A ‘Discriminatory’ Test That’s Valid : LAPD: Women have to pass the wall test as long as physical ability, like good eyesight, is crucial in police work.

Much has been said recently about the Los Angeles Police Department “wall,” which is part of the physical abilities test that police candidates must pass in order to be hired. Critics are quick to point out that women have a more difficult time scaling the wall than men. Their conclusion is that the wall is discriminatory and must be removed as part of the testing process; then the LAPD will be able to easily achieve the long-range 43% female hiring goal.

It’s not that simple.

To be legally defensible, a personnel test must be validated as job-related. If it is not, there is no purpose for that test, regardless of whether it discriminates. There are many valid tests that may discriminate against certain segments of society. For example, there is no question that police officers must be able to see; therefore, we have a minimum visual acuity standard for police officers. This legally discriminates against a large portion ofthe population, yet no one is calling for an elimination of the eye exam.

Is ability to scale a 6-foot wall job-related? Without question, the answer is yes. Every day, police officers have to climb fences and walls to pursue suspects, or to search for evidence or missing children, or any one of a number of other reasons. The California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training mandates that all police officers successfully scale a wall prior to completing training.

There is a belief by some that the role of police officers will change dramatically as law enforcement moves toward community policing. Some people say that police officers will switch from being crime fighters to problem solvers. This is not quite an accurate analysis.

The role of police officers is expanding instead of shifting. Communication skills, conflict resolution and problem-solving abilities are becoming more critical, and finding effective ways of measuring candidates’ abilities in these areas is crucial. However, police officers of the future will still be required to respond physically to disturbances; physical confrontation will always be part of the job. Therefore, physical abilities will always be job-related, at least until society changes dramatically.

The LAPD is committed to increasing representation of women and eliminating gender bias. While it is true that female candidates fail the physical abilities test at a higher rate than men the first time, they succeed at nearly the same rate after being provided remediation. The results show that women can pass the wall test.

Another area of contention is that incumbent officers are not tested on the wall; so, if we do not require officers to qualify with the wall throughout their careers, why require it initially? It is true that officers are not required to pass the physical abilities test after they graduate from the Police Academy. In fact, they are not required to take any of the entry-level tests after graduation. LAPD officers used to get a periodic medical exam, but that was cut in 1978 in a budgetary response to Proposition 13, and there is no reason to believe that money is now available to begin re-examining incumbent officers.

The aging process results in physical abilities deteriorating in everyone, including police officers. Since most officers enter the profession in their 20s, it is natural to expect their abilities to lessen as they reach their 30s and 40s. It is legally permissible to establish standards at entry level that are higher than what is required for tenured employees. Once again, we can look at eyesight for a similar parallel. Visual acuity diminishes with age. Entry-level eye standards are tough so that middle-aged officers will still be able to perform their duties in a safe, acceptable manner.

The city Personnel Department is nearing completion of a comprehensive validation study of the entry-level police officer testing process. All aspects are being carefully evaluated. The Police Department has cooperated fully with the study and is eagerly awaiting its results.

The LAPD is committed to the mandate that all elements of the testing process must be valid.

What must be remembered is that hiring qualified police officers based on job-related criteria is the issue.

The safety of Los Angeles’ residents as well as its police officers must remain paramount.