A member of the Honolulu Police Commission resigned this week because she had concerns about the way the written exam portion in the process of choosing Honolulu’s new chief of police was being graded.
Did you read that in the paper and go, “Wait, there’s an ESSAY QUESTION for police chief?”
Not that it’s out of the realm of usefulness, but perhaps it seems a bit … odd?
When was the last time you had to write an essay for consideration for a job? (For me the answer is never … and I’ve worked as a writer and a writing teacher.) It’s such an academic assessment. After college the dreaded essay question doesn’t come up very often.
Of course, it’s important for the next police chief to be able to write a cogent memo, a clearly worded report, perhaps an inspirational speech for certain solemn occasions or an impassioned plea meant to win the support of lawmakers.
Being able to write clearly is always an asset in a managerial position, as is the talent to give a speech that brings people to tears, the ability to motivate the department to aspire to greatness, and the math skills to come up with a smart budget. Negotiation finesse, knowledge of the law, mental toughness, emotional stability, an upright moral core — so many things are required, and some of these things perhaps can be assessed in a person’s written statement.
Or maybe not. Some really smart, really wonderful people can’t write worth a damn. And, truth be told, some really terrific writers have zero leadership skills.
Besides, when was the last time you read anything a cop wrote while on the job as a cop and went, “Wow. That’s amazing. I could not have worded it better myself”? Nope. On the job, cops write like cops — just the facts, tangled legal terms that are required of them, no reaching for fancy words. Even the example of a writing sample given online by EB Jacobs, the firm hired to run this search for a chief, is pretty no-frills:
“I received a phone call this morning from the leader of a national animal rights group who was complaining because the group’s demonstration at the Capitol was interrupted yesterday by teenagers throwing eggs and yelling obscenities. The animal rights group is planning a demonstration again at 2:00 pm today and does not want to have the same problem. Please handle the situation.”
Of course, the process to select the next HPD leader should be thorough. It should also be fair, and grading written work is always subjective. Mostly, at this point, it should be expedient. Here is yet another cul-de-sac on what should be a straight route to putting in someone to run the Honolulu Police Department. Come on, already. This isn’t some do-nothing government Department of Redundancy Department where there can be an “acting” in there for years and nobody really notices. This is the Honolulu Police Department. Get us a chief.
Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.
