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EMPLOYMENT RECOMMENDATION REPORT Entry-level Police Officer Job Postings: A Comparison for Consideration Michael L. Bashford

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Page 1: Employment Recommendation Report

EMPLOYMENT RECOMMENDATION REPORT

Entry-level Police Officer Job Postings:A Comparison for Consideration

Michael L. Bashford

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E M P L O Y M E N T R E C O M M E N D A T I O N R E P O R TPrepared for: ENGL 320 Business and Professional Writing: Miss Jennie EngerReport for: James PenderPrepared by: Michael L. BashfordLast Revision: 25 July 2010Peer Review: 21 July 2010Due Date: 26 July 2010

Entry-Level Police Officer Employment:A Comparison for Consideration of Jobs in Grand Forks, ND; Madison, WI; and

Fort Leavenworth, KS

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Table of Contents

LIST OF FIGURES.................................................................................................................................................. iii

SUMMARY.............................................................................................................................................................. iv

INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................................................... 1

INFORMATION............................................................................................................................................................................. 1

REPORT.................................................................................................................................................................... 3

GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA.............................................................................................................................................3Crime in Grand Forks.......................................................................................................................................................... 4Grand Forks Job Offer.......................................................................................................................................................... 5

MADISON, WISCONSIN...............................................................................................................................................................6Crime in Madison, Wisconsin........................................................................................................................................... 8Madison Job Offer.................................................................................................................................................................. 8

VA MEDICAL CENTER FORT LEAVENWORTH, KS.............................................................................................................10

GRAPHIC COMPARISONS FOR CONSIDERATION......................................................................................11

Crime....................................................................................................................................................................................... 11Salaries................................................................................................................................................................................... 12Distance from Family....................................................................................................................................................... 14Population Density............................................................................................................................................................ 15

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION......................................................................................................17

FINAL RECOMMENDATION.....................................................................................................................................................19

WORKS CITED..................................................................................................................................................... 20

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Crime Comparison: Grand Forks/Madison/Nation............................................12

Figure 2: Salary Comparison.............................................................................................13

Figure 3: Distance from Family.........................................................................................14

Figure 4: Population Density Comparison.........................................................................15

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SUMMARY

Entry-level police officer candidates tend to have a great deal of general knowledge about

the profession itself, certain preconceptions about what the job entails, expectations of salary and

benefits, and aspects of the job or community that are considered desirable, but each candidate

also has specific personal needs that must be fulfilled for the first job to be acceptable and a

successful starting point for a career as a police officer. James Pender, my client holds the same

personal requirements for the start of his career; his needs must be considered while he

contemplates which of three job offers he should accept. In order to make an informed decision,

James asked me to research and review the profession in general and compare that information

with three job offers he received to arrive at a recommendation of which job to pursue.

James Pender received preliminary job offers from police departments in Grand Forks,

North Dakota, and Madison, Wisconsin, and from the security office of the Veterans

Administration Medical Center in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The jobs are located in a distinctly

different sized communities located in upper and central Midwest regions of the country. Each

community offers different advantages and disadvantages, population size, crime rate, cost of

living, and distance from James’s hometown area of Little Falls, Minnesota.

Through the process of reviewing James’s resume, cover letter, class discussions,

questionnaire responses, and interview responses, I have determined that the best offer is the one

from the Grand Forks Police Department based on what matters most to James when considering

which of the three jobs to accept. The primary concerns for James are:

Salary, Crime rate of community, Proximity to his family, and Familiarity of surroundings

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INTRODUCTION

Entry-level police officer candidates tend to have a great deal of general knowledge about

the profession itself, certain preconceptions about what the job entails, expectations of salary and

benefits, and aspects of the job or community that are considered desirable, but each candidate

also has specific personal needs that must be fulfilled for the first job to be acceptable and a

successful starting point for a career as a police officer. This report reviews research of all of

these components with regard to three job offers from Grand Forks, North Dakota; Madison,

Wisconsin; and the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This

report’s purpose is to offer the information gathered regarding the three jobs in a comparison

review and offer a recommendation of one job that best suits your needs and desires.

