Olympia Civil Service Commission approves 14 candidates for entry-level police officer and sergeant positions

The Olympia Civil Service Commission approved 14 individuals to the eligibility registers for entry-level police officer and police sergeant positions on Monday, Sept. 25.

Six candidates succeeded in the Entry-Level Police Officer Register. Nicole Camus, of Human Resources and staff liaison for the commission, said nine had undergone the recruitment process for police officer positions – all males, six were Caucasian, and three were Hispanic Latino.

"As you're familiar with the process, prior to attending our oral [interview] board, these nine candidates had public safety testing and passed both the written and physical exams. They then went on to take a phase one suitability assessment with us, which they had passed," Camus told the commissioners.

An interview followed the assessment. Camus said the interview panel comprised officers from the Olympia Police Department and a community member.

Based on the document provided to the public, six candidates passed the recruitment process, with scores ranging from 76.45 to 93.2. The commission voted unanimously to approve the new register.

According to Commissioner Reiko Callner, the commission has been consistently interested in including community members in the interview panel.

Police sergeant register

A more extensive process was used for the promotional register for police sergeants.

Camus said the three-day assessment for the sergeant position concluded on Thursday. The evaluation includes rating the eight candidates based on reviews of their training and performance records over the past two years.

"There was weighting assigned to those scores. The work performance rating was weighted at 30% of the overall score," Camus explained.

The candidates then participated in a two-day assessment center involving exercises like an in-basket simulation and role-playing community meetings. There was also a tactical exam to measure critical thinking skills. This process makes up 70% of the overall score.

In the "in-basket" exercise, Olympia Police District (OPD) Patrol Lieutenant Bryan Wylie explained that the candidates were presented with 12 emails and were asked to categorize each as a top-, medium-, or low-priority response. Candidates then had 30 minutes to explain their ranking decisions to a panel of evaluators.

"It calls to the organizational awareness in order of operations. It's the same thing that we all do every day - we prioritize everything. It tells a lot about critical thinking and leadership skills. It also underscores their attention to the organization, how things work, including names, rules and operational procedures," Wylie said.

A diverse panel of law enforcement and the community assessors evaluated the candidates. All candidates passed the assessment, with final scores ranging from 70.17 to 85.5. The commission also approved this new register.