For every 100 who apply, the French Foreign Legion accepts only 10-15. But that's a snap compared to becoming a Bethlehem police officer. Bethlehem's budget calls for 170 officers, but at any given point in time, there are only 142-145 officers. So why not hire more? Bethlehem would love to but has very high standards.
Take one of its most recent recruiting reviews of 110 applications. Of those who applied, only 52 were actually eligible. Of those 52, only 18 could pass the physical. Of those 18, only 8 made it through the written exam. Of those 8, only 1 passed the polygraph.
24 comments:
Could it be that Bethlehem has created an environment where qualified applicants won’t even apply any more?
It sure looks that way.
BTW, did they at least hire the one?
Is it because Mayor Willy is a full-blown DEI warrior, and they are not even considering some applicants right away?
Lots of fat ass dumb liars wanting to be cops, eh? Go figure.
In a society where the lie is standard operating procedure, why is a polygraph
necessary?
When asked on the poly if they liked or trusted Knot or wee willie they all lied and said yes. Thus, they flunked.
This is a societal problem, not unique to Bethlehem. Typically during tough economic times, people become cops for the financial stability (ie: pension) but young people today don't want to go into law enforcement. It does not help that the city won't keep up with pay / benefits to compete with other local jurisdictions throughout the valley. I guess they are counting on their beautiful station to attract perspective officers, what a dump!
Bethlehem cannot keep nor fill vacant positions throughout the city. Is it the culture? Is it the mismanaged funds? Perhaps it can be the starting salaries as well?
It is that way in all law enforcement or in the criminal justice system. Nobody wants to do it for 2 main reasons. Either the scrutiny of them doing the job. Or the pay. Cops are generally paid well but everything they do is picked apart and are called racist for stopping a robbery.
Then you have the other half. They just don't want to pay any body in the field. Look at NCP. They wish they were 25 short. Or as the sherriff's office. The sherriff said he is only 4 deputies short. The jail is ridiculous short. Let's just say it's ALOT.
BERNIE why don't you call that new director and ask how many are in this new class he was talking about???? I believe he said it was big.
If you want qualified, competent, professional and conscientious police officers, maybe a 90% + attrition rate via the selection process should be celebrated and not criticized.
Be happy that Bethlehem had such a high wash out rate.
1 good cop is worth more than 99 slugs.
Drastic changes to pension plan for new hires in the department.I'm willing to bet that may be a part of the problem.
Who in their right mind would want to work for DEI warrior Wee Willie? God Bless Bethlehem with Wee Willie at the helm!
Wow. What a cautionary tale. Are only fat, stupid liars applying in Bethlehem and not other municipalities? I doubt it. Good for Bethlehem for having standards and being honest about their applicants. Beware of all police departments outside of Bethlehem for stupidity and dishonesty. They're likely accepting what Bethlehem won't.
Who would want to work for DEI Mayors Reynolds or "I'm all ears"Tuerk?
Bernie, a few commenters have hit on what is probably impacting Bethlehem's situation from everything I've been told. Base salaries for the BPD used to be among the highest in the Lehigh Valley and no longer are. The pension reductions made under another mayor mean less payout upon retirement. Many officers give their time and then retire from the city with other jobs in line. Back in the day, officers stayed to a normal retirement age, so the brain drain/experience level wasn't impacted as much. Then, when you factor in the scrutiny placed on police because of technology recording their every situation, perhaps a police career isn't as attractive as it once was. It's a very demanding job in and of itself, and can take a toll on officers' lives away from the job. Finally, shortages don't bode well for a town like Bethlehem whose population is growing quite a bit because of substantially increasing rental housing, which brings more transient residents and leads to less stable neighborhoods.
Look around Bernie. Maybe the police department can get a modern, stand alone building like other cities and townships, boroughs? Heated and cooled during the entire day and night, depending on weather conditions. Cellblocks close to the Sgt's desk? More secure, city employees safer from some of the violent criminals coming through the PD? Guess that would throw off the cities budget though?
Enhanced background checks, MMPI, intense psych exams, absolutely. Polygraphs are junk science, inadmissible in court, and should not be used in public safety applications. Just my humble 2 cents.
Bethlehem pays for the academy. Many other municipalities require their applicants to come in with PA Act 120 cert. This is one main difference between City of Bethlehem and many other local municipalities.
BLM was the death knell for police recruitment. A relative of mine suffered through the worst of it. Accounts were hacked and personal information was shared including names of family members. DEI has replaced common sense and was abused. Fat jobs created for overseers of programs and the targeted populations got little from it. Fat cat Democrats always lie and do a better job than the Republicans.
But what do other municipalities pay?
Maybe the Evans' would give up their cooled/heated offices?
You're misinformed. Most townships and regional Pads also pay for the academy.
Qualified applicants look elsewhere. Where? Police Departments that don’t treat their officers like a piece of equipment. Police departments where there is actual leadership. Police departments that actually have decent morale and newer equipment and a headquarters that isn’t infested with roaches and mold. Police departments where favoritism isn’t such a rampant issue.
Ask other department’s officers and other Police department’s leadership what they think about the Bethlehem Police Department and you’ll have your answer. It’s a reputation problem that doesn’t get better in Bethlehem without serious change in Police leadership.
During the debate on the Walnut Street Garage fiasco, a Bethlehem resident suggested building a new PD headquarters in conjunction with the new garage. Instead of drastically downsizing the new garage from the old garage capacity, space for the PD fleet could have been incorporated into the new garage. A small regularly staffed sub-station in city hall could have been provided through updated improvements in the current police offices to provide security. I thought that resident's proposal had a great deal of merit, but it was obvious that both the mayor and parking authority director thought they were the most intelligent people in the room, and it received zero consideration.
And once again, Mr. Grubb is spot on.
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