The Hiring Process for Police Chief: What’s Changed and What Hasn’t

Few people would disagree with the statement that policing has changed dramatically over the last five years. There has been a considerable change in how we police, both good and bad, and in citizens’ expectations, both good and bad.

There has also been a significant shift in the expectations of police chiefs and in the hiring process. But, despite these changes and challenges, if you are still interested in pursuing your dream of leading a team of men and women dedicated to serving their community, then I have one thing to say to you.

Read on!

Let’s discuss a few items of interest before I get into the meat of it.

Recruitment and Retention Challenge

Across the nation, law enforcement agencies are struggling to recruit and retain quality staff. Eligible officers are retiring. Others are exiting law enforcement stage left for a safer and less stressful career in the private sector. Recruitment numbers are down, and their qualifications are lacking.

The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) convened a one-day seminar titled “Best Practices & Innovations in Police Recruitment and Retention.” Over 200 police leaders from the country came together to discuss this critical topic. Although this conference focused on entry-level officers, the challenge exists for police chiefs as well. I thought the conference was extremely informative.

Police Chief Challenges

Many senior staff members who might ordinarily compete for a chief’s job are choosing retirement over career advancement. For example, in Columbus, Ohio, the City bought out four deputy chiefs who will retire in January, taking their collective knowledge of 120 years with them. There are likely many issues contributing to their decision to leave.

However, there are examples like this from across the country where senior leaders are retiring. I have known several leaders who retired and gave up on their previous goal of leading a police department.

Unfortunately, police chiefs have been losing their jobs at unprecedented rates over the last several years. The position of police chief is one of the most challenging and complex jobs you could have. Those challenges have only increased of late, leading to a higher turnover rate for police chiefs.

An article in USA Today in 2020 provides a snapshot of police chiefs who either retired or were forced out for various reasons. This article focuses on the departures and is not judging the circumstances of the turnover.

None of this information should surprise you if you are a law enforcement leader today.

If you are still interested in seeking the best and most rewarding job, you could ever have, read on.

Traditional Hiring Process

The standard way of filling a police chief opening for most cities was to advertise the position, maybe hire a search firm, screen the applicants, conduct a panel interview, possibly hold some type of assessment center, conduct a final interview with the hiring authority and then decide on which candidate to hire.

Some cities continue to operate similarly today.

After all, this system has served as a tried-and-true way to hire a high-quality candidate qualified to lead a police organization. No system is foolproof. Still, the traditional method, for the most part, provides a level of objectivity void of special interest groups.

Of course, there are always cases where a process like the traditional one gives the hiring authority the cover to hire the person they want.

Contemporary Hiring Process

The traditional hiring process is the foundation of the new, contemporary hiring process that many cities use today.

A survey of citizens is being used by many cities as part of the hiring process. These survey instruments typically contain a few questions to determine what type of police chief the citizens are interested in seeking.

The information in these citizen surveys can provide valuable insight for the hiring authority, likely the City Manager or Mayor. Unfortunately, the results of many surveys are similar, which is not unexpected since many communities have similar issues. Of course, surveys can vary widely if the department or previous chief had a controversy or failure in recent years.

Another recent change is the number and make-up of various interview panels the candidates must navigate through. For example, there could be a community stakeholder interview panel, a panel consisting of different department heads of the City, an interview panel with police department personnel, a smaller interview panel consisting of the hiring authority, and many variations of these.

In many cases, these interviews are being done publicly, and in some cases, they are being streamed live on the Internet.

Lastly, many cities rely upon structured or unstructured community forums so citizens can better understand what each candidate is bringing to the job and provide better feedback to the hiring authority.

In some forums, candidates mingle with citizens, talk one-on-one with them, and answer their individual questions. In other forums, there may be a moderator who asks questions of all the candidates and even allow for citizen questions.

There are also many variations of these community forums.

In most cases, the process used is outlined at the beginning. However, that is not always the case. For example, some cities only conduct certain activities after some public outcry to the planned process or even after the process is finished.

These community forums can be fraught with controversy and pitfalls for candidates. Take for example, the recent community forum held in Kansas City with the three finalists for the chief’s job.

The community forum was briefly disrupted by a group of protesters who complained about the process used to select the chief, among other complaints.

A few days later, Stacey Graves, the current interim chief, was named as the new chief.

Conclusion

If you are going to apply for a job as a police chief today, it is essential that you understand the challenges of seeking the position and the steps in the hiring process you may encounter.

Therefore, I highly recommend conducting a Google search of the online community forums and reviewing some of the surveys conducted in various communities.

Reviewing the community forums and citizen surveys will provide excellent guidance as you navigate the minefield of getting hired as a police chief.

I have helped many aspiring police chiefs across the country prepare for their interview process, regardless of the process, so they can be ready to face the challenge ahead and give them their best chance of succeeding during the hiring process.

Not everyone I coached got the job they sought, but many did. All of them, though, were satisfied with their preparation and confidently participated in each part of the hiring process.

Here are a few quotes from students.

“Chief Grogan’s experience and insight gave me tremendous confidence as I prepared for a major city police chief interview.” Police Chief Candidate

“The value Chief Grogan offers far exceeds the price he charges for his coaching services.” Successful Police Chief Candidate

“Billy was extremely helpful and provided great insight for me into the interview process.” Successful Police Chief Candidate.”

If you are interested in learning more about my services, click here.

Don’t hesitate to email me at billyjgrogan@gmail.com if you have questions or call me at 404-395-1925. If there is no answer, please leave a message, and I will contact you back promptly.

I look forward to serving you as you seek to serve others.