WHAT ARE THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR POLICE OFFICER?
Required Qualifications:
- Graduation from high school or GED equivalent.
- Must be 21 years of age with no felony convictions.
- Must be a U.S. Citizen.
- Have the knowledge of or the ability to learn use of a firearm.
- Have the ability to learn, understand, and interpret laws, ordinances, policies, and regulations.
- Have the ability to write clear and accurate reports, remember names, faces, and details of incidents, understand and carry out complex oral and written instructions, analyze situations and adopt a quick and reasonable course of action.
- Meet Department of Public Safety Standards & Training (DPSST) established physical standards. Click HERE to see physical, hearing, and vision requirements.
- Successfully pass the Oregon Physical Abilities Test (ORPAT) administered my MPD.
- Successful completion of a background investigation to the satisfaction of the City.
- Prior drug use must be in compliance with MPD policy 1000.9.8 (see page 633.)
- Have the ability to obtain Law Enforcement Data Systems (LEDS) certification within six months of employment.
- Have the ability to obtain Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) clearance upon hire.
- Have the ability to obtain the DPSST Basic Police certification after successful completion of the academy and filed training.
Desired Qualifications:
- College work in Criminology, Police Science or related field.
- Bilingual Spanish skills
DO YOU ACCEPT LATERAL TRANSFERS FROM OTHER AGENCIES?
We do accept lateral transfers from outside agencies. A lateral applicant is one who:
- Holds an active Oregon DPSST Police Officer certification, or holds an active Police Officer certification in their respective state; and
- Has been employed as a certified Police Officer for a minimum of 18 months.
- Note: Military Police, Federal Law Enforcement, Corrections and Parole/Probation DO NOT qualify as a Lateral Police Officer.
Lateral Officers certified in Oregon require no additional academy training and are assigned a Field Training Officer as soon as department orientation is completed. The field training process is generally the same length as a new officer. The department wants to ensure all new Medford Police Officers are given every opportunity to succeed. Out of state lateral officers will attend a two week refresher course through the Oregon Police Academy. These courses are offered once a year, so the officer goes to the next available refresher course. Often they go through department orientation and field training prior to completing the refresher course. Compensation for a lateral officer i based on the amount of directly related experience and qualifications evaluated alongside others who perform work of comparable character as required by Oregon’s Pay Equity law.
HOW DO I START THE APPLICATION PROCESS?
First, you must watch for openings, or you can sign up for a Job Interest Notification to receive email notifications each time a position opens in your area of interest. When the positions are open, you can apply for the job by filling out the online application; additional testing will need to be completed via the National Testing Network. The City of Medford is an Equal Opportunity employer who complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you consider yourself disabled and desire assistance in the application process, please contact Human Resources.
WHAT CAN I DO TO PREPARE FOR THE TEST?
National Testing Network (NTN) is the service provided to conduct the Frontline National Exam in a standardized, professional environment. NTN does not replace the Medford Police Department’s responsibility and decision making in the evaluation process.
All Police Officer Applicants must take the Frontline National Exam and Public Safety Self-Assessment (PSSA) with NTN by the application closing date.
Practice tests are available on NTN's website. The exam and assessment may be transferable to other agencies who use NTN; the City will consider an assessment taken within the last 12 months valid when attached to the City’s process with NTN.
WHAT IS THE PHYSICAL ABILITY REQUIREMENT FOR THE MEDFORD POLICE DEPARTMENT?
The Medford Police Department utilizes the ORPAT or Oregon Physical Abilities Test, which has been standardized by the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) and must be completed in 5 minutes 30 seconds. To find out more about ORPAT, check out this link to the DPSST website. It will help you understand what is required and provide tips in getting ready for it. DPSST ORPAT Info
I AM FROM OUT OF TOWN. CAN I DO ALL OF THE TESTING AT ONE TIME?
The written testing is done online and the assessment center is done on site at the Medford Police Department so unfortunately it can not be all at one time.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE TEST?
Applicants who have completed the City's online application, met minimum qualifications including passing the NTN Frontline National Exam and Public Safety Self-Assessment will be screened for suitability to attend the assessment center.
The assessment center is a half day process involving multiple interview boards and a report writing project. To get more information on what a police assessment center testing process is like, you can find information as well as purchase books through commercial vendors on the subject.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE ASSESSMENT CENTER?
The top candidate(s) are invited to go further into the process starting with a background investigation. Our background investigation is extremely comprehensive. We talk to people that have had contact with you throughout your life. We look into your personal history, academic history, work history, relationship history, drug use history, criminal history, credit history, and anything that can tell us what type of employee you would be for the Medford Police Department.
