Wausau Police Department. Image courtesy: WAOW TV
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Wausau’s Policing Task Force adjourned for the final time on Monday, sending recommended changes to various city committees for consideration.
But before they disbanded, former District 1 City Council Alder Pat Peckham had a question for Police Chief Ben Bliven on their hiring process. “[Chief Bliven,] refresh our memories on the screening procedures for new officers- to weed out potential bigots and [other problems.] I was wondering if we could take a few minutes for that?”
Cheif Bliven then spent the next few minutes outlining the process his department goes through, which he says begins with two rounds of interviews before a candidate is seriously considered. “If they make it through that initial interview they are invited back for a second, and they are also required to bring in a background packet of information,” said Bliven.
That packet includes 30 pages, front and back, which detail the candidates’ past. Topics range from listing every address they’ve lived at along with the members of their family. They also disclose what drugs they’ve taken, including illegal drugs, and information on any crimes they may have committed. Bliven says that provides a test to the candidates’ integrity, while also allowing them to dig into their past.
“If they make it through that process we assign someone, usually a detective, to do a background investigation. If they are from Wisconsin or a neighboring state we will send that investigator to their hometown. They’ll talk to [that] police department, high school classmates and teachers, see if there are any law enforcement contacts. We talk to their previous employers to make sure they have a good employment history,” said Bliven
In many cases, they’ll also talk to spouses and parents. Bliven says the background investigation can take up to 40 hours for the investigator to complete.
Candidates must also go through a third interview with command staff, a lie detector test, a psychological and medical exam, and an interview with the city’s Police and Fire Commission before being officially hired.
Bliven says he has full confidence in how the process works. “Nothing’s perfect, but I think that we have a very in-depth process. If there are signs or symptomatology of someone who is a racist individual we would identify that. I would say furthermore; if they are in our employment and there are signs and symptoms of them being a racist person the likelihood that they would continue employment is zero.
“We probably have more interviews than most agencies, and most agencies don’t do a polygraph,” added Bliven.
Following the discussion, the committee’s recommendations were unanimously sent on to various committees.
Some of them involve dealings with Northcentral Health Care, those topics will also be passed on to the county. Some are also going to the state level for recommended action.
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