Sept. 18, 2007 — They walked through the door with visions of becoming a police officer, but only a handful made it.
Testing sites on St. Thomas and St. Croix recently opened their doors to 280 people eager to become members of the V.I. Police Department. When the results were scored, only 80 of the 200 passed, and only 14 of those 80 were recruited for a position.
Many of the individuals who did not pass the test were extremely close to a passing grade, said Gov. John deJongh Jr., according to a Government House news release. Therefore we decided to ensure that they had another opportunity in a key area of need in our community.
DeJongh unveiled a first-ever joint venture between the Education and Police departments, along with the University of the Virgin Islands and the governments Personnel Division. It's designed to bolster test-taking skills of hopeful applicants to boost recruitment. The four entities have joined together to help notify, train and re-test candidates who failed the police departments entrance exam.
Dr. Lynn Spampinato, acting education commissioner, said her staff will be available to lead six seminars split between St. Thomas and St. Croix and hosted at UVI throughout the end of the month.
Enough of the candidates came close to passing and deserve a second chance, said VIPD Recruiter Emmett Hansen.
Because of that, we have taken it upon ourselves to go the extra mile and assist them in boosting their test-taking skills so that they can attain their dream of becoming a member of the VIPD, he said. It is rare that four entities in an administration come together in a joint initiative, he added, but we all feel that it is important to both the community and the individuals.
Those who failed the test are being contacted by the Division of Personnel to register for the following seminars:
— St. Thomas: 1 – 3 p.m.. Sept. 26, 3 5 p.m. Sept. 27 and 6 – 8 p.m. Sept. 28.
— St. Croix: 10 a.m. – noon Oct. 3, 2 – 4 p.m. Oct. 4, and 6 – 8 p.m. Oct. 5.
The seminars will be held at the Sports and Fitness Center on St. Thomas and at the Evans Center on the UVI St. Croix campus. All candidates for the seminars must report to the Education Department's Division of Human Resources on St. Croix or St. Thomas to get the preliminary reading materials.
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