THE BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION IS DONE. WHAT’S NEXT?
After the background investigation is completed, the successful candidate is offered a conditional job offer before moving into additional evaluation. The candidate is scheduled for a medical exam that meets DPSST standards in Medford and a psychological exam with the department’s psychologist. After the exams, and at the discretion of the Chief of Police and City Manager, the candidate is offered a position.
I’VE BEEN HIRED. WHAT WILL MY FIRST WEEK WITH MPD BE LIKE?
Depending on the availability of Oregon Police Academy Classes, new employee orientation may include a week or two of orientation and possibly an in-house academy taught by MPD instructors. This in-house academy will prepare new police officers for their upcoming academy training and will give them a change to get out on the filed with a trainer prior to formal DPSST Academy instruction. If there are available Oregon Police Academy classes, this in-house academy may not be necessary.
The initial orientation includes meetings with command staff, policy orientation, firearms training, uniform issue, and introductions to the MPD’s community partners. The schedule is set up and supervised by the training officer who walks you through the program. During the orientation phase, the officer has a formal swearing in ceremony with family and friends present.
WHAT IS THE ACADEMY LIKE?
The Oregon Police Academy is located at the DPSST grounds on Aumsville Hwy. just West of I-5 in Salem, Oregon. The candidates stay on campus where they are immersed in police science courses that include academic classes as well as hands-on practical scenario based training. The academy is sixteen weeks long and is in a para-military type setting. Although it isn’t as militaristic as going to a military boot camp, it is based on those premises where discipline and unit cohesion are taught along with the curriculum. http://www.oregon.gov/dpsst/at/Pages/index.aspx
Some recruits stay on campus for the weekend for additional study or group studies, especially when they are preparing for major tests, but the opportunity to return home for the weekend is always there.
I’VE GRADUATED FROM THE ACADEMY. WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP?
You return to the Medford Police Department where you are assigned to a Field Training Officer (FTO). This is the first of at least three FTOs that will train you over the next few months. The FTO takes the academy trained recruit and puts their new knowledge, skills, and abilities into practical application. This is what is often described as the most stressful point of the police career by many. The FTO rides with the recruit in the same vehicle and helps them become more proficient. As the process moves along, the FTO helps less and less and becomes more of a silent evaluator to ensure the recruit is becoming proficient. The recruit also receives additional targeted training on traffic enforcement and DUII investigations. Every day during field training the recruit receives a written evaluation of what went right, what went wrong, and what they can do to improve. The proficiency necessary to be a police officer is comprehensive and our goal is to give the new recruit every opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed.
FIELD TRAINING IS OVER. NOW WHAT?
This is a great time in a new police officer’s career. This is when you're assigned to your first patrol team and go out in the car without the trainer. At this point you are a probationary police officer proficient in handling your calls for service and anything that might present itself. You work closely with your team, especially your Sergeant and Corporal who will serve to mentor you through these early learning stages. Your probationary period is for one year after completion of field training.
HOW DO I GET A SPECIALTY ASSIGNMENT AT MPD?
One of the most important things you must remember is that you are being hired to be a police patrol officer. You will have one of the hardest, most challenging, and rewarding positions in the field of law enforcement. A lot of officers stay in patrol their entire careers because it is that rewarding. Most officers who stay in patrol by choice describe the challenges and rewards of going to in-progress calls as well as the ability to help people at their most critical hour as their reason for happily staying put.
Once you have become a competent police patrol officer, you can compete for specialty assignments with other candidates within the department. The selection process is based on merit and designed based on the criteria for the individual position. There are minimum qualifications for our specialty positions and they vary based on the position itself. Most require the employees to be off probation and to receive evaluations that warrant being considered for a specialty position. They are highly competitive processes.
I WANT TO WORK AS A DETECTIVE OR CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATOR (CSI). CAN I GO STRAIGHT INTO THOSE POSITIONS?
The simple answer is no. A lot of interest in law enforcement is driven by crime-based television shows and movies, and that sometimes provides an unrealistic expectation in what law enforcement truly is. To work in any municipal law enforcement agency, you must spend a considerable amount of time learning the basic skills in investigations, tactics, and report writing. These skills are honed in the patrol division. After spending the time acquiring the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary, you can apply to compete with other officers for a detective position. Our detectives work a variety of positions including narcotics, property crimes, person crimes, sex abuse, and computer forensics. Our equivalent of what is called CSI is our Forensic Support Unit which is staffed by one Forensic Technician. Keith has a high degree of technical skill in collecting and processing evidence and is an asset to the organization. His job does not include suspect interviews, arrests, or carrying firearms.