Police officers have a stressful job that requires quick, common-sense decisions. The duties of a police officer include writing reports and maintaining order in criminal situations, all judged with critical thinking. Due to all the different tasks required of a police officer, they are required to have certain characteristics such as good physical agility, ability to cope with difficult situations, good writing skills, communication skills and have the ability to exercise and comply the commands of authority. Each department will recruit officers differently, but will have some standards for recruiting techniques. These requirements will vary from minimum requirements, education, technology, legal knowledge, residency, and diversity. (Ch. 14 Page 349) Each police department establishes minimum hiring conditions for its applicants, such as being at least 21 years of age, having a driver's license or being eligible to obtain one, and having no prior felony convictions. The first initial test consists of passing a written exam, a medical exam, an interview, a physical agility test and a psychological screening. The requirement to be able to receive or have a driver's license is due to the fact that an officer's primary duty is to patrol and have the ability to drive to respond to an incident. Another requirement is to have the ability to own a firearm and in order to qualify to own a firearm the person must be twenty-one years of age. A previously convicted felon is prohibited from possessing a firearm, which is why he is prohibited from becoming a police officer. An individual with domestic violence and convictions cannot possess a firearm, which is why they are prohibited from becoming a police officer. (Ch.14 Page 350)...... half of the paper...... are very important. (Ch.14 Pg. 355-356) The psychological test and polygraph test are conducted for the purpose of evaluating intelligence and identifying the characteristics of the person, look for any mental disorders that could pose a potential problem in the future. It is important to screen the person because police officers face stressful situations on their daily commute. Physical agility is the other measure that needs to be taken to test the level of the police candidate. The test consisted of push-ups, pull-ups and sit-ups, speed, coordination and strength. Changes are made for women but they don't reduce fitness, women have less upper body strength than men, but the training is done and shows women how to get stronger. (Ch.14 pages 356-359)Resources:Chapter 14. New standards for police recruitment. (Pages. 349-359) Text. 4/27/14.