with Federal or State regulations (a condition of continuing employment).

• Not have a history of domestic violence.

Police Officer Recruit Step A- $4,171/MO.
Police Officer Recruit Step B- $4,380/MO.
Police Officer-$4,635 - $5,738/MO.

COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION PROCEDURES

Qualifying Examination: The initial phase of the police officer testing process involves completing a three-part competitive examination. The examination takes approximately three hours and includes the following elements:

Multiple Choice Situational Decision-Making Questions: In this video-based test, candidates view a series of decision-making situations. After each scenario is presented, a candidate picks the decision he/she feels is most appropriate for the circumstance. Although these scenarios are based on potential policing situations, no prior policing experience or training is required to understand or answer the questions. The test only requires that you use your best judgment and common sense to respond to the situations that are presented.  You can take a sample test on-line or order a CD-ROM with a sample test from the vendor's web site.  There is a charge for ordering the CD-ROM or taking the sample test on-line.

Writing: In this portion of the test, candidates write a short, descriptive report. Before the exercise begins, candidates are given an example of a well-written report. Candidates are given two opportunities to watch a video clip depicting a situation. Then the candidates are asked to write a report describing what they saw. The test is a timed exercise that evaluates both written communication and observation skills. Again, no special police-related training or experience is required to be successful in the writing portion of the examination.

Reading Test: In the final portion of the test, candidates read a set of sentences and choose the best words to complete the sentences. This, too, is a timed exercise that requires no prior police knowledge.

Candidates receive notification of their test scores by mail. No test scores are provided over the telephone. Candidates must pass all three portions of the Qualifying Examination to move ahead to the next phase of the selection process.

Interview: Those candidates achieving the highest scores on the Qualifying Examination are invited to participate in the next phase of the selection process – a competitive interview. The interview is conducted by a panel selected by the Department. Candidates who successfully complete the interview portion of the process are placed on the employment register in ranked order.

LATERAL ENTRY OF EXPERIENCED POLICE OFFICERS

The Olympia Police Department does not actively recruit experienced police officers. However, exceptionally qualified experienced officers meeting the following criteria are welcome to apply for lateral entry:

• The applicant's prior law enforcement experience must be full-time, paid experience as a fully commissioned, general service police officer or deputy sheriff in a municipal or county agency;

• The applicant must be certified as a police officer in Washington State or have completed a basic law enforcement training program in another state that is recognized by the Washington Criminal Justice Training Commission as equivalent to the training provided by the Washington Basic Law Enforcement Academy;

• The applicant must have completed probation and have a minimum of one full year of full-time, paid experience with his/her previous agency.

• The applicant's work history must demonstrate exemplary behavior and performance.

Lateral applicants with prior experience in - and a strong commitment to - applying the principles of community/problem-oriented policing are strongly preferred.

The selection process for experienced police officers is the same as for entry-level officers. Lateral applicants from out of State who are appointed to Police Officer positions are required to successfully complete the Washington Basic Law Enforcement Equivalency Academy within one year of appointment as a condition of continued employment.