Civil service. How I dislike thee.....

Just thought I'd post a bit of a rant over a recent experience with my town and the Civil Service Commission for the state of Mass.
I'm 36 years old, and will be 37 in a week. I took the entry level Police exam last April and my 3 choices were my hometown, MBTA, Beverly and Danvers. The last 2 towns are pretty much a throw away choice since I'm a non-resident and the chances of being hired are beyond slim to none.

Months went by until the test results came in and I scored well being my first time ever taking the exam. I did qualify for Vet preference(not points) which would place me in the top tier of candidates.

In late November, the list was established which placed me #10 out of a couple hundred or so. I got word from my town officers that they will be hiring X amount of Reserve Officers.

In December, I recieved a post card stating that I must report to City Hall by Jan 1 to sign the letter of interest. I signed it a week or so later.

A week or so later, an application packet came in the mail and once that was done, my backround investagation would begin. I spent a week gathering all the information they needed and passed it in. Thus starting my backround..

A month later, I so happen to run into the two detectives conducting my backround and they told me I was all set and to lay low until I get a letter for an interview.

Two weeks later, I get a letter from the city. I open it, and it stated that I was an automatically disqualified due to my age. Apparantly, in March, a month before the exam, the city adopted Chapter 31 Section 58A which means that if you are a non vet, you cant be more than 32 years of age and 36 for Vets. I was 36 and 41 days when i took the exam.

I contacted Lawyers, City council members, State Reps, the Chief, the useless Mayor, City Vet reps, etc. They gave me nothing but the run around since they are employed by the City. Throughout this ordeal, I was in contact with HRD in Boston and several times they told me that they nothing of the City adopting this State Law. One response was even through email. Finally, I set an appeal date with the state and in walks the City Attorney with the Civil service rep. I stated my case and the lawyer stated her case. We went back and forth and the final decision was that even though the City failed to notify the state of any rule changes, it doesnt warrant the retraction of my suspension. All I got was,"Sorry" and was shown the door.

i'm wondering how many others were screwed by this process and if PD's continue to bypass candidates to get to their "friends". it's such bullshit...

Anyhow, That's my story and thought I'd share. good day all

sorry man that sucks

Very sorry to read that.

I know that Civil Circus has many, many issues.

I don't understand why so many people in Massachusetts who want jobs in law enforcement stay in Massachusetts. If you want to be a cop, look elsewhere because unless you have "juice" or are a minority, you probably aren't going to get in here. Naturally there are exceptions to every rule, but generally this is true here.

Figure too, all the thousands of people holding CJ degrees who are out on streets looking for jobs as well. It is almost akin to aspiring to be a professional athlete in a major sport. The odds are against you.

Really the only recourse you have is to petiton your state legislator to pass special home-rule legislation in your favor. The bill would look something like this:
http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/Se...2011/Chapter13

It's tough but not impossible and you'd need to be a squeaky clean and highly qualified applicant with everyone in the city, to include the police brass, behind you.

I would call the police admin official and politely demand a meeting with the Chief, tell him how much you want the job, and generally talk yourself up. Then let him know of your plan and ask if he'd support you. Worst thing he can say is GFY, and you haven't lost anything.

Originally Posted by Bolio

There are currently 43 student officers in the Reading Police Academy right now. Three minorities and the rest are white males and 1 female. About 2/3 of the class are non vets. All from different municipals. Oldest student is 51 years old white male...yes I said 51.

Most hired are from civil service communities.

That's because those municipalities never accepted or have since gotten rid of the max age limits. To save pension funds as well as get officers who were career military with life expierience, municipalities have been trending towards getting rid of MGL 31/58A. If you look at the list of civil service cities and towns on the civil service list, those that have gotten rid of 31/58A are noted as "pension reform" municipalities.

Also, for a point of clarity, the 36 yoa limit for vets is only applicable if you have 4 or more years of active duty. The age limit is actually 32 years plus any active duty time up to four years. Ergo, if you only served 2 years, 6 months on active duty, your age limit would hit at 34 1/2 years old.

I think the age limit has long been antiquated for the reasons above.

Originally Posted by Bolio

There are currently 43 student officers in the Reading Police Academy right now. Three minorities and the rest are white males and 1 female. About 2/3 of the class are non vets. All from different municipals. Oldest student is 51 years old white male...yes I said 51.

Most hired are from civil service communities.

So what is your point? It looks like the requisite minorities and female have been hired, and the rest are white males...and of those white males, how many have relatives on the Job or are otherwise connected? Look at the majority of MSP recent academy grads, mainly white males.

Officer Obie did a great job explaining the age situation.

One of the pitfalls of having no mandatory retirement age, is the upward mobility becomes difficult as higher ranking officers hang on forever making it tough for the lower ranks to move up.