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Chicago Sun-Times - United Sta
04 February 2006

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Is police applicant psych test

Three times in the past five years, Marine Corps veteran Elmore Dikes tried to realize his dream of becoming a Chicago Police officer.

Three times, he passed portions of the test with "flying colors," only to be washed out by a psychological exam that included a five- to seven-minute interview. The oral exam was supposed to last 30 to 40 minutes.

On Friday, Dikes told the story of his shattered career dream at a City Council hearing called to take yet another look at the controversial battery of tests that is supposed to weed out problem candidates before they become problem police officers.

"I told [the psychologist], 'I cannot understand how you can consider me not well-suited when ... I've served my country honorably in the Marine Corps. ... I feel I have something to offer. I can empathize with the people in the communities I police. ... I just don't understand what it is exactly that they're looking for and how I continuously fail," said Dikes, a 29-year-old African-American.

"The first time I took it, I was very p---ed off because I looked in the newspaper and saw an article about a white female cadet who tried to hang herself while in the academy. I was saying to myself, 'How could she pass? ... In addition to that, I bumped into a friend who I served in the military with. ... We had him on suicide watch. Now, he's an active police officer."

Dr. Michael Roberts, president of California-based Law Enforcement and Psychological Services, could not explain the quickie interviews by three different psychologists: a white man, a black woman and a white woman.

"If we could document that, that psychologist would be in trouble," Roberts said.

Hispanic passing rate drops

He noted that a 40-minute interview was "standard" and that the battery of questions that must be covered is "almost impossible to get through in less than 30 minutes."

In the early '90s, a psychological testing company was removed for failing 60 to 80 percent of police applicants.

Six years ago, the City Council's Police Committee held a hearing on psychological testing to find out why African-American candidates were washing out at a rate 10 percentage points higher than Hispanics and 13 percent higher than white police recruits.

At the time, then-Police Committee Chairman William Beavers (7th) complained that applicants from families without a father were being automatically disqualified.

Since then, Roberts and his African-American partner from Chicago have revamped the test to "get rid of questions with an adverse impact" on minorities.

Applicants are still asked about their "family of origin" and who raised them. But those questions have an "absolute zero rating" on whether the applicant passes, Roberts said.

The rewrite has closed the gap between black and white passing rates to four percentage points -- now 75 percent for whites and 71 percent for blacks.

But the passage rate for Hispanics, who compose Chicago's fastest-growing ethnic group, has dropped by 10 percentage points -- to 71 percent.

Several Hispanic aldermen believe that may have something to do with the fact that not a single one of the dozen psychologists employed by the joint venture is Hispanic. Ald. Manny Flores (1st) called that "an abomination," noting the "degree of subjectivity" in psychological tests.

Police Committee Chairman Isaac Carothers (29th) said he's equally concerned about the "downward trend" in the overall passage rate -- from 79 percent in 2000 to 73 percent now.

Applicant may wait

"If this continues, what's it going to be three to five years from now?" Carothers said.

As for Dikes, Carothers encouraged the former Marine to try again.

"There are a lot of people who have failed the psychological test three times like you and they are a police officer today," Carothers said.

Dikes replied, "How 'bout after July '06 when their contract [expires] and you don't select them. Then, I'll try again."

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Article sourced from

Chicago Sun-Times - United Sta04 February 2006

Is police applicant psych test

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Chicago Sun-Times - United Sta
04 February 2006