Metropolis is correct to need to expedite police hiring

The Metropolis of Morgantown has proposed some wanted modifications to the police hiring course of. It doesn’t appear to be trying to lower corners, however somewhat to chop via a number of the crimson tape.

Beneath West Virginia Code, the town is required to have a three-member police civil service fee that units procedures for hiring and promotion. Within the present hiring course of, a candidate should fulfill the fee via quite a lot of exams and evaluations earlier than being introduced to the appointing officer (metropolis supervisor) as eligible for rent. This features a written examination, a bodily agility check, an oral examination and a polygraph, plus background checks and psychological evaluations.

The town proposes making a number of the necessities concurrent as an alternative of sequential — e.g., a candidate might do their bodily agility check the identical day as their polygraph, as an alternative of ready a number of days between.

The town has additionally requested the fee to not use a number of the necessities to disqualify a candidate from eligibility. So if somebody passes their written and bodily exams, however doesn’t do effectively on their oral examination or has a minor misdemeanor of their background verify, the fee wouldn’t instantly nix them. Relatively, the data can be handed on to the town supervisor, who might resolve if the individual nonetheless made candidate based mostly on their total outcomes.

These look like good modifications to us. Morgantown Police has 21 open positions, and it has struggled to fill them. Permitting a number of exams to be taken in the identical day is a big time saver, and it is sensible to have somewhat extra flexibility when making hiring choices.