Information

The information researched and reviewed in this report concerns itself first with those

aspects of communities that have a believed correlation with salary, namely population and

region. The other information gathered and compared in this report focuses on the following:

Cost of living, Cultural demographics, Average commute, and Departmental promotions

A review of your resume, cover letter, class discussion, questionnaire responses, and our

interview has brought to light certain needs and desires you have with regard to the job you will

select. The needs and desires I kept in consideration during the research and completion of this

report include, but are not limited to the following:

Starting salary of the job, Crime rate of the community, Population of the community,

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Proximity of job to family, Familiarity with surroundings, and Opportunity for promotion, and

Ultimately, this report seeks to offer researched information about the three job offers,

their respective employers, the communities in which they are located, and compare them to your

specific needs in a clear, concise, and easy-to-use format so that you can follow the

Recommendation given or make an informed decision of your own.

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REPORT

Three employers from three separate communities have offered you employment as an

entry-level officer: the police departments of Grand Forks, North Dakota and Madison,

Wisconsin; and the security office of the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Fort

Leavenworth, Kansas. Each of these jobs differs from one another in anticipated starting salary,

responsibilities, and the population or demographics of citizenry that will be policed. Because

you are familiar with most aspects associated with the career of a police officer, this report

compiles and compares information associated with each job offer and its community for your

review. The information provided is taken from websites for the communities, employers, or

national statistics and is cited where necessary. Following the information found regarding all

three jobs and communities, you will find side-by-side Graphic Comparisons between all three

jobs with national statistics and your needs.

Grand Forks, North Dakota

The city of Grand Forks is the third-largest city in North Dakota and the county seat of

Grand Forks County. The city is, as you know, located in northern North Dakota along the Red

River and has a sister community in Minnesota – East Grand Forks. The city is a growing

community even after rebuilding after the great flood of the Red River in 1997. The city built

new anti-flood diversions and levees after the flood of 1997 and though flooding of the Red

River is still a concern, the city weathered the 100-year flood of 2009 with far less property

damage or cost to the city and its citizens (Grand Forks).

Even after the flood of 1997 and the recent national economic collapse, the city of Grand

Forks continues to be ranked very high in the nation for economic stability and growth. In 2004

Grand Forks was honored for having the lowest taxes among regional manufacturing and food

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processing, as well as the lowest workers compensation insurance costs in the nation. The city

has also been ranked well in Forbes magazine among small metro areas with regard to small

businesses and careers (Grand Forks). The economy is well rounded and though built primarily

on agriculture has expanded to include military defense from the Grand Forks Air Force base,

manufacturing, food processing, scientific research, and higher education due to the presence of

the University of North Dakota, the state’s oldest institution of higher education (CNN).

According to the 2009 census, Grand Forks has an estimated population of 55,691, with

an estimated greater metropolitan population of 97,190 that is shared with East Grand Forks,

Minnesota. The census of 2009 showed a growth in Grand Forks, North Dakota of 3,500 people

since 2004. According to the 2006-2008 American Community Survey, the demographics of the

city population break down approximately into 91% whites, 3% Native Americans, 2% Hispanic

or Latino, 2% African Americans, and 2% other races, including Asian, Pacific Islander, or

multiple racial identities (U.S. Census Bureau).

When the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota was a contender to be one of the top 100

cities to live in according to the 2007 Money Magazine’s “Best Places to Live,” the metropolitan

and suburb areas of Grand Forks covered an estimated 19 square miles, but the average commute

time for employees in the city was approximately 11 minutes (CNN). The report also outlined

numerous other benefits in the community including the average weather, number of

entertainment and cultural opportunities, and overall health of its citizens.

Crime in Grand Forks

Grand Forks has been consistently ranked as one of the safest cities in the nation.

