All qualified applicants will be scheduled for a three-part assessment battery that consists of a written examination, physical ability test, and panel interview.
Written Examination
The written examination will measure cognitive abilities that are necessary for effective performance as a police officer. We utilize the TABE Test which includes adult basic and secondary education knowledge in reading and language, as required by the state of Nebraska.
Physical Fitness Ability Test
Candidates who attain a passing score on the written examination will advance to the physical fitness ability testing. Applicants must meet a minimum overall average of 30%. One does not need to score 30% for each event, so long as the minimum overall average is met. More information on scoring can be found on Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center's website. The physical test consists of five events:
- vertical jump
- one minute push-ups
- 300 meter sprint
- one minute sit-ups
- 1.5 mile run
| Female 30% Standards |
|
| 20 - 29 years | |
30 - 39 years | |
40 - 49 years | |
50 - 59 years |
| vertical jump |
13.5" |
11.1" |
9" |
n/a |
| one minute push-ups |
13 |
9 |
7 |
n/a |
| 300 meter sprint |
75 sec |
82 sec |
106 sec |
n/a |
| one minute sit-ups |
30 |
22 |
17 |
12 |
| 1.5 mile run |
15:56 |
16:46 |
18:26 |
20:17 |
| Male 30% Standards |
|
| 20 - 29 years | |
30 - 39 years | |
40 - 49 years | |
50 - 59 years |
| vertical jump |
18" |
18" |
14.5" |
13" |
| one minute push-ups |
26 |
20 |
15 |
10 |
| 300 meter sprint |
62 sec |
63 sec |
77 sec |
87 sec |
| one minute sit-ups |
35 |
32 |
27 |
21 |
| 1.5 mile run |
13:08 |
13:48 |
14:33 |
16:16 |
Physical Fitness Testing Information and Training Tips(PDF, 241KB)
Panel Interview
Candidates who successfully complete the written exam and physical ability test will be scheduled for an oral interview conducted by a panel of current LPD employees. Candidates will be assessed on dimensions of education, work experience, character, interpersonal skills and job understanding.
Applicants advancing to the background investigation will be asked to complete a Personal History Statement, which covers all aspects of the person's life, including education, work history, military experience, drug and alcohol use, traffic record, arrests, litigation, financial history, family history, references, and history of bias or discrimination. During this process, the background investigators are scrutinizing the candidate's past, searching law enforcement databases, government databases, social media, credit reporting agencies, checking references, and contacting people who may have had past contact with the applicant to ensure the applicant has been truthful throughout the process.
Further Evaluation
The most qualified candidates are then given conditional offers of employment. These offers are conditional as the applicants must still successfully complete a four-hour psychological examination and a three-hour polygraph examination. The psychological evaluation is extremely detailed and examines the candidate for any indications of biased or discriminatory beliefs. Included in the evaluation are the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI), Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), the Neo Personality Inventory, and the Mental Status Exam Screening Inventory. This is all followed by a one on one interview with a trained psychologist. The applicants must also complete a medical examination with drug test.
If the candidate passes all of the evaluations and their background investigation, the candidate will be placed on a ranking list which will be used to determine who will receive the final offer to begin the LPD basic law enforcement academy.
Candidates who are offered and accept employment with the Lincoln Police Department must undergo academy training, which is 21 weeks in length. It is a classroom style academy that meets Monday-Friday in Lincoln. Recruits do not live-in and are not subjected to a boot-camp atmosphere.
View a sample academy schedule(PDF, 324KB)
New recruits are initially appointed as police trainees, and are paid $28.54/hour while attending the academy. Those successfully completing the academy are appointed as commissioned police officers with commensurate salary and benefits, and begin a field training and evaluation program.
Field Training
The field training and evaluation program takes approximately 22 weeks to complete. During this training phase, the new officers are assigned to work with a designated field training officer whose job is to train and evaluate their performance. New officers are rotated to a different field training officer every four weeks. New officers must reach an acceptable level in all performance areas by the completion of the program. Successful officers are then transferred to the Operations Division for solo team assignments.
