situational questions on an interview

[[e-mail]]

Hello everyone its me zepster again with a couple more questions about this oral interview.What I wanted to ask now is how do you correctly answer this situational questions.For example,whhat would you do if you pulled over the mayor of the city and he is intoxicated, Also what would you do if you got a call to a loud party and you arrive on the sceene and you find a fellow officer smokeing maijuana, or you get a report of shoots fired and you arrive on the sceene and all you find is a bunch of expended shells on the ground, and your training officer tells you to gather the rounds and throw them in the trash,no victim no crime, and lets move on to other things.Also another one I have heard is what would you do if your partner walked out of a store with merchandise he did not pay for.Now all theses seem hard to answer,what should i think about so that I can answer them correctly.

[Drakor]

    Basically these are mostly professional courtesy questions. Do you think that when you became a cop and you were pulled over by another cop for speeding do you think he should let you go. As a professional courtesy if his speed wasn't that over the limit I would let him go.On the other hand he's a cop and he should know better and not place me in a position to have to decide whether or not to give him a ticket. He should extend professional courtesy and not speed in my district.
     As far as the Mayor, he shouldn't place himself in that position. So I'd ding him for DWI. Let his people worry about how to get him out of it. Suppose you let him go...he runs a light in his drunken position and kills five people including three young children. HIs last statement was well Officer Zepster pulled me over and he thought I was well enough to drive....
      The bullet casings... I would throw them in my pocket and log them later.I would explain to my comrad that I'm in no hurry and besides my wife was complaining that I didn't have enough overtime last pay period.
       As far as the loud party I would go and tell the senior officer in the room that there have been complains about the noise. Most of the time you'll find that other officers will respect what your doing. They may joke with you but they will comply because they probaly didn't realize they were being that loud to warrant a complain.
      The officer comming out of a store with unpaid stuff. I would bring it to his attention. Maybe it was unintentional but the last thing you want to do it make a big scene. Just bring it to his attention. Like ( You know what in all the confusion I don't think the clerk remembered to ring you up for so and so) Again let him make the decision to do the right thing.
   Good luck keep us posted

[junior]

zepster,

i am gonna have to agree with some of drakor's answers.
1. the mayor gets a d.u.i.
2. your fellow officer is placed under arrest.
3. make a report on the shots fired, explain to your fto that you will take care of the report, it will  be good experience.
4. as drakor stated remind the officer that he didn't pay, maybe he did forget.  if he says "its no big deal, its only a couple of bucks."  it may sound harsh but you have to report him to your supervisor.
5. i completely agree with drakor on the speeding issue.

remember when all is said and done the most important quality of an officer is honesty. l.e.o.'s are given a tremendous amount of authority.  these questions are two fold, the board wants to see how well you would respond to these types of situations.  secondly they are a guage of your honesty and ethics.  if you are willing to look the other way, what else are you willing to do?  regarding the officer smoking pot, is that the type of person you want covering your back.  officers have the right to enforce the laws, not break them!

junior

[JimCMR]

Hey Zep.

You would do well to heed what junior and Drakor have said.

Would you give your mother a speeding ticket?  I think the correct answer is NOT yes.  Same for a fellow officer.

DUI you have to if there is any chance of an accident.  If there is an accident, You will burn.

Theft we don't need dirty cops, there is no excuse.

Pot,  same as DUI.

Shots fired, investigate it, write it up.

These are the answers I would like to hear.

JimCMR

[Charlie]

Put me down for a thumbs up one the responses from Jim CMR, Junior and Drakor. They've definitely some words of wisdom to consider.

Charlie

[[e-mail]]

I am new to this board, so hello everyone. I agree with you guys. If I pulled over my mother for speeding, lets say she is doing 70kmp in a 50kmp ( yeah I'm Canadian eh! ) ma's getting a ticket. I would expect her to have some common sence and not try and get out of it just because her son is a cop.But thats my opinion.
Glenn  8)

[Drakor]

;D poor mom.....

[junior]

jim,

if i could pick your brain for a second .  on the issue of not giving your mom a ticket, i agree, i wouldn't give my mom a ticket.  how would you recommend explaining this ?  is this a question that you have asked?  i would like charlie's input on this one as well .

