Police Recruitment Video - 92 MB (Quicktime Movie)
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Police Recruitment Video - 23 MB (iPod Video Format)
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Civil Service Process Flow Chart (Adobe PDF)

Civil Service Process Test Prep Manual (Adobe PDF)

Police Interest Application (Adobe PDF)

The City of Reading hires police officers through a Civil Service selection process which is governed by state law (Title 53, 39401, 39402, 39403, 39404, 39405, 39406, 39407, 39408, 39409, and 39410) and local Civil Service regulations. The entire examination process is conducted under the control and supervision of the Reading Police Civil Service Board. This board is independent of the police department and consists of three citizens selected by city council. The board’s function is to make certain that the testing process is fair and impartial.

Police applicants must:

• be citizens of the United States,
• have a high school diploma or GED,
• be 21 years of age at the time the application is submitted,
• file an application with the Civil Service Board with a $25 application fee,
• pass a written examination,
• pass an oral examination’
• pass a physical fitness examination, and
• pass a background examination.

Applicants who successfully complete the Civil Service testing process are placed on a list of eligible candidates. This list of candidates is valid for one year. Whenever the Reading Police Department desires to hire police officers during that one-year period, candidates will be given conditional offers of employment. This means that they are offered a police officer position conditioned on successfully completing a medical examination and a psychological examination.

Candidates who are hired to be Reading Police Officers then attend the Reading Police Academy to complete the Basic Police Training Course as prescribed (Act 120) and required by the Municipal Police Officers Education and Training Commission (MPOETC). Reading Police Officer Trainees receive pay and benefits while attending the police academy.

APPLICANT TESTING

THE WRITTEN EXAMINATION

Federal test guidelines and legal decisions now demand that more accurate examinations be used to select candidates for employment as police officers. Tests of general knowledge or “IQ” tests are no longer considered acceptable for this type of position.

The tests that you will take are probably different from most tests you have taken before. This examination is very job related and involves measuring certain mental abilities in addition to attitudes and aptitudes that help actually predict success on the job. This test is the preferred type of exam for selecting police officers and is the type used by most professional law enforcement agencies. The scoring procedure is very complex and lengthy. It takes many factors into account and requires a computer to score.

This examination has been designed in accordance with Federal Guidelines that protect against discrimination in employment. Your race, sex, or religion will have no effect on your ability to do well on this test. This fact has been demonstrated repeatedly on thousands of police candidates nationwide.

All of the tests request your race and sex information. This information is required by State and Federal law and permits the test designers to keep track of how the examination affects people who take the examination. This information is not used in scoring the examination. The written examination has four test components.

TEST 1

This test is basically a measure of your ability to understand and remember what you hear. These skills are very important for law enforcement officers.

There is no test booklet for this test and no scratch paper or notes are permitted. The examiner will read a statement and will then ask several questions about what the statement said.

Each statement and the questions about it are read only once by the examiner, so careful listening is important. You have to respond quickly because there is only about 6 seconds in between each question for you to pick your answer.

TEST 2

This test is basically a measure of your ability to read and understand law enforcement related materials. The paragraphs you will answer questions about are of the same type and level of difficulty you will find in your police training classes and textbooks.

TEST 3

This test is able to help identify how much you, as an individual, are like successful police officers. It involves describing your own profile, as best as you see it, and how the qualities described in the test fit together in you as a person. The instructions on the front of the test booklet will explain that you will be selecting one of two words or phrases that describe you best. You will make this selection many times, but always only one (1) of two (2) words that you think fit you best.

TEST 4

This is the final test in the battery. The test helps classify you along several scales or dimensions that are important to success as a police officer. Although the instructions may seem a little confusing, the test is not a difficult one to take. Pay close attention to the examiner’s instructions and be sure to ask questions if you are uncertain about how to complete the test.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q. Can I prepare for the examination?

A. Not in the ordinary sense. The examination was designed not to require studying of any sort. You are advised to get a good nights sleep. Because of the examination’s length, you may desire to eat prior to taking the exam.

Q. Does prior police experience give you an advantage?

A. Not unless that prior experience results in improved skills and abilities.

Q. Does educational level give you an advantage?

A. Not unless the result of this education is an enhancement of the traits and abilities that are predictive of success in law enforcement careers.

