Seattle police aptitude test put to the test

A skills test the Seattle Police Department (SPD) uses to screen applicants is being questioned as a possible reason the city is struggling to hire new and experienced officers. The test is part of a broader bill the Seattle City Council is scheduled to vote on Tuesday to improve police recruitment.

The legislation, sponsored by Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson, calls for an independent commission to set testing standards and “search” for a public safety testing service used by law enforcement agencies in King County and surrounding areas. She’s referring to a test used by other law enforcement agencies that reportedly has a higher success rate than the one used in Seattle.

“The SPD continues to lose more officers than it can hire, and 2023 was no exception,” Nelson said when introducing her legislation a month ago.

A memo to council members for the upcoming vote written by Seattle City Council human resources analyst Greg Doss shows that investments in police officer recruitment that began two years ago have not resulted in an increase in hiring.

“The SPD met about half of its annual hiring goals and peaked in 2023 with just 61 hires out of 1,948 applications, representing a 3% conversion rate,” Doss wrote.

In 2023, 97 officers left the police force, resulting in a net loss of 36. Over the past five years, applications have declined from a high of 3,118 in 2019, before the Black Lives Matter and George Floyd protests, to a low of 1,895 in 2022. However, the conversion rate of applicants into police service remains at the same level of 3% .

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The Seattle police test is designed to screen applicants

For the past two years, Nelson and Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell have been looking for ways to improve police recruitment. One of the screening elements for new applicants is a test administered by the city’s Public Safety Commission.

The test is mandatory for all applicants and is intended to measure a person’s behavioral response to certain situations.

“You don’t actually have to know what a police officer is to pass the exam,” said Andrea Scheele, director of the Public Safety Commission.

The test has been conducted since 2012, when the SPD fell under the full consent decree because of biased policing practices.

“There are multiple components, some are cognitive, some are assessments of emotional intelligence. They determine whether applicants meet the minimum qualifications required for training to become an entry-level police officer,” said Scheele.

The test is the second test in the application process, which includes a physical agility test, an oral board interview, a background check, a medical evaluation, a psychological examination and a polygraph test. It is up to the SPD to decide what to do with the applicant’s test results.

“We give the list of passing candidates and their contact information to the Seattle Police Department and they take it from there,” Scheele said.

The current test comes from the National Testing Network (NTN), but is not widely used by neighboring authorities or across the country. 27 agencies in the state use the test, but another 160 use competitor Industrial Organizational Solutions’ Public Safety Test (PST).

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SCC President calls test “competitive disadvantage”

With so many agencies competing for the same qualified candidate, Nelson called the testing situation a “competitive disadvantage.” She compared the public safety test to the college SAT test, the results of which can be immediately forwarded to any agency an applicant chooses to send them to.

“Once they take the PST test once, it is archived and they can determine which agencies receive that score. And if they have to use a test that no one else is using, that’s not an incentive to include Seattle in their application process,” Nelson said.

Another factor that plays a role is the passage rate. Scheele said 70% of those who take the NTN test in Seattle pass. The pass rate for the public safety test is 90%, according to the Seattle Times, citing company founder Jon Waters.

KIRO Newsradio has not yet independently confirmed the 90% figure.

With a higher success rate, more applicants could take the other exams that the SPD requires for officer careers. If an applicant fails the NTN test in Seattle, a job at SPD is most likely out of reach.

Nelson had originally asked that her bill include a mandatory switch to the public safety test, but backpedaled after staff legal counsel reportedly told her that the move would be an overreach of the council’s authority over Scheele’s independent commission for would represent the public security service.

Alternative tests are being discussed

Nelson is now asking Scheele to consider the PST test as an alternative for SPD applicants.

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Scheele said she is in the process of conducting her due diligence to validate and review changes to bring the PST into line with Seattle standards.

“I have felt pressure for some time to work as hard as possible to help the city of Seattle hire more qualified police officers, but this pressure is not new, it certainly takes a different form,” Scheele said.

The Commission may influence what should be included in the test, but has sole discretion over what is included in the test. Nelson does not believe using the PST, with its higher passage rate, would lower the standards for SPD officer appointments.

“I have seen no reason why using this test would lower standards,” Nelson said. “There is no evidence for that.”

Doss told council members that Snohomish County and the cities of Lake Forest Park and Kennewick have both used testing in their hiring process.

“I don’t think anyone wants to lower the standards of this exam,” Scheel said.

Matt Markovich frequently covers state legislation and public policy for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of Matt’s stories here. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitteror send him an email here.

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