According to the 2006 “FBI Crime Reports”, the overall crime index for the city of Grand Forks

was 3,764 per 100,000 people. This index takes into consideration all criminal activity and was

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16% less than national crime index for the same year. The violent crime index for the same year

reflected that Grand Forks was 84% below the national rate (MDNH, Inc.).

Grand Forks Job Offer

All of the following information has been taken from the Grand Forks 2010 Police

Officer Employment Process Informational Packet, a viewable document from the Grand Forks

Police Department: Recruitment website, and paraphrased as necessary. According to the job

offer from the Grand Forks Police Department, the starting salary for the position as an entry-

level police officer is $20.26 per hour or $42,140.80 annually. This starting salary is increased

upon the officer’s receipt of a ND Peace Officers License (approximately four months after the

officer’s start date) to $20.74 per hour or $43,139.20. This initial salary is lower than the national

mean salary, but relates to the city’s small population, municipal funding, and varies between

officers based on experience and rank. The highest paid general officer in the department in 2010

earned an annual salary of $46,508.80, the highest paid corporal earned $57,803.20, a sergeant

earned $62,878.40, a lieutenant earned $$75,608.00, the captain earned $82,867.20, and the chief

earned $117,603.20. The opportunity to earn more than the official salary even among patrol

officers is evident and it should be noted that the salaries indicated do not include holiday pay,

overtime for court appearances, or extra duty assignment pay (Grand Forks Police Department).

The benefit package includes full health coverage at a 75:25 employer to employee ratio

of premiums paid, basic life insurance paid by the employer, a pension plan with a 5.26%

employer match to 4% employee match three-year vesting plan, long-term disability insurance,

employee assistance program, workers compensation, unemployment compensation, post-

employment health plan, 9 paid holidays annually, 8 hours personal leave with bonus personal

leave pay for using less than the full 112 hours of allotted annual sick leave, annual leave that

increases each year, and 40% tuition reimbursement for any job related training taken during

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your career. These are only the primary benefits that are offered, but there are those that are

common among police departments from around the nation including, paid licensing fees,

uniform allowance, a $300 personal equipment allowance, and your duty firearm paid for (Grand

Forks Police Department).

To be accepted as an entry-level officer you will have to attend a 13-week training

course, pass a background check, and take numerous tests. The testing includes a written test,

physical task assessment, oral assessment, polygraph examination, psychological exam, medical

physical exam, health screening, and a drug test. After the police academy training, you will be

placed on a 12-month probationary status and will placed in a 12 to 16-week comprehensive

Field Training and Evaluation Program (FTEP) before being considered a full-fledged officer

within the department (Grand Forks Police Department), (DegreeDirectory.org).

The initial duties of an entry-level police officer in Grand Forks consist of patrolling

within the city to monitor traffic, crime, and protect the citizens. Most patrolmen work a 40-hour

week, which means a great deal of time in the patrol car each day, but with consistent breaks,

meal breaks, and the need to get out of the patrol car for ticketing, accident scene investigation,

or working with the public, an officer does not find themselves in the patrol vehicle the entire

eight to ten hours of a shift (Grand Forks Police Department), (United States Dept. of Justice).

Madison, Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin is the second largest city and capital city of Wisconsin, as well as

the county seat of Dane County. The city of Madison is located in the south-central portion of the

state and is only about 80 miles west of Milwaukee and Lake Michigan, and only 122 miles

northwest of Chicago. According to the 2009 census, Madison ranked as the 81st largest city in

the country with an estimated population of 235,626 and a Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area

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population of 561,505. The larger Metropolitan area encompasses Dane, Iowa, and Columbia

counties. The census showed a population growth of approximately 27,000 people in the city

itself since the 2000 census (U.S. Census Bureau, 2009). The city is known widely as one of the

fastest growing in Wisconsin. According to the national census of 2000, the demographics of

Madison consisted of approximately 84% white, 6% African American, 6% Asian, 4% Hispanic,

and the remaining population consisting of other races such as Native American, Pacific

Islander, or multiple racial identities (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000).