Officer duties fall into four main categories: traffic, crime control, social control, and management which occur with considerable regularity and overlap into several different areas. The responsibility of traffic control encompasses traffic accident prevention, traffic law enforcement, and maintenance of orderly offenses and the apprehension of offenders. The duty of social control occasionally calls for an arrest or the application of the law as a means to restore order. Management includes tasks intended to ensure the efficient and effective application of resources in coping with identified police problems.
Officers of the Lincoln Police Department are afforded with many opportunities to develop their careers. Along with the City's college incentive program and the department's in-service training, officers are able to compete for promotional positions. All promotions are based upon merit, as determined by a competitive promotional process administered by the City of Lincoln Human Resources Department.
A number of specialized positions in the department are available to qualified officers as openings occur. These specialized positions can be in the following units: Crime Prevention, Criminal Investigations, Education and Personnel, Special Victims, K-9, Narcotics, Traffic Safety, Technical Investigations and others.
The Lincoln Police Department presently consists of approximately 500 total employees (353 sworn, 150 civilian). The department maintains a police garage, weapons range, weight training facility, classrooms, computer lab and criminal justice library.
If you have additional questions about employment with LPD or the hiring process Contact a Recruiter
Benefits
Employee Representation
Lincoln Police Officers are represented by the Lincoln Police Union.
Uniforms and Equipment
Provided at no cost to the employee.
Salary
The current officer pay range is from $64,128/year up to $90,646/year. In addition, employees are paid at the rate of time and one-half for all overtime hours. A minimum of two hours of overtime is provided when an employee is called in off-duty, unless it is a regular day off or a vacation day, then a minimum of four hours of overtime pay is granted. Standby pay is also a contract provision.
Lateral Entry
On the recommendation of the chief of police, applicants with more than one (1) year of continuous, full time law enforcement experience may be approved to begin employment at a higher pay grade. This recommendation will be based on the applicant's years of experience as a certified law enforcement officer, the applicant's current base salary and the state which has issued the applicant's law enforcement certification.
Educational Pay
An employee will receive $300 for an Associate Degree and $750 for a Bachelor Degree annually. An employee may also be reimbursed for approved college courses.
Bilingual Pay
If an officer is able to demonstrate proficiency to interpret conversations in other eligible languages they may receive bilingual pay of $100 per month.
Longevity Pay
An employee will receive an additional $1,000 annually beginning with the eighth year of service. This longevity pay will increase at the completion of 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years of service with the top end longevity pay at $4,750 annually.
Uniform Cleaning
Officers receive $35/month allowance for the cleaning of uniforms.
Body Armor
Officers are reimbursed up to $800 for the purchase of protective body armor once every five years. The body armor is the property of the individual officer after one year of service.
Vacation
After successful completion of the first six months of employment - at the factored hourly equivalent of forty hours for the second six months of service. After the first year of service, 88 hours per year. After five years, 128 hours per year. After ten years, 144 hours per year. After 15 years, 168 hours per year. After 20 years, 200 hours per year. After 25 years, 208 hours per year.
Holidays
Officers may be paid for seven holidays each year or they may elect to accumulate up to 82 hours in a holiday bank. This time may then be taken as time off during the year. The city will provide 42 additional non cumulative personal holiday hours each fiscal year.
Sick Leave
Officers earn eight hours of sick leave for each full month of service. Sick leave is earned but cannot be taken during the first six months of employment.
Insurance
The City shall provide each regular employee a $75,000 life insurance policy. Optional family coverage is available at a reduced cost. If an officer elects family coverage, he or she may select health insurance from the city group health plan. In regard to dental insurance, the City contributes 100% of the single premium. Employees are eligible for insurance benefits effective the first of the month following date of hire.
The City of Lincoln is an Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer who is committed to recruit, hire, promote or transfer employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, national origin, age (40-70), marital status, receipt of public assistance, or political affiliation, except that no person shall be employed who advocates or belongs to a group which advocates the violent overthrow of our government.
These benefits are currently provided and are subject to change due to collective bargaining sessions between the Lincoln Police Union and the City of Lincoln.