Strong Response To CMPD Recruitment(Updated)*
In a press release today the City of Costa Mesa announced that recent recruitment effort for officers to staff the Costa Mesa Police Department directed by Chief Tom Gazsi has received a very strong response. You can read the entire text of the press release on the City web site, HERE. Thousands of potential candidates have presented themselves for the winnowing process which includes a physical ability test, oral interviews, a psychological evaluation, medical examination and a very extensive background check.
THE NUMBERSTo summarize the numbers by category:
Police Recruit
Total applicants since recruitment opened 6/14/12 - 1,135
22 will be invited for interviews on September 10, 2012
Reserve Officer
Total applicants since recruitment opened 3/29/12 - 603
10 have passed the interview process and are eligible to be hired by The City.
Lateral Transfer/Academy Graduate
Total applicants since recruitment opened 6/14/12 - 187
6 have passed the interview process and are certified as eligible to be hired by The City.
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The missing numbers in these equations are just how many vacancies do we have in each category. I've placed calls to the Human Resources Division and the CMPD but have received no response. I suspect that the answer is "Zero", since the city council has refused to permit ANY hiring of police officers until a 2nd pension tier is in place. I heard from CM Personnel today. There are currently 2 (!) openings plus 3 anticipated retirements before the end of the year plus 2 officers who are on disability leave and may end up on disability retirement. Plus, there are other officers on disability expected to return to duty.
It is my understanding that, as of last week, we were well UNDER the current authorized strength of 126 plus 5 "grant officers). We know response times have slowed and that the overtime requirements to cover shifts is exhausting the current staff.
I'll let you know more when I know more.
posted by The Pot Stirrer at 9/10/2012 02:15:00 PM
26 Comments:
The numbers hired will be determined by how the people making those decisions set their standards. The question is... how much 'outside' pressure will be in play determining how high (or low) those standards are.
There has never been a question about being able to find people who want to be cops.
There have always been hundreds/thousands of applicants. There always will be because lots of people want the badge and the gun. If they were hiring at minimum wage they would still be lined up.
The question has always been... can this person be trusted with a gun when the city is liable for what they're going to do with it?
If standards are lowered, the risk of costly lawsuits goes up. The money saved on wages and benefits will be small compared to a Fullerton scale lawsuit.
This is a perfect counter argument to those of you who like to run out the "5,000 persons applied for 5 firefighter jobs" types to justify lower pay and benefits for public safety. So let us look a bit deeper at the numbers.
1,135 recruit apps for a total of 22 at this point with more testing to come leaves: 0.02% as qualified candidates. 603 reserve apps for a total of 10 at this point leaves: 0.016% as qualified candidates. 187 lateral apps for a total of 6 at this point leaves: 0.032% as qualified candidates. So, out of a total of 1,925 apps, a grand total of 38 are deemed qualified at this point with more recruit testing to come. That is a whopping 0.0197% as qualified. Case closed.
lets see.. out of over 1100, only 22 (2%) were worth even talking to about whether the city would be interested in gamboling the expense of sending them to the academy for 6 months.
Still unknown how many of those would get the nod to go ahead with that after the actual interviews (maybe none).
Out of 600 'already trained' cops only 10 (less than 2%) were deemed worth allowing to work part time for $35 ph.
And... out of 187 who are certified (meaning they put themselves through the academy but haven't been able to get on anywhere else), 6 were good enough to be given a probationary position.
So... after the huge expense of recruiting full time all year, they've got 6 ready to come on-board as new recruits, 10 who can work a day or so a week and 22 they'll actually talk to about the possibility of a job.
Sounds like they better get back to recruiting again.
Until the council permits them to hire, there's no reason to waste any more time on recruitment. We still don't know how many positions we're trying to fill...
Wow! What happened to the "morale is low, no one wants to work for CMPD"? What a joke. Folks are LINING UP to work for a City like Costa Mesa, with its highest paid Police in So Cal. How can CMPD continue to be so tone-deaf to reforming their contracts when the Fire Department already has. Get a clue guys!