8) junior

[Getta]

8) Well I must say that these are some very intresting questions and certainly non that I would have thought of myself, but since there out there, please allow me two give my opinion.  
For starters the Mayor.  Now growing up arround Politics and many Politicians, I can tell you that the last thing any Politician wants is scandal, especially if a Presidental race is in the future.  Now most Mayors generally have drivers, one of the perks of being Mayor.  But lets just say for laughs that he had been drinking.  The key word here is discretion.  I agree with the others that he needs to be taken off of the road, but I don't think that slapping him in cuffs and running him in is going to do any good.  This is a man who has a lot of influence on the Departments annual budget, you make him mad, and it could be your last arrest, as well as your supervisors.  Instead, I think that you would have one of three options. 1. If he is coherent enough, have him call one of his aids to come pick him up, or drive him, in his car, to his destination.  2. Put him in your cruiser, if the distance isn't too far, and take him there yourself (of course try to do it on a break) 3. Consult the duty Sergent on the best course of action.  This would probably be the safest route, because it is an unusual circumstance, and now you have covered your own but.  In any instance, the quieter you keep the matter, the more appriciative the Mayor will most likely be.  As Cops we are sworn to uphold the law, they never said anything about bending it in certain curcumstances.
Now as for the party where a fellow officer is smoking pot.... Thats a tough one.   All I can say is posession is posession, and the only concession to the rule is Medical.  This one depends on you and the situation. Is he recently divored, death in the family, on or off duty?  There are a lot of variables that will go into this question.  Those variables will have to dictate your anwser.  The best people in the world do the dumbest things when under great emotional stress, such as divorce or death for example.  The human heart and physicie are very fragile things, more so than what people think.  When placed under enough pressure   an individual will do things that are totally opposite of their normal behavior patterns.  Divorce and especially death are key examples of this.  So be carefull with your anwser, I suspect that all their looking for is an honest one.
With the shells, shots fired sinario....   This one is easy.  Procedure. Its your responsability to know them.  The first thing I would do is check to see if they are warm.  Now most shells cool quickly because of the material that they are made from. If they are cool, check for fresh carbon scoring.  You'll be able to tell because it should wipe off easily. If you find either one of these elements,   don't move them. Remember which shell you examined and leave them where they are. Odds are you have a fresh shooting and your standing in a crime sciene. This stuff must be cataloged before it is moved. If the FTO still insists that they be thrown away , ;D very politly tell him that your not comfortable with that and insist that if they are to be thrown away, it will not be by you. Being a rookie, he should'nt have a problem with that,but just in case, Federal Law provides that no individual shall be made to prefrom such tasks that he/she believes to unargreable with company policy, procedure, ethics or moral beliefs.  Trust me on this one, I've told more than one boss to stick it where the sun doesn't shine.  8)
Lastly, the unpaid merchandise.  I have to side with the most of the others here. However, I tend to believe that everyone deserves second chances.  Ask if he forgot, if he didn't, buy yourself a coffiee or whatever, tell the clerk that your picking up the bill for what ever your partner has.  Do it only once.  Talk to him/her and let them know very plainly that you will not tolerate lying, cheating, or stealling nor anyone arround you who does.  If it happens more than once, take it to the supervisor.  I know it seams harsh, but remember, bend, not break.
I'm going to end this little novel by saying that every situation you will encounter is going to be unique. Thats why theres alot of training and screening that goes on before you get your sought after shield ;D.  Being a Cop requires that you be quick on your feet and in your mind.  What ever you decide to do, never second guess it, always stand by it, and accept your humanity.
Best of luck.

God Bless,
Vince

[JimCMR]

To Junior, and the rest of the Cops2be.

Giving a traffic ticket is a discretionary thing, you DO NOT HAVE TO WRITE A TICKET.  Sometimes, just a good conversation will do more good than a ticket will.

I am a true case study, when I was younger, Like many drivers, I used to SLOW DOWN at stop signs, not stop.

