The Police Oral Board Interview and Disqualifying Questions

When you are scheduled for a police oral board, this is big news for your law enforcement career. Your future is now in your hands, no one else will have control. As I have stated before, the oral board is the most subjective part of the law enforcement hiring process. It is also the most important. After the oral boards, you will see the greatest shift in the rankings among other applicants. This is the place where you start your career, or you are asked to go through the process again.
The oral board has several facets built into it that catch applicants who are either unprepared for their interview or unprepared for law enforcement. I am going to discuss the latter. Law enforcement is a very dynamic profession. It is not for the faint of heart or those not ready to commit to serving their selected community. Having said that, there are basic realities that come along with policing where these particular disqualifiers come into play.
I have dubbed these questions job-readiness questions. These types of questions deal with the realities of police work. The first type of job-readiness question you will be asked is about the use of force. It will be straightforward and worded like this: “Are you willing to use deadly force to protect the life of yourself, a fellow officer, and/or another person?” There is only one answer for this type of question if you want to continue in law enforcement. If you are not ready to use deadly force, no matter how good your interview, you cannot be hired. The community you serve needs you out there defending life and property. The officers and deputies you would serve with have to rely on you too, even in the most dire of circumstances.
The second type of job-readiness question is really a deadly force question reconstituted into a scenario question. You would be given a scenario that requires you to take decisive action to eliminate a threat and protect life. These will always have a difficult decision, but when it comes to protecting life, you must act quickly. The benefit of asking the question this way gives more room for error rather than yes or no.
The third and final type of job-readiness question deals with work schedules. Departments, both big and small, will rely on seniority to determine a new assignment. As the new guy or gal, you will be expected to fill the spots not already filled by another officer. That is you will be on a swing or night shift with weekdays off. As a new officer or deputy, you will be expected to work holidays and overtime. Questions dealing with work schedules will include those about working nights, weekends, overtime, and holidays. There could even be a question asking if your family is prepared for an unpredictable schedule. If you cannot emphatically say that you can work those unpredictable hours then you cannot be hired. Other candidates will be ready and willing to work those hours and days, you should too. Again, this is a reality of law enforcement. A community will and could need you anytime, 365 days a year, 7 days a week, and 24 hours a day.
These police oral board questions are needed to disqualify candidates that are not ready for the realities of police work. I have always said that preparation is the key to winning your job at the oral board. Some preparation may be required to answer these questions prior to your oral board or even prior to your application. Discuss your career plans with family and loved ones. Be prepared to answer the questions both mentally, on a personal level, and when it is time for your oral board interview.

The Police Oral Board Interview and Disqualifying Questions