Minimum Qualifications

• Education/experience requirement: High school diploma or equivalency certificate.
  
• You must be willing to reside in the City of Elizabethton or within ten miles of the city limits.
  
• You must be at least 21 years of age.
  
• No person who has been convicted of a felony shall be appointed as a Police Officer. A candidate may be disqualified for evidence of character clearly unsuited for police services. Candidates for employee must agree to submit to a comprehensive background check as part of the selection process.
  
• You must have a valid Tennessee Drivers License.
  
• Candidates for employment are required to pass both a medical examination and a psychological evaluation before employment.
  
• All candidates appointed as full-time police officers will be required to successfully complete the Tennessee Basic Training Academy, which consists of 8 weeks of training.
  
  

Written Examination

• You must take the written examination in order to be placed on the eligible list for appointment as a police officer.
  
• At the examination site, applicants must present a current valid photo identification with their signature, such as a current motor vehicle operators license.
  
• No applicant has the right to a makeup examination for missing the scheduled exam due to personal of professional conflicts. Applicants are advised to consider this before applying for the examination.
  
  

Physical Examination

Candidates who successfully complete the written examination and score within a preset percentage of the top scores will be invited to move to the next stage of the employment process, which is the physical agility test. This test is conducted at the Elizabethton Police Department firing range. The test is in the form of an obstacle course that simulates many of the physical challenges that a police officer can be expected to face on duty. These obstacles include climbing and jumping, balancing, running, and carrying dead weight. Applicants who are invited to participate in the physical agility test will receive more detailed information about the test when it is administered. As with the written examination, applicants should understand that make-up examinations will not be given.

Oral Interview

The top percentage of applicants who successfully complete the physical agility test will be invited to participate in an interview. This is the final stage of the employment process that requires the applicants' participation. Applicants will be graded on their answers to the questions. Applicants should be forewarned that the interview is stressful and part of the evaluation of each applicant includes the interviewers' evaluation of how the applicant handles that stress in addition to the substance of the applicants' responses.

Duties

A Police Officer works under supervision to perform law enforcement duties, protecting life, property, and the civil rights of individuals. Primary duties include patrol; interacting with citizens to provide service and render assistance; and preparing records, reports, and other paperwork documenting incidents for use in prosecution. A police officer is dispatched to crime and emergency scenes in response to reported violations, accidents, domestic disputes and abuses, and other incidents. He or she carries out crime scene duties; makes arrests and performs searches and seizures; conducts investigations; and interviews witnesses, suspects , and complainants.

There are a variety of specialties available to officers within the department, including Criminal Investigations (with specialties such as family violence/crimes against children, arson investigation, computer- and internet related crimes, white collar crimes, and others), Traffic Enforcement, Bicycle Patrol, Tactical Response, Motor Collision Investigation, Police Training/Field Training Officer, Drug Enforcement, and Canine Operations. At the entry level, a patrol officer has much to learn, but as he or she grows proficient in his or her basic duties, these other specialties can be explored.

Elizabethton police officers are also trained and required to conduct their duties in a community- and problem-oriented fashion. This means that officers attempt to identify and resolve community problems or conflicts before they can lead to criminal behavior. This is known as proactive policing.