Latest news with #ProfessionalStandardsDivision
Yahoo
28-07-2025
- Yahoo
Green Bay Police Department changes interview, college credit requirements in new hiring process
In an attempt to reduce vacancies and speed up the hiring process, the Green Bay Police Department will implement a revised recruitment process for patrol officers in August. The police department currently has 15 vacant patrol positions, with seven more opening in the next year due to retirements, according to a Police and Fire Commission memo. Recruiting quality candidates has been increasingly difficult, the memo said, due in part to a lengthy recruitment process. According to the memo, the current process can take five to six months from the date a candidate applies to their final interview and hiring approval. Changes including a reduced college credit requirement, a revised written exam and eliminating in-person interviews were recommended to make the process more efficient. The changes were unanimously approved by the city's Police and Fire Commission on July 22. "We are all in heavy competition for the same candidates," Matt Cain, acting commander of the professional standards division, said at the meeting. "What we're trying to do is get that offer to them more quickly, get them through the process to the offer more quickly, so that we don't lose them to the competition." What is changing? The police department will be making changes to four aspects of its patrol officer recruitment process: processing of applications, education requirement, written exam and interview process. First, applications will be reviewed on a weekly basis as opposed to a quarterly review. The new process will also reduce the number of college credits required to submit an application. Previously, all candidates were required to have 60 college credits at the time of applying. In the new process, that requirement will only apply to applicants who have already completed the law enforcement academy. Individuals who have not gone through the law enforcement academy can apply with 40 college credits. Through the academy, the candidate would receive the remaining 20 credits needed to fulfill the state's 60-credit requirement. Some commission members expressed concern over lowering the department's education standards. However, after being assured the background check and field training processes won't be changing, commission member Ed Dorff said he recognized that 20 credits "isn't going to make a great deal of difference." "It's those other things that will make the difference," Dorff said. It has become more of an industry norm for candidates to apply without having completed the academy, Cain said. "If you look at those applications ... you see fewer and fewer people are willing to flip their own dime to put themselves through," he said. "All this changes is who can put an application in," commission chair Rod Goldhahn added. Currently, the department administers a report writing test quarterly as the second step in the recruitment process, following the application. In the new process, the test will be replaced with a more comprehensive written exam administered online by Public Safety Answers, the same recruitment vendor used for the city's fire department. The final change will impact the interviewing process. Instead of candidates having an initial interview with police department personnel and a later interview with the Police and Fire Commission, candidates will record online interviews through Public Safety Answers. The recorded responses will be reviewed by commission members, the police department's Professional Standards Division and human resources. The new process will reduce delays caused by scheduling challenges, according to the commission memo. The background investigation process will remain the same. After being assured that background standards are not being lowered and that the commission could follow up with candidates if they had additional questions, the commission members voted unanimously to approve the changes. "I trust the PD that if they realize that this isn't working, that this will be reevaluated," commission member John Laux said Vivian Barrett is the public safety reporter for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. You can reach her at vmbarrett@ or (920) 431-8314. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @vivianbarrett_. This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay Police Department changes hiring process to combat vacancies Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Yahoo
Mass. police officer faces charges in connection with domestic assault, placed on leave
A Chelsea police officer is on administrative leave as he faces charges in connection with domestic assault, the Chelsea Police Department said. Michael Villanueva, 33, faces charges of domestic assault and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, the department said in a statement. At around 1:34 a.m. on Thursday, Chelsea police were called to a reported disturbance in the city, police said. Officers interviewed people at the scene and developed probable cause to arrest Villanueva, who was off-duty at the time. Officers found Villanueva a short time later and arrested him, police said. He was placed on administrative leave pending the results of the criminal case and an internal investigation conducted by the department's Professional Standards Division, the statement read. 'The Chelsea Police Department takes these matters seriously and is fully cooperating with the judicial process,' police said in the statement. 'No further comments will be made by the Chelsea Police Department at this time as the investigation proceeds, additional information may be released by the Suffolk County District Attorney's office.' Villanueva's expected to be arraigned in Chelsea District Court. Nearly 100 shoes confiscated from Mass. man illegally selling steroids Former Mass. judge files petition to FBI to investigate Harmony Montgomery case Mattapan man hurt in stabbing charged in connection with woman's death Worcester police call in bomb squad amid report of man throwing explosives out window Ex-Boston police officer suspected of beating intoxicated man, DA says Read the original article on MassLive.
