Panel OKs Dropping Wall-Scaling Test for Police Applicants

A city commission on Friday endorsed sweeping changes in the entrance requirements to the Los Angeles Police Academy--including elimination of a six-foot wall that has posed a special obstacle to women.

The changes approved by the Civil Service Commission call for a more comprehensive essay and different reading and English usage questions. But most important, the new test would replace physical requirements such as pulling a dead weight and scaling the six-foot wall.

The new test would employ special machines or other more scientific methods of determining endurance, strength and flexibility.

The changes, designed to modernize a test that the Police Department has used for decades, were recommended last month by the city Personnel Department after a two-year study of the police selection process. The proposals face additional approvals in the coming months before they become final.

Officials emphasized that the changes, if implemented, would only apply to academy applicants. All graduates would still have to scale the six-foot wall and meet other state-mandated requirements.

“I would not have voted for this if I felt that in any way this was an issue of lowering standards,” said Joe Gelman, president of the Civil Service Commission. “Whoever gets past the academy will still have to get over the wall. There will not be one cop on the street who has not gotten over the wall.”

The wall has been the most-criticized aspect of the current test because women tend to fail at significantly greater rates than men.

Designed to approximate the fences that officers occasionally mount on the job, the six-foot wooden wall is a state requirement for all California peace officers, and some studies have said that scaling such obstacles is an important part of police work.

But while most other agencies use the wall only as a graduation requirement, the LAPD asks applicants to scale the wall before being admitted to the academy.

As the LAPD moves toward community-based policing, some critics have questioned the usefulness of the wall as an entrance requirement--especially because scaling the wall is a skill that can be learned in the academy.

Police Chief Willie L. Williams has said that he favors keeping the wall as an entrance requirement because it is an important part of police work. A representative, Deputy Chief Larry Fetters, said Friday the LAPD has not taken a position on the recommendations.

As it is now, police applicants take the physical abilities test after passing the written test, undergoing an interview and a medical exam, and passing the background check. The wall is part of a battery of physical tests that must be accomplished in a set amount of time, meaning that even some of those who struggle over the wall can fail by taking too long.

For those who do not make the cut, there are special classes to help applicants on their second try--and LAPD statistics show that the classes boost women’s pass rate nearly to that of men.

The City Council’s Personnel Committee, headed by Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg, will consider the changes to the police test on Wednesday.