Principles for Public Safety Employment

 An individual adjudicated to have committed acts that would constitute one of those enumerated crimes in an administrative, military, or civil judicial process that requires at least “clear and convincing evidence.”  An individual whose POST certificate was revoked (or denied) or who voluntarily surrendered the certification.  An individual whose name appears in the National Decertification Index or any similar database designated by the federal government and the individual’s certification as a law enforcement officer was revoked for misconduct, or if the individual engaged in serious misconduct that – had they been employed in California – would have resulted in POST revoking their certificate. 5

SB 2 also amended section 1029 to require the California Department of Justice to supply POST with any disqualifying felony or misdemeanor conviction data for all persons known to be current or former peace officers. 6 POST regulations regarding peace officer and public safety dispatcher selection standards specify what criteria must be satisfied when: 1) a reserve officer becomes a regular officer, and 2) an officer whose employment is terminated successfully appeals the termination and is reinstated. Local agencies/departments may set standards for the selection process that exceed the minimum requirements imposed by law. Peace officer applicants may be subjected to additional evaluations and/or assessments required by individual law enforcement agencies. These additional requirements may include physical ability testing, drug screening, a polygraph examination or voice stress analysis, and/or a pre-offer personality test. 7 POST has considered the advantages of adding personality testing to the regimen of pre-offer tests that should be administered to applicants for entry-level peace officer employment. Scores on pre-employment personality tests – particularly those measuring conscientiousness, emotional stability, agreeableness, and integrity – may aid in the prediction of on the job performance. Unlike psychological examinations, properly administered personality tests are not considered medical examinations and may lawfully be administered before extending a conditional offer of employment. POST has published a resource guide which provides law enforcement agencies with the information necessary to weigh the costs and benefits of adding a personality test to the pre offer phase of the peace officer hiring process. This resource guide can be found at: https://post.ca.gov/Portals/0/Publications/Peace_Officer_Pre-Offer_Personality_Testing Resource_Guide.pdf?ver=2019-07-12-131131-617 A full copy of the regulations regarding peace officer and public safety dispatcher selection standards can be found at: https://govt.westlaw.com/calregs/Browse/Home/California/CaliforniaCodeofRegulations?guid=I DF540AC0D45111DEB97CF67CD0B99467&originationContext=documenttoc&transitionType =Default&contextData=(sc.Default).

Principles for Public Safety Employment ©2022 (s) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 11