A masters degree in engineering, and a NYS PE license.
My issue isnt with the hiring of Civil servants, its the fact that once hired it is almost impossible to get rid of them, even if thier jobs become redundant, or they stop performing up to the level expected of them.
I too have a Master's Degree and was a manager in law enforcement , for a while I was assigned to personnel which included all of which I listed above plus discipline, including recommending to the hiring authority termination. Civil service terminations are difficult, and more so in the LE Careers - for good reason, but hardly impossible.
In the first year during probation I could simply ask for badge and ID and tell employee only this, "a law enforcement career is not for everyone"; to say more created huge problems and space here limits further detail. No cause was ever provided when terminating probationary deputies beyond that phrase.
An internal affairs investigation takes time and costs money. It is much more economical to discipline and train officers than to fire them. When they bring discredit to the agency or are a risk to pubic safety they are put on paid leave until fired. Hence, the cost and time involved in the hiring process is necessary and usually sufficient; the vast majority of are employees do a great job under stressful circumstances and are fine citizens.
In California, post prop 13, few local government jobs become redundant. Today, highly educated and highly paid professionals spent time doing what were at one time clerical functions. Police officers/deputy sheriffs/probation and parole agents and even prosecuting attorneys spend time filing, copying and searching for documents once a duty of the least senior clerical staff.