Q. Are all candidates scored by the same formula?

A. Yes. The race and sex of candidates are noted for record keeping purposes only.

Q. I thought I did pretty well on the test but got a score of 52. Is it possible or was my test scored improperly?

A. Modern computer scoring techniques are able to double-check themselves, so scoring errors are impossible! It is possible to get a score of 52 or lower, even though you felt you did well. Your aptitudes in certain key areas of the examination can have a strong impact on your total score. There are no bad scores, only scores that reflect more or less suitability for the police department at this time.

Q. Can I review this examination to see what I did wrong?

A. No. Numerous court decisions have clarified the fact that this type of examination is not subject to review. The scoring formulas are highly confidential and explaining how to get a good score would ruin the value of the test. Reviewing this examination would be like requesting to review a blood test to get a better score.

Q. Should I be concerned if I get a low score or a “no score”?

A. Absolutely not. You should simply apply to take the examination the next time it is offered.

TAKING THE TEST

On the day of the test, make sure you are on time. Once the test begins, no one will be allowed to start late. You must register at the door before the test begins so try to arrive early enough to allow for check-in. Be sure you know how to find the test site before the actual examination date.

The examination will take over three (3) hours to complete and there are four (4) separate tests that make up the whole examination. Because the test is administered and scored “anonymously” (no names are used), all candidates are identified by a code number.

A FINAL NOTE

This examination is designed to help assure that those most suited to police positions at this time will receive higher scores on the examination. If you do not do as well, as you would like on the test, take the test again when it is offered.

Keep in mind that all candidates took the same examination and were scored the same way. You, and only you, (not the City, not the test designers), answered each of the test items, and only you are responsible for the score you will receive. When there is more than one candidate for a position, everyone cannot be number one.

THE ORAL EXAMINATION

The oral examination you will be participating in, if you pass the written examination, is a validated, computer-scored procedure, which is behavior-based. Like portions of some assessment centers, a number of candidates will be examined simultaneously.

Part of the scoring procedure is based upon research with many thousands of actual candidates as well as actual police officers. Each judge for the process must be trained and certified to conduct the procedure. Actual scoring is done off-site at the consultant’s headquarters. As a result, even the judges themselves have no certain knowledge of test outcomes until the computer analysis is complete.

The procedure is state-of-the-art designed in strict compliance with federal law and has been employed nationally for 25 years. It is fair to all candidates regardless of race, gender, or age. The process has never lost a lawsuit of which it was the subject. The objectivity of the procedure renders it resistant to faking and difficult to “beat.” This allows outcomes that actually predict the odds of success on the job.

It is difficult to prepare for such an examination in the normal sense any more than you could prepare for an x-ray. Candidates should be rested and a light meal could be beneficial, if that is your custom. The expected scoring range in this process is somewhat lower than more traditional but less accurate interviews.


THE PHYSICAL FITNESS TEST

The Municipal Police Officers Education and Training Commission (MPOETC) Regulations require all incoming recruits be at least at the 30th percentile in order to be admitted to the academy. Therefore, the City of Reading, Police Civil Service Board has set the 30th percentile as its Physical Assessment requirement.

Academy recruits are required to achieve scores in the 50th percentile of the general population in four assessment areas in order to graduate from the academy and academy graduation is a condition of employment. Achievement in the 50th percentile is a minimum and is the equivalent of achieving a grade of 75% on a written examination in one of the academic areas. The four assessment areas and what these areas test are: (information based on law enforcement standards recommended by the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas, TX)

1. Bench Press (measures upper body muscular strength)
2. Sit Ups (measures muscular endurance)
3. 1.5 mile Run (measures cardiovascular, aerobic capacity)
4. 300-meter Run (measures anaerobic capacity; i.e. immediate bursts of aerobic strength).

The decision to require the assessment areas named was not arbitrary; but in fact results from a job task analysis or survey of basic police officers (supervisors excluded) with less than five years police experience.

When a recruit is initially assessed as to his/her fitness level entering the academy, instructors use what is termed "age and gender norms" to evaluate and design a regimen which would help the recruit either improve to the 50th percentile or maintain the 50th percentile rating that he/she may already possess. The table that follows illustrates the procedure used when performing assessments based on age and gender. To use the chart that follows, select your age and gender grouping to determine your present fitness level. If you are not already performing at the 50th percentile level, the chart will give you a readily available reference of how to improve your current physical condition. This chart will also show you the 30th percentile requirements you must meet for the Civil Service Physical Assessment.

Reading Police Civil Service Board
Physical Assessment Requirements

*You must do one repetition on the bench press of these ratios of your body weight. For example: If you are a male between 20-29
years old and weigh 180 pounds, you would have to bench press .93 times your body weight. That would be 180 x .93 = 167.4 pounds