"Barry" said...
"How can CMPD continue to be so tone-deaf to reforming their contracts.."
Your master won't negotiate.
Marty, go back to your cave and weirdo blog, and let the normal people discuss these issues. Have you showered or changed clothes yet this month? What an ignorant, odd old guy you are.
CMPD is not the highest paid police force in SoCal, it is in the middle of its group of cities. The police association attempts to keep it there. Sometimes it's successful, sometimes not.
As has already been said, there will always be people who want to be police officers. Always. But as has clearly been demonstrated by this application process, even when 187 working police officers from other departments apply to work at Costa Mesa, only 6 are deemed worthy of the position. Even then, there's no guarantee that any of those 22 would accept a job offered to them, or make it past their 18 month probationary period.
The same is true for the reserves. They have already gone through an academy, but that doesn't mean any of the 10 reserves the city is even interested in, have worked a single day in patrol. Even if they have, they still have to pass months of field training. The attrition rate during field training, is huge. And finally, they have to pass probation.
That leaves the recruits, all 22 of them. But that's 22 people out of over a thousand, who look good ON PAPER. They have yet to pass ANY tests, or even an interview! Not the written test, not the physical agilities test, the psych test, nothing! Even after being accepted into the academy, 30-40% of the recruits in any given academy class, drop out within the first week. By the middle of the nearly 7 month academy, most classes have less than 50% of the recruits left. Then the recruits have to pass four months of field training. Not many recruits make it through FTO, even after graduating the academy, and passing the tests required before even getting into the academy. After passing FTO, they are considered "at will" employees for 18 months and can be fired, for any reason, at any time, without ever being told why. I would be amazed if CMPD ended up with 2 officers passing FTO, out of those 22 initially accepted (out of the more than 1,000 who applied). I would hope both would make it out of probation, but I wouldn't guarantee it.
If CMPD lowers its requirements, just to get people hired, I can only imagine the law suits to come, and I'd hate to be the officer working with them who gets dragged into the law suit just because he was there.
this is the perfect example that wages and pensions are too high.
The officers who eventually get hired will likely be short-timers: guys who can't get hired anywhere else, who stay for a couple of years to get experience and then leave for another department after "using" CMPD to make them marketable.
Barry do you actually believe what you write or are you a comedian? I can never tell if you are just purely sarcastic, blind, or crazy. Seriously.
As a tax-paying citizen I would like to know what the total dollar amount is for the City to hire one police officer or firefighter. Putting on a written test, oral interviews, physical agility tests, background investigators, full medical tests including stress test EKG, psychological testings and then uniforms &
equipment and training all cost a ton of money. What is that dollar amount???
Dear wyatt Earp,
I hate to be picky, but your percentages are all of them off by a factor of a hundred. It's not ".016%", but 1.6%; it's not .02%, but 2%. The fact that you are commenting here means that you are probably capable of using a computer, at least a little bit; why don't you activate your calculator app and check your arithmetic before you post stupid numbers?
Terry Koken, the numbers speak for themselves. Don't get sucked into Barry type commentary, it is not becoming of you.
How much money???....The Orange County Chief's of Police and Sheriff's agree that it costs approximately $100,000 per officer to have applications, all phases of testing, equipment and uniforms, academy (for recruits only, obviously), and field training. That is for those that make it through the process and into the field. I have no idea what the cost is if a recruit withdraws or fails the academy, or fails field training or probation.
WYATT and his buddies in blue are in trouble. Just before the election the tide is turning. People are seeing it is the Police Union that is potentially fooling with public safety as they seek greater pay and benefits. Their negotiations will now be made public.
Go ahead Police Union. Offer a second pension tier and then load in all your "what's in it for me" requests.
City Council will not hire without Pension Reform.
