Author: Serkan Altuntop

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 174

ISBN-13:

Recruitment and selection were always considered as one of the most critical functions of success and performance in both the private and the public sectors. In a rapidly changing environment and with the increased customer demands, it is not likely that a company or organization that ignores its environment and overlooks revising its policies including recruitment would survive or sustain efficiency. This study identifies the determinants involved in recruitment and selection practices in law enforcement agencies and their importance to the rapidly changing profession in the US. This study examines the logic behind recruitment practices and how they effect decisions in police departments. The moving point to research these arguments is analyzing the selection techniques used in police departments. Unlike other studies that focus on analyzing which selection method(s) is best in predicting how to recruit good police officer (for a compilation of such studies on law enforcement selection, a good resource is "Research in Law Enforcement Selection" by Michael G. Aamodt), this study tries to understand what factors affect using more or less selection tools assuming that using more diverse selection tools helps identify more aspects of an individual which in turn serves police departments better to have more qualified officers. The findings from this research suggest that police departments are aware of the importance of external forces and value organizational change and as such they adapt their structures including their recruitment policies to external demands. At the same time, some internal factors also seem to have a significant role in recruitment decisions.