According to the city’s official website, the city of Madison is sometimes referred to as

the City of Four Lakes because it is situated so that it nearly encompasses the Yahara River chain

lakes of Lake Mendota, Lake Monona, Lake Waubesa, and Lake Kegonsa. Of the four lakes,

Waubesa and Kegonsa actually fall just to the south of the city, but are included as part of the

name due to their proximity. A fifth lake, Lake Wingra, is also located in the city limits, but is

not included in the nickname because it is not part of the Yahara river chain (City of Madison,

City of Madison). Because you have noted that you enjoy being outdoors especially skating and

playing hockey, I feel it is good to know that Madison has so many outdoor settings that work

well with your interests.

In the May, 2010 issue of Forbes magazine, Madison was ranked as number seven in the

“Top Ten Most Innovative Cities” in the United States. The city has received numerous honors

and awards in the last decade for such things as: most important research advances in

cardiovascular disease and stroke, top 20 places to launch a business by CNN Money, the 7th best

city to live and work in according to Kiplinger, the second best place to find a job according to

the April 2009 Money Magazine, and number four in the top ten midsize metro areas for its

quality of life according to Portfolio.com in June 2010 (City of Madison, City of Madison:

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Honors). As the second largest city in Wisconsin, Madison is home to a wide array of

businesses, higher education, research, and manufacturing with a recent concentration in health,

biotech, and advertising. The economy has been booming since the early 1990s, primarily due to

the level of high education of its citizens, and in 2004 Forbes magazine reported that Madison

had the highest percentage of individuals holding a PhD in the United States (City of Madison:

Honors).

Though the city stretches across an estimated 85 square miles, the average time for a

commute for its citizens is 16 minutes according to Money Magazine, which ranked Madison as

number 53 in the 2006 “Best Places to Live”(CNN). This article of the top 100 cities in the

United States to live is the same annual ranking in which Grand Forks was a contender in 2007

and uses numerous aspects of the community in consideration for ranking.

Crime in Madison, Wisconsin

According to the 2006 “FBI Crime Reports,” Madison had an overall crime index of

3,810 per 100,000 people. This index, which takes into account all crime, was 15% less than the

national index. The violent crime index for the same year showed that Madison was 21% below

the national violent crime index (MDNH, Inc.), (United States Dept. of Justice).

Madison Job Offer

All of the following information has been compiled and summarized from the City of

Madison Police department website. According to the job offer from the Madison Police

Department, the starting annual salary for the position as an entry-level police officer is $42,551.

This starting salary is increased after six months to $47,314. Though this initial salary is lower

than the national mean salary for police officers, the difference is related to the city’s municipal

funding being shared by five district police departments. Pay varies between officers based on

experience, rank, and education. The Madison Police Department has educational incentive pay

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that takes effect after 42 months of continuous service in the department. This incentive pay plan

increases an officer’s salary relative to the education attained. As an example, an Associates

degree would mean a 9% pay increase bringing the base salary to $56,214; a Bachelors degree

brings an 18% increase in salary to a base of $60,588 and a Masters means an increase of 22% to

a base of $62,910. It should be noted that the base salaries indicated do not include briefing time,

shift differential, holiday pay, overtime for court appearances, or extra duty assignment pay

(Madison Police Department).

The benefit package offered by the Madison Police Department includes City Paid

Retirement Plan, City Paid Health Insurance, wage, life, and disability insurance plans, and a

37.5-hour workweek. The specifics regarding the benefits package were a bit more difficult to

obtain than those of Grand Forks, North Dakota, but any specific questions can be referred to a

recruiter or the Human Resources at the department (Madison Police Department).

