Public Safety Positions


Police officer entry level candidates must meet the following criteria:

U.S. Citizen or a lawful permanent resident.


Minimum of 21 years of age at the time of the final selection process.


Must at a minimum be a high school graduate. Persons who have completed some college courses or have a college or university degree are preferred.


Must have a valid Washington or Oregon driver’s license depending on the candidate’s state of residency or, if living outside of Washington or Oregon, be able to obtain a valid license in either state within 30 days of moving after acceptance of a final job offer


Ability to perform the physical fitness standards as set by the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission

 
Lateral Entry Minimum Qualifications

Currently employed as a commissioned police officer for a minimum of two years OR be eligible to challenge and complete a course of study designed by the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission.

Must have successfully graduated from a Washington State Police Academy or, if currently employed as a police officer another state, be eligible to complete the Equivalency Academy with the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission.

Meet other qualifications listed for entry level candidates

The hiring of a police officer is a lengthy and complex process of several months duration and is accomplished through the state civil service system as adopted by Chapter 2.48 of the College Place Municipal Code (C.P.M.C.). Listed below are the steps prospective police officer candidates are required to go through to reach the final selection process.  Lateral Entry officers will not be required to complete steps 2 and 3 listed below.

Applications are solicited through the local newspaper of record and often through other sources such as the Washington State Law Enforcement Digest, the Association of Washington Cities website, and the City of College Place website.

A physical agility examination is conducted. Candidates must satisfactorily complete all phases of this test prior to advancing to the next step.  Visit publicsafetytesing.com to schedule the physical examination.

A written examination is conducted. To proceed to the next step the candidate must obtain a minimum score of 70%.  Visit  publicsafetytesting.com to schedule the written examination.

Candidates successfully completing steps 1 and 2 are then scheduled for an interview in front of a panel consisting of a civil service commissioner, a supervising police officer from the College Place Police Department, an officer or supervisor from another police agency, and another person who may or may not be connected with a law enforcement agency.

The names of the top three candidates established by their scores obtained in steps 2, 3, and 4 are submitted by the civil service commission to the chief of police. The chief will set up a time to extensively interview each candidate.

A background check is conducted on one or all three candidates. The candidate is fingerprinted, a criminal history check is conducted, interviews are done with former employers, neighbors, friends, relatives, references, former teachers, spouse (current and former), co-workers, and others who have had significant interaction with the prospective employee.

Once a final candidate is selected to proceed in the process, a conditional offer of employment is extended. At this time the candidate must sign an agreement to continue employment with the department for a minimum of five years or pay back to the city a portion of his / her training expenses at a rate of 20% for each year he / she did not complete. (Example: A person hired leaves his / her employment with the agency after three years. That person would be required to pay back to the city a total of 40% of his / her training expenses.)

The candidate(s) must successfully complete a polygraph examination conducted by a certified polygrapher.

The candidate must successfully complete a psychological examination conducted by a certified psychologist or psychiatrist.