The Myrtle Beach Police Department would like to thank you for your interest in becoming a member of one of the East Coast’s Top Police Departments.  The Myrtle Beach Police Department wants to see you succeed in your goal to become a member of our department.  Getting through the hiring process is your first hurdle in doing so.  Below are the steps in the hiring process that an applicant must complete to be eligible for the position of Police Officer.

Eligibility

• US. Citizen
• Graduate from High School or a G.E.D. Equivalency.
  Be at least 21 years of age.
• Possess a valid driver’s license and obtain a SC license.
  No felony convictions
• Good driving history (Recent DUI’s or suspensions will disqualify you from the process)
• Clean Criminal History (Convictions of crimes of moral turpitude will disqualify you from the process)
• Must be registered for the Selective Service Process if you are a Male and between the ages of 18 to 26
• Pass a Medical Physical Examination to include Drug Testing.
• Pass a Psychological Examination
• Must be willing to work shift work, weekends, holidays, and natural disasters such as Hurricanes or Tornados.

Completion of Application

• Standard City Application:  Word   PDF

• Supplemental Police Application:   Word   PDF
  Must be completed in ink or typed. Must also be completed on time with the below documents. If you cannot produce the documents, show proof that you have applied for it.

• Legible copy of Birth Certificate
• Transcripts from High School or Secondary Education or a legible copy of High School Diploma, G.E.D. certificate, or post-secondary education degree (if applicable).
• Certified Drivers History for the past ten years in all states applicant has been licensed. (If record is not immediately available, attach proof of application for same, such as a copy of the completed form or written letter of request to the State’s DMV)
• Certified Credit History or Certified Statement from the Clerk of Court in applicant’s jurisdiction showing there are no civil judgments, liens, bankruptcy and any defaulted loan to include student loans. (Defaulting on a student loan precludes hiring – 59-111-50)
• Importance of Honesty Letter (Signed & Dated)
• Affidavit of Authorization to Release Information Form (Signed and Notarized)
• DD Form 214 (If prior military)
• Personnel history questionnaire form
• Physical Agility Test and Score Sheet (Completed)
• For out of state certified police officers, military and/or federal candidates with prior law enforcement training, certification and employment, the following documents are required (These forms are not mandatory to be returned with your application however, they must be submitted prior to any hire date with our department)

1. Certificate of Completion (Basic Training Course Certificate)
2. Curriculum/Syllabus showing hours and topics of training (Must be official document from academy/military training)
3. Indication that a Letter of Good Standing has been requested for Federal/Military candidates.

Process

• Testing: This part of the process usually lasts between 2-3 hours. If your application is in good standing with all documentation in place, you will be contacted and given your testing date/time. Currently the testing date is to be determined. DO NOT BE LATE! Applicants that are late for the testing time will NOT be permitted to test. Applicants not meeting the eligibility or fail to complete the application correctly including required documentation will not be permitted to test. IF YOU ARE NOT CONTACTED TO TEST, YOU WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO TEST!  Roll call will be conducted at test time. Applicants should dress in jogging/running attire due to the fact that the physical agility testing will commence immediately after the testing process.
• The Myrtle Beach Police Department utilizes the National Police Officer Selection Test for its applicant testing process. This test has four components;

1. Arithmetic
   Tests a candidate’s ability to perform simple arithmetic, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. This section presents scenarios related to law enforcement, but does not require previous law enforcement experience to answer. You will have 20 minutes to complete this section, which has 20 questions.
2. Reading Comprehension
   Tests a candidate’s ability to understand written words, as well as the ideas and concepts associated with them. Information is presented in a law enforcement context without requiring previous knowledge of law enforcement to answer questions. You will have 25 minutes to complete this section, which has 25 questions.
3. Grammar
   Tests a candidate’s ability to spell and use grammar and punctuation correctly. This section requires candidates to correctly complete sentences and identify misspelled words. You will have 15 minutes to complete this section, which has 20 questions
4. Report Writing
   Tests a candidate’s ability to produce complete sentences with correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. The section requires writing answers based on an incident report form. You will have 15 minutes to complete this section, which has 10 questions.