Due likely to the number of interested applicants to become entry-level police officers,

the application process of the Madison Police Department is different than that of the Grand

Forks department. Because you have been offered a position, it is assumed that you have

completed the first step in the process, which is completion of the application, which is available

for download from the department website. I have assumed then, that you are now at the oral

interview process and still have to be cleared by the background investigation, interview with the

Chief of Police, required ride-along, and personality assessment. I assume this because if you

had received a letter for formal acceptance, we would not be proceeding with this decision

process because you would have to sign a pledge to stop all other hiring procedures. After this

acceptance you will still be required to pass a comprehensive medical examination and begin

your probationary period and six-month comprehensive training course. It should be noted here

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that this process and the six-month academy must be completed by all applicants regardless of

prior training or transferring laterally to the Madison Police Department from another department

or division (Madison Police Department).

After completion of the six-month academy, you will be assigned to patrol duties as a

probationary officer. Probationary status will last at least one year and as much as 18 months. As

you know, patrol officer duties are those that require you to patrol an assigned sector within a

district during your shift. As a probationary officer, you will primarily serve as back up to other

officers answering calls to the scenes of accidents, criminal activity, or investigations.

VA Medical Center Fort Leavenworth, KS

After extensive and diligent attempts at research into the Veterans Administration

Medical Center of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and its job offer to you as an onsite security officer,

I have come to the conclusion that this job should not be considered for numerous reasons. First,

the job is not that of an entry-level police officer, which you have outlined as your desired

career. The job consists of monitoring traffic and parking on the premises of the VA Medical

Center, assisting patients and visitors, offering directions for the premises, ticketing illegal

parking, investigating any minor crimes that occur on the premises, and working in conjunction

with local police, military police, or sheriff departments during the investigation of more serious

crimes (Monster.com). This sounds like a job that is often taken by retired military police

officers or inactive or retired local police officers. Second, there is so little information to be

found regarding the job as to be non-existent. Besides that which you are already aware of from

the job listing, I have been unable to locate any information pertaining to salary, benefits, or

specific duties. Finally and most importantly, one of the needs you have with regard to a career

job is the opportunity for promotion. Though one might imagine that there must be a director of

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security for the VA Medical Center, this is an assumption, just as is it is an assumption that the

position is filled through promotion within the security department rather than bureaucratically.

Because of the foregoing reasons and because this particular job does not meet your

needs as a starting position for a future career as a police officer, it is my firm belief and

educated recommendation that this particular job not be considered further and that your

consideration be with regard to the positions offered by the Grand Forks or Madison police

departments.

Graphic Comparisons for Consideration

To assist you with the assimilation of all of the information presented in this report, I

have produced or reproduced some graphics that allow you to see the jobs compared side-by-side

with the national statistics available. The following graphs compare those aspects of the jobs that

concern you the most: Crime Rates, Salaries, Distances from Family, and Population Density.

Though the following graphics concentrate heavily on the jobs offered by Grand Forks

and Madison departments, an attempt has been made to add information for the VA Medical

Center in Fort Leavenworth if the information exists. Some of the graphics have been provided

by other sources and in those instances proper identification is given for the resource of the

graphic. The citation for any borrowed graphic or information used in the graphic of course leads

to the Works Cited page should you wish to review the original source or perform comparisons

of your own regarding the statistics that are displayed.

Crime

The first graph is from MDNH, Inc.’s AreaConnect.com and its information was

mentioned earlier in the report during the individual community reviews regarding the crime

rates of Grand Forks and Madison. A quick review of the graphed information, taken from “FBI

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Crime Reports” of 2006 and 2007, shows the crime index rates per capita for each community,

which might surprise you. Grand Forks actually surpasses Madison in murder, theft, and auto

theft per capita, whereas Madison surpasses Grand Forks in rape, robbery, assault, and burglary.

In fact, Madison is nearly the same as the national crime index with regard to rape and robbery.

The information displayed is the crime indexes for each city (per 100,000 people) in

comparison with the national crime index, which is used as the 100-percentile rate. Specific

numbers are not included in the graph because each specific crime has a different index.

