Boynton Police offer ‘NFL-like’ combine testing
Potential officers can compete for paid place in city’s academy.
BOYNTON BEACH — Joe DeGiulio knows there are men and women who want to be police officers but financial instability or time constraints might be stopping them from their dream.
The assistant chief of the Boynton Beach Police Department wants to reach those potential officers and had an idea. On Saturday, July 14, the department will host a hiring combine much like the NFL scouting combine held every February where college football players show off their mental and physical skills in front of scouts and coaches.
If chosen at the combine, Boynton will pay for the person to go to the six-month police academy, which costs about $4,200 with uniforms. Boynton police will also pay a salary while the person is in the academy — about $38,000 annually.
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through the academy are also welcome to try out.
DeGiulio said the combine is a more “efficient and effective” way to hire officers. He was hoping about 30 people would sign up and they’re already up to about 200.
The combine will test the applicants’ street skills, which was not something Boynton tested for in the past. Sometimes a new officer will hit the streets and can’t deal with the stress.
“They may come to this and realize ‘I’m not cut out for this.’ But that’s just as important as someone realizing ‘I was meant to do this,’” said Stephanie Slater, the department’s spokeswoman.
Before the combine, the candidate had to have already been attending the academy, submit an application and if approved, answer 10 questions from a
five-member panel.
That, and more, will happen at the combine. The applicants will be tested for four hours in decision-making scenarios, team-building and leadership exercises, and physical challenges. The department plans to host five four-hour sessions that day.
The combine comes at a defining moment for the police agency. The department has 10 open positions and DeGiulio is expecting another four of five.
Also, a new police chief will be appointed next week. The three finalists are DeGiulio, Kenneth Ferguson from the Framingham (Mass.) Police Department and Michael Gregory from Fort Lauderdale Police. Vanessa Snow, another assistant chief, is a finalist for the Palm Beach County Schools Police chief position.
Captain Matthew Zeller, who is organizing the combine with DeGiulio, knows the importance of the department funding the academy and offering a salary. The department did that for him more than a decade ago through a program when he was 21-year-old community service officer.
“Being a police officer was a calling for me. By the city doing that and investing in me, I have a sense of loyalty to this department,” he said. “I’m dedicated. That’s what we’re hoping to achieve with other people.”