One day I got pulled down for that, luckily I was a volunteer fireman at the time, and had my blue lights on the car.  Anyhow, the officer that pulled me down knew an officer I knew, and he also said he would never write a fireman a ticket.  That was 35 years ago, and to this day I make FULL STOPS at ALL STOP SIGNS.  I guess a part of that was that just a short time later the officer we knew in common was killed as he responded to a bank robbery in town.

The short conversation we had changed my driving habits, a ticket probably would not have.

So, you can create family striff, and give your mother a ticket, or you can say, "MA, please stop at stop signs, if you don't it makes me look bad, and you could cause an accident and get hurt or worse"  Most likely she will get the message, if not get one of your buddies to look out for her, and let him ticket her, then laugh.

But don't ticket your mother.

JimCMR

[Glenn]

Now don't get me wrong. If Ma is going slightly over the speed limit I would give her a warning. ;D But if she was hauling butt down the road, I would stand by my decision and write her up. I know people out there will disagree with me about this. You know, its my mother for crying out loud. But love hurts sometimes eh! If it was the other way around I wouldn't expect to get away with it. But then again thats my opinion. Im no hard ass, thats just me.
Glenn 8)

[JimCMR]

Glenn:

If you feel that you must give your mother a ticket in a certain situation, that is your decision, and I commend you for sticking by it.
That said, this question started out as a question on an oral interview.  As a former Commissioner who conducted oral interviews, had I used this question, and a candidate told me he would write his mother a ticket, I would either judge him or her as a jerk or a liar, and I would would not want to hire a jerk or a liar.
That is my decision and my feelings about the situation.

JimCMR

[Drakor]

   Giving tickets are at the sole decretion of the ticketing officer. What makes them decide whether to give a warning or an actual citation who knows...depends on if it's Christmas or not. I personally wouldn't give my mother a ticket. All the breaks she cut me in my life I figure I owe her that much. On the other hand I would be man enough to scold her. Remember we all speed, thats the one question the PD ask all the time. What laws have you broken and haven't got caught for? If you say I've never broken any laws that would be incorrect because they know we all speed. I'm sure someone has cut all of you a break at one time or another.
    One thing my mother asked me not to do before I get hired, she asked me not to become jerk( in so many words) I'll pass this same advice on to you all. Getting a badge doesn't give you the right to become a jerk.
     Another thing most departments have a program called the Employee Assistant Program or EAP. Knowing that being a police officer is a high...high stressed career. Normally if you use or are tested positive for marijauna they normally councel you first and put you on the program. Call this your second chance.

[Glenn]

If that question comes up on the oral interview I would stand by how I feel. It depends on the situation, like I said if she was slightly over I would give her a break. But if she was hauling butt lets say in a school zone, I would write her up. I dont think that would make me a jerk Thats as honest as I am. Maybe if it ever happens I might feel different at that time, who knows. Maybe some people think I was never loved as a child. But thats the way Ma raised me, and to stand up for what I believe in. If you think that makes me a jerk, well you have that right. If you were on the board I would expect you to respect my decision, if you can't, well I guess I will be looking for a job elsewhere eh! Then again its one of those no win situation questions.
By the way I have never been given a warning. I take my lumps that I deserve, that doesn't mean that I wouldn't give people a break, I know that I will .
Anyway thats how I feel and I am sticking to it.
Glenn 8)

[Getta]

I'm still not sure how we went from discussing situational questions to giving ma a ticket.  I believe that the most important rule in Police work would have to be, Know your enviornment.    Being familiar with our surroundings is not only going to keep us safe, but honest as well.  Now I'll admit, I would almost enjoy giving my Mom a ticket, but only for seriously excessive speed.  After all my Mom was the one who gave me the most grief growing up, always telling me, "One day you'll understand".  And I imagine that there are quite a few of us who would love to had Mom a ticket and repeat those same words.
As for the Cop and the weed, I still say it would depend on what was going on in his/her life.  Would I talk to them, YES.  Would I run right to the Super, probably not, unless I noticed a change in their behavior on the job.
As for anything else, I stand behind my belief.  Just be honest, being a Cop does'nt give you the right to break the law, but it does give you more breathing room than the average individual.  Till later...

Take Care everyone

God Bless....
Vincent