Salaries

For the following graph, I have compiled the base salaries for the job offers from Grand

Forks, Madison, and the VA Medical Center in Fort Leavenworth to show them in comparison

with the national mean salary for police officers according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This

should give a surprising side-by-side visual representation of the base salaries of all three jobs

Figure 1: Crime Comparison (MDNH, Inc.).

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for quick and easy comparison. The VA Medical Center salary is taken from the job listing as

advertised and reflects the lower number mentioned for a starting salary because you have no

prior experience, which the advertisement seems to indicate controls the starting salary for the

position. All base salaries have been rounded to the nearest whole number for ease in comparison

of the numbers.

Keep in mind that the salaries displayed are base salaries and do not reflect any holiday

pay, overtime for court appearances, or shift differentials that may raise the amount earned.

Please also note that the salaries of the two primary job offers under consideration – Grand Forks

and Madison – are very comparable to one another and not far below the national mean for

police officers. The small disparity between the salaries for Grand Forks and Madison plays a

role in the final Recommendation. The specific numbers for each salary depicted are as follows:

1. Grand Forks: $42,141.002. Madison: $42,551.00

Grand Forks Madison VA Medical Ctr

National Mean

$0.00

$10,000.00

$20,000.00

$30,000.00

$40,000.00

$50,000.00

$60,000.00

Salary

Salary

Figure 2: Salary Comparison

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3. VA Center: $31,315.004. Nation Mean: $55,120.00

Distance from Family

One of your primary concerns about your first job is the distance of the job from your

hometown and family. This is a common concern among college graduates and in consideration

of the stressful type of career you are entering, a valid concern for you so that you have the

support of family as you begin the career. The desire to be within a reasonable travel distance of

family for occasional visits or in case of family emergencies bears weight in the final

Recommendation, so the travel distances from the jobs to Little Falls, Minnesota are displayed in

the following graph to give you a quick means of comparison. The distances have been compiled

using Mapquest.com and are rounded to the nearest mile. As you likely know, Mapquest.com

uses the shortest route between destinations, so the actual mileage and time of travel will vary

depending on your familiarity with alternate routes.

Grand Forks Madison VA Medical Ctr0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Distance from Little Falls, MN (miles)

Distance from Little Falls, MN

Figure 3: Distance from Family (Map Quest, Inc.)

As you probably already know, Grand Forks is closest to your hometown of Little Falls.

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Population Density

The final graphic that allows a side-by-side comparison is concerned with the population

density of the communities in which the jobs offered exist. After due consideration for how to

best display another need you have – familiarity with your surroundings – the only way that I

believe this type of information can be displayed is a comparison of how the population is

distributed within each community. The graphic depicts the number of people per square mile

and the statistics are taken from the 2000 national census as displayed at Answers.com (U.S.

Census Bureau, 2000). These numbers likely contain fewer persons per square mile than current

statistics, but the U.S. Census Bureau has not compiled the 2010 census statistics as of the date

of this report.

In this graph I have included population density for Fargo and Little Falls because these

are communities that you are familiar with. As you probably guessed, the population density of

Grand Forks is very similar to that of Fargo and surprisingly, Madison’s population density is not

Grand Fork

s

Mad

ison

Fort Lea

venworth

Fargo

Little

Falls

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

Population Density (per sq. mile)

Population Density (per sq. mile)

Figure 4: Population Density Comparison (2000 Census)

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that much higher than those of Grand Forks or Fargo. The specific numbers that are displayed for

the number of people per square mile according to the 2000 census are as follows:

1. Grand Forks: 2.5632. Madison: 3,0303. Leavenworth: 1,5074. Fargo: 2,3885. Little Falls: 1,233

It is my hope that the visual representations offered give a better feeling for the

information that has been provided throughout this report.

Though there are many aspects that may be taken into consideration when making a

decision as important as your first job within your career choice, I have concentrated on those

aspects of the communities and jobs that have been offered that most closely match those aspects

that you have either said concern you most or those that I have determined appear to concern

you. For the final recommendation, please see the following Conclusions and Recommendation

portion of the report.

