The Board of Mayor and Aldermen and the Vicksburg Police Department have made a wise investment hiring Morris & Associates and implementing a more rigorous examination for entry-level police officers.

“We think it’s a better process. Before, with the civil service test, they might give you 50 questions and they might be multiple choice or true and false, and if you passed that test at 70 percent, you proceeded further,” Police Chief Walter Armstrong said.

The four-part test is more rigid and aimed at selecting the best candidates for the position. One key element in the new examination process is a reading test, which presents scenarios to the candidate, not only testing their ability to comprehend what they’re reading, but to describe how they would respond to the situation presented on the test.

What makes this test so crucial is if the candidate fails the test, they cannot go further in the examination process.

“It allows for the applicant to think and process the information they have read and respond back. That’s a component that I like, and it’s pass/fail, so if you don’t pass it, you will not be allowed to advance to the written portion of the test,” Armstrong said. “Our officers have to write a lot of reports and they have to interpret a lot of situations. This process allows for that to be put to the test. That’s what we did not have before. We want to make sure we’re getting the right folks. We’ve never done it on the front end.”

Other portions of the test include a candidate profile summary to assess the integrity, work ethic, and service orientation of the applicants; an entry-level test to identify those individuals who possess the abilities needed to be successful as an officer; and an oral presentation to measure the abilities necessary for police work, such as judgment, problem identification and analysis, oral communication, and service orientation.

This process represents a big step forward from the standard multiple choice civil service test, which doesn’t give officials a good look at the candidates, leaving the potential for problems later.

Police officers are put in stressful situations daily. They have make decisions in a matter of seconds and then hope they made the right choice.

And with law enforcement under the gun because of officers who made poor decisions or acted out of malice, it is essential new officers entering the force be intelligent and have the right disposition to handle the situations they may face.

This new testing procedure should help with that aspect. We commend the board and the police department for taking a step forward and looking for a better way to pick the best men and women for the department.

The Vicksburg Police Department has some good officers.

This new testing process will ensure the department continues that habit.