Chess game. Union move. And Union has Public Safety in check?
The residents now know it is the Police Union playing fast and lose with public safety.
how much do all the "lateral transfer" applicants cost us to train? Are they not already trained? The salary for the police officers is not the issue, it is the pensions, specifically the 3@50. Just agree to new hires, not you existing cops, getting a less generous retirements and we can hire. No other strings. No raises to offset higher payins to pensions by cops. That just spikes pensions for existing cops near retirement. Aren't you for public safety? The public demands this, can't you tell?
Interestingly, after all the applicants who have criminal records, lie on their applications, or fail to meet physical and psychological tests, there is a fairly small pool of qualified candidates, and those good candidates are being actively recruited by multiple departments.
How many of the best recruits would choose the hostile work environment of Costa Mesa if they also had offers from other departments where the pay was similar, but they had a City Council that valued their contribution>
I don't think Riggy is going to hire even with pension reform. He wants to break the union. I think everyone...EVERYONE realizes the need for pension reform. Thats a no-brainer. Riggy however, is well on track to go so far as to bankrupt the city in order to break the unions. No one here knows if there is any negotiations going on (so much for COIN). But if Riggy negotiated a reform, he wouldn't be able to break the union. So, its just my opinion, but be prepared for a possible bankrupt situation. Its starting to look that way, sadly.
Why wouldn't the City only hire from a lateral pool of applicants? They're already trained and have some experience.
Capt. Mauser: if you read the article, there are 6 lateral applicants deemed qualified to move to the next phase. That would normally be a background check. Let's see how many of the 6 get through that. Most laterals are either looking for better career opportunity or are running from issues at another department. Which group do you want to bet these 6 (or at least most of them) fall into?
I think the lateral want to come to our great city! why not? You don't get shot at like elsewhere, you get paid the same or better or best and we have great weather. Our city is fantastic. anyone is blessed to work here.
Playbook says to tell everyone you have high standards. Few will get over hurdle. Need to pay more. City Council creates hostile environment.
Yet we wind up with cops like Alan Reickmeoff? Cops that plant evidence. Cops that plant tracking devices.
Can't have it both ways Wyatt. Residents are on to your playbook.
This time, public safety jeopardy is on the thugs in blue.
Try and transfer To Beverly Hills. No room at the Inn.
Your comments no work no more boys in blue.
Chief Gazi needs to allow some to make lateral moves out of Costa Mesa and change the culture.
Wyatt, when you get back from the River, back to work for you. Or are you out on disability? Maybe your boot hurts?
Barry, you and Bebe are so clueless. You must be kissing cousins or something. Sure Costa Mesa got 2,000 applicants, not 2,000 qualified applicants. I guess reading comprehension is not your strong point. You must be related to Fitzy at CMTA. No competent lateral currently getting 3% at 50 is going to come to Costa Mesa to get a reduced pension. It will also create pension envy. Two officers doing the same job with the same risk with one getting a lessor benefit package is not going to fly. Most officers spend their entire career with one agency unless there is a reason why they want to bail. The background check will find everything out.
Just plain tired.....Help me understand this. Are you suggesting the standards for police officer in Costa Mesa is somehow controlled by the CMPOA? In case you don't know, and obviously you don't, those standards are controlled by the State of California and the City of Costa Mesa/Chief of Police. CMPOA has nothing to do with it nor does CMPOA have any control or influence over the testing or background process. But why let facts get in the way when you can a perfectly baseless insinuation? I've never missed a day due to injury, I can't afford the river and I have no intention of becoming a Rosewood or Taggert. Thanks again for showing yourself to be one of those "we love our employees and never say anything negative about them" when you clearly take vieled swipes as often as you can.
Why wouldn't a lateral want to come to Costa Mesa? Guess you haven't been paying attention.
A poster who sounds like Colon McCarthy tells Wyatt to go to the River and keeps talking about a "playbook" CMPD has rejected. Disgusting.
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