• After completing the National Police Officer Selection Test, you will be required to write a 300-word essay on a topic to be given on the date of the testing. This written exam is graded later in the process. The National Police Officer Selection Test is graded immediately after all applicants have finished the test. Results will be available within 30 minutes. You must pass the exam to continue on to the next phase of the process, which is the physical agility course.
• Physical Agility Course: The physical agility course will be conducted immediately following the National Police Officer Selection Test. Please be dressed in running/jogging attire. Shorts are permitted but not recommended. The physical agility course must be completed within 2:06 minutes or less. Not meeting the time limit in itself WILL NOT disqualify you for the position however, combined with other discrepancies may result in disqualification. Not completing the physical agility will result in disqualification.

     After completing the physical agility course, you will be released pending your interview time. Interviews will begin at approximately 1:00 PM on the day of the testing process which is undetermined). Due to the fact that it will be impossible to complete all interviews on the first day, interviews will continue at 8:00 AM on the next day and continue each day until all interviews are complete. The Myrtle Beach Police Department will try to get all out of state applicants in the first interviews however, we do not make any promises that this will happen in all processes. We cannot set interview times prior to the National Police Officer Selection Test due to the fact if an applicant fails the test, he/she will not interview.

Interviews: Each applicant is allotted 30 minutes for the interview. The interview panel is made up of one Human Resource representative and five police officers ranging from the rank of Captain to Patrol Officer and one citizen from the community. Applicants will be permitted to submit to the panel any documentation he/she feels necessary to show the panel his/her qualifications for the position.

     Applicants must return the completed 20-page Personal Questionnaire before leaving from their interview. The questionnaire will be made available to you after passing the police exam. After the interview process, the department will begin the background investigation on the applicant.

Background Investigation: This process can take up to four weeks and longer depending on the number of applicants.

• The background investigation consists of going over your applications and questionnaire to ensure honesty and accuracy. It is important for an applicant to be honest in completing each document. Any attempt to hide or falsely make any statements on the documents may result in being disqualified from the process.
• Employer and Social references are contacted and questioned on your qualifications. (It is important that all phone numbers and addresses are up-to-date on your applications. Failure to have up-to-date information, may result in being disqualified from the process)
• Friends, family, and neighbors are contacted and questioned on your qualifications.
• Criminal History, Drivers History, Credit History, Military History, High School/GED certification, Police Certification, College Certification are all examined for authenticity.

     Once the background is completed, applications will be sent to the Command Staff for review. Once reviewed, applicants meeting the criteria that the Myrtle Beach Police Department is looking for will be contacted for a second interview with the Chief of Police. Once this interview is completed, the Command Staff will review all process documents and make a decision to make conditional job offers. A conditional offer is made pending the outcome of a medical and psychological exam. If an applicant is made this conditional offer for a police position, he/she must schedule a date to complete a Physical Exam with the Medical Facility contracted by the City of Myrtle Beach. The applicant will also complete a Psychological Exam with Medical Staff contracted by the City of Myrtle Beach. These two processes will be completed during one visit. If passing the exams, Human Resources gives a hire date.

The entire process will mandate three visits to Myrtle Beach:

1. Written Exam, Physical Agility Test, and Interview
2. Second Interview with Chief of Police (To be determined)
3. Physical and Psychological Exam (To be determined)

Important Facts:

• There is no way to know if your out of state certification will transfer to SC until after you are hired. Unfortunately, SC Departments are unable to submit transfer reviews until after the department has hired the applicant.
• Generally, applicants who are certified in other states/military will be required to complete a three-week legal’s course to be held at the host department (locally at our training facility). Again, this cannot be confirmed until after the applicant has been hired
• The Myrtle Beach Police Department works hard to prepare the new officers for the academy. The department immediately places new officers in a pre-service training program. This program will prepare the new officer on all aspects of the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy (SCCJA). The new officer will attend a legal’s course, driving course, firearms qualifications, and various other courses that are taught at the SCCJA. Upon completion of this course, officers are scheduled to attend the academy on a pre-set date. For additional information on the SCCJA, please visit their web site at http://www.sccja.org.

     The Myrtle Beach Police Department wishes you good luck in your venture to become a police officer.  For additional information on our police department, contact our training personnel at 843-918-1800 or via e-mail at pdtraining@cityofmyrtlebeach.com or our Human Resource Department at 843-918-1121 or via e-mail at nmckinnon@cityofmyrtlebeach.com.