CITY OF PITTSBURGH POLICE OFFICER
EXAMINATION AND SELECTION INFORMATION
Application Period: Late 2010 or early 2011
Written Exam: 2011
Oral Exams: 2011
 The
Police Officer selection process includes several steps after a
candidate applies to the Department of Personnel and Civil Service
Commission to take the Civil Service Police Officer Examination.
Listed below is a description of the steps, which must be successfully
completed to become a Police Officer.
CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATIONS:
You must take and pass each of the two Civil Service examination
portions in order to attain a total examination score and be placed
onto the eligibility list. You will be sent an admission letter
for the written examination. If you take the written examination
you will be scheduled for the oral examination. Specific weights for the various test components will be determined at a later date based on the results of the job analysis and other important factors.
The WRITTEN
EXAMINATION is a job-related Law Enforcement Aptitude Battery (LEAB), consisting of a multiple choice cognitive ability test and two non-cognitive measures: The Work Styles Questionnaire and The Life Experience Survey.
The ORAL EXAMINATION is a scored exam before an oral board panel. The oral assesses your verbal abilities, by presenting you with several situations to which you will respond to a series of questions related to each of the situations.
The link below is for the Civil Service Oral Examination Candidate Preparation Guide from the most recent recruitment and testing period. The guide will be updated for future recruitment and testing periods.
: : Candidate Preparation Guide 
The ELIGIBILITY LIST will be posted after the written
and oral examinations have been scored. The eligibility list is
valid for up to 18 months. Only those applicants who take and
receive a passing score on each examination will appear on this
list. Final scores are comprised of a combination of the passing
scores on each examination. An additional 10 points will be added to the final passing score
of those candidates eligible for Veterans’ Preference points.
Names appear on the eligibility list in descending order of the
candidates’ final scores including Veterans’
Preference points where applicable. When the decision is made to
hire new police officers, candidates will be scheduled for further
processing in order of their rank on the eligibility list. All Police
Officers hired over the 18 month period will come from the current
eligibility list.
The
BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION includes a polygraph test, and
evaluates a candidate’s employment, education, military service,
criminal record, credit and behavioral history to ensure those subsequently
hired have a high moral and ethical code, and meet the Civil Service
Commission’s standards for employment as a City of Pittsburgh
Police Officer. This investigation must be successfully completed
in order to be further processed.
The State
of Pennsylvania Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training
Commission (MPOETC) PHYSICAL
FITNESS AND READING TESTING. Click on the above link
for information regarding these steps in the processing.
The CERTIFICATION
FOR APPOINTMENT LIST consists of those candidates, in rank
order, who have successfully completed the steps above and whose
names are forwarded to the Chief of Police. The number of candidates
on this certified list will be determined by the number of officers
to be hired for each Police Recruit class. There may be candidates
who successfully complete the various Civil Service stages of processing
who are not certified for appointment. Please note that candidates
appearing on the Certification for Appointment List are not guaranteed
to receive an employment offer. The Chief of Police selects the
candidates who are to receive a conditional offer of employment
from the names appearing on the certification for appointment list,
in accordance with the General Civil Service Statute.
CONDITIONAL
OFFERS OF EMPLOYMENT are extended to candidates selected
from the certification for appointment list, in accordance with
the General Civil Service Statute. A final offer of employment is
contingent upon successfully completing the following:
The PSYCHOLOGICAL
SUITABILITY EVALUATION, consisting of a written psychological
assessment and an interview with a licensed psychologist.
AND
The MEDICAL
EXAMINATION, which evaluates a candidate’s health
and physical capacity for work as a police officer. It may include
such tests as the combined cardiovascular-pulmonary stress test
(treadmill test), hearing test, vision test, and blood test. Aerobic
exercise is essential in developing the cardiovascular-pulmonary
levels required. If you have not done so already, we suggest that
you begin some sort of physical conditioning or fitness training
program in order to prepare for the medical examination. Always
consult with your physician before beginning any exercise program.
The medical standards include having distant vision of at least
20/70, uncorrected, in the stronger eye, correctable to 20/20,
and at least 20/200, uncorrected, in the weaker eye, correctable
to at least 20/40. In addition, candidates shall have normal depth
and color perception, and must be free of any significant visual
abnormality.
A FINAL
OFFER OF APPOINTMENT is extended to candidates who successfully
complete both the psychological suitability evaluation and the medical
examination. This final offer will be contingent upon satisfying
the following condition:
RESIDENCY
REQUIREMENT: If you are not a City of Pittsburgh resident,
you must become a resident prior to beginning training at the
Police Academy. The time period between the final offer and the
academy starting date may be short; therefore, it is strongly
recommended that on the day you receive the conditional offer
of employment you begin to consider how you will relocate to the
City.
PLEASE
NOTE:
YOU
MUST SUBMIT ALL FORMS as directed and in a timely manner
in order to be further processed.
YOU
MUST REPORT as scheduled for all appointments. Failure
to do so will prevent you from being further processed.
ADDRESS
CHANGE: You must inform the Department of Personnel and
Civil Service Commission of any changes in your name, address and
telephone number by completing a Change of Address Form at the application
counter on the Fourth Floor of the City-County Building, or by mailing
the information to the Department of Personnel at the address listed
below. You must provide acceptable documentation of the new address.
Changes will not be accepted over the telephone. If you do not provide
this information you may miss an important call or notice, which
will be to your disadvantage.
If you have
questions or require additional information, please call
412-255-2710
or stop by the Department of Personnel and Civil Service Commission,
Fourth Floor, City-County Building, 414 Grant Street, Pittsburgh,
PA 15219, Monday through Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
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