The utility of the oral interview board in selecting police academy admissions

The oral board interview is a common personnel assessment practice in law enforcement. While on the surface this procedure may appear suitable, there is some literature questioning its utility. Presents a study which uses data from admission interviews of police academy recruits to determine the effectiveness of this selection procedure. Although the results question the reliability of this technique, there are some distinctions between academy students who survived the oral board process and recruits who were exempt from this procedure. However, the empirical evidence compiled to date suggests that the oral board is a fallible practice that has outlasted its usefulness.