Different Paths Lead Candidates To Police Exam
CHICAGO (WBBM) - Why does Steve Brent want to be a Chicago police officer?
"To protect the mean streets of Chicago," Brent said.
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Another candidate, named Marie, said her parents are firefighters and that careers in public service is "innate" to her family.
Yet another candidate, also named Steve, said his family--one filled with police officers--tried to discourage him from taking the police entrance exam, the first offered by the department since 2006.
He said it's not an easy job, "but neither is corporate America right now."
None of that surprised Police Supt. Jody Weis as he looked at the McCormick convention hall, filled with applicants, taking the qualifying exam Saturday.
"We're thinking that with today's economy, we'll have some candidates from the professional side of the house--advanced degrees and four-year degrees--because people are hurting right now," he said. But he said formal education does not necessarily make a good police officer.
"They want to have a job that will give them some stability in life, but people have to understand that this is not just a job," he said. "It is really a calling."
The department waited as long as it could before hosting another exam; its previous hiring list is exhausted. The 9,639 who received notices to take the exam signed up in just five weeks.
The results will be posted in 6-8 weeks. Weis said then, police department human resources personnel will begin conducting background checks on each candidate and make sure their educational transcripts are accurate.
"They'll be testifying in court, so we want to make sure they have credibility, and that they have nothing in their background that would make them a non-credible witness," he said.
He said the candidates also will have to pass physical fitness and psychological exams.
Only then can they be called to the Chicago Police Academy for training, which can last anywhere from four to six months.
As a result, Weis said, the first officers from the new hiring list won't hit the streets for about a year.
He said they will be welcomed.
"You can have a lot of great ideas, but at the end of the day you have to have bodies to execute those ideas," he said.
Weis said Chicago remains in "good shape" when compared with many other large cities, despite being nearly 2,000 officers below authorized strength.
The department has administered 13 exams since 1999. The largest number of applicants to sit for an exam at one time
before Saturday was 4,061 in February 2006.
