You'd think the Boston Police Department's high-profile recruiting campaign and the call for more efforts to stop crime would motivate more people to sign up to take the civil service exam. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case. The number of recruits who signed up to take the exam has dropped by 30 percent from 2005.
It seems that some people might not be signing up because they don't understand the requirements. If you're interested in being an officer or if you're wondering where the BPD is getting its officers, here are the requirements from the BPD's latest recruiting post:
"Candidates must meet the following criteria: be at least 21 years of age as of April, 23, 2007; be younger than 32 as of May 19, 2007, be a U.S. citizen, be able to pass a medial and physical examination prior to appointment and have a high school diploma or MA approved equivalent."
Making funny noises and being able to throw your voice might help, too.
The exam is scheduled for May 19, and people can sign up until April 23. Check out jointheBPD.com for more.
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You're missing the most important part in preventing more applicants. There is a residency requirement. This is not unusual. Most cities have residency requirement to join the police or fire departments.
However, Boston requires you to have residency for a year before taking the exam. So if I was from Chicago, and wanted to be a Boston cop, I'd have to move here, find some job and then hope I passed the test.
Even New York City with 8 million people doesn't require this. So how can you expect to get a qualified applicant pool from a city of 500,000 residents?
Dumb policy gets the results you would expect.