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CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

The information gathered, reviewed, compiled, and compared within this report has

confirmed my initial suspicion, that the job offer from the Grand Forks Police Department is the

most suitable first entry-level police officer job for you.

Though I did suspect this conclusion early on during the process of collecting, reviewing,

and comparing the data for this report, I did my best to not allow it to affect the process of

comparing the data and preparing this report. As one objectively reviews the data available, the

three jobs offered to you appear to come rather close to one another as suitable jobs in which to

start your career in protective services as a police officer. But after due consideration of those

elements that are of particular importance to you, the job at the police department in Grand Forks

stands out as the most optimum fit for you and your needs.

Very early in the analysis of the data available, it became apparent that the job offer from

the Veterans Administration Medical Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas should no longer be

considered. As described in the report, the job does not meet many criteria you have either

consciously or unconsciously set forth as requirements for your first job in protective services. In

fact, other than your minimum required salary, none of the elements of the VA job met with your

requirements or needs. I feel that if you were to take this job, you would very quickly be

dissatisfied with the job’s duties, lack of challenge, and its inability to translate well into future

jobs in real police work.

As much as I was convinced that the VA job should not be considered, I was surprised by

how much more appropriate the job with the Madison Police Department appeared after analysis

and comparison than I had originally anticipated. In fact, the job so closely resembles the job in

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Grand Forks on its surface that it has taken some extra deliberation to arrive at the decision that it

is not as suitable as the job in Grand Forks.

Ultimately, the recommendation of the job at the Grand Forks Police Department comes

down to what I believe are two very important considerations associated with your needs. First,

this career is a very stressful job according to everything I have read and heard from my cousin

who was a police officer. The stress experienced in the job itself is only exasperated during the

first couple of years on a police force by such factors as moving to a new environment, the size

of the metropolitan area, the commute to and from the department, the general nature of a job

that places you in danger every day, and dealing with some very serious problems within society.

Your voiced desire to be near to familiar surroundings and your family was expounded by what I

believe is the unspoken need of entry-level police officers for a firm support base that they can

rely on during the very stressful first few years of the career in order to be successful and remain

in the chosen career. For these reasons, Grand Forks stood out because it most closely resembles

the environment that you are familiar with. I believe moving to a larger metropolitan area, such

as Madison, and trying to acclimate yourself to the surroundings and the pressures of a larger

population and urban area would only add to the stress you would be experiencing in the job.

The proximity of Grand Forks to your hometown and family is another benefit that is closely

related to the concern of stress. With your family nearer to you, the opportunities for family

support and an escape hatch for when you do take leave from your job only adds to your ability

to fight the stress of this career. The second consideration is one that I do not believe you are

consciously aware of and that is the additional education or training you will have to get through

before becoming an official officer of the law. Though you have not voiced this as a concern, the

fact that you are anxious to graduate from NDSU leads me to believe that any extensive or

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lengthy additional training could sour the experience for you and make you reconsider your

career choice. As you can see, the Madison Police Department requires no less than six months

of additional training and an additional 12 to 18 months of probationary status after that before

you are considered a full-fledged and recognized police officer, whereas Grand Forks requires

only four months of academy training and 12-month probationary period before becoming a

recognized police officer.

Final Recommendation

For the foregoing reasons as well as everything that I have considered throughout the

analysis of the data collected for this report it is my educated recommendation that you accept

the job with the Grand Forks police department and begin your career as a police officer. The

opportunities for advancement within the department, salary increases beginning within four

months of your start date, a benefits package comparable to any other police department,

continuing education, proximity to your family, familiar surroundings, and job satisfaction all

exist with this job. In a few years if you find that the challenges, duties, or advancement

opportunities do not exist, you will have obtained critical on-the-job experience to allow you to

consider other larger metropolitan police departments for the next step in your career.

Page 25: Employment Recommendation Report

20

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