Police Civil Service Exam

Police service falls under the category of law enforcement jobs in U.S. civil service. Homeland Security, the Justice, Defense and Treasury departments all fall under the umbrella of law enforcement, which house a host of state employment opportunities. All police officer applicants must take the police civil service exam as the first step to be qualified for police service.

Prior to taking the police civil service exam, applicants have to satisfy the minimum qualifications as specified by the state, such as age, citizenship, education received, and also physical and mental fitness. Applicants who satisfy the minimum requirements become eligible to sit for the examination. The police civil service exam comprises of a written component and an oral component. The exams are offered by municipal civil service agencies in each state in the U.S. Therefore, the examination criteria, subject areas, scores, and expected performance levels may vary from state to state. Candidates who successfully pass the police civil service exam in his/her state are included in the eligibility list, which brings them closer to be instated in a prestigious position as a police officer.

The written section of the police civil service exam basically tests the applicant's competency in spelling, grammar, punctuation, mathematics, logical thinking and reasoning, situational awareness, processing information using charts and graphs and reading comprehension. The oral examination focuses mainly on assessing the candidate's reasoning and judgment skills through scenario based questions.

A candidate is retained in the eligibility list for a period of months, after which he/she has to repeat the process from start. The retention period is again a decision made by the respective state. In addition to police civil service exam scores, candidates who have served full time active duty can be eligible for veterans credit. These extra points add up to the final tally, which determine the candidate's position in the eligibility list. Some states may enforce additional assessments for those who successfully pass the police civil service exam. These additional assessments may include background checks of the candidate, polygraph tests, credit histories and similar aspects.

As in all examination preparation work, the more practice a candidate has, the better his/her chances are in passing the police civil service exam with high scores. Local book stores, as well as online resources have exam practice kits and other study materials available for applicants to prepare well for the police civil service exam. Additionally, it is important for candidates to be vigilant about unorthodox learning avenues. The police civil service exam, tests practical applications of law enforcement in depth. A tactful method of obtaining plenty of practical knowledge is to befriend police officers and making them share knowledge and experience with you. Some police departments allow civilians to ride along with the officers on duty. Making use of opportunities such as these ensures the applicant getting through the police civil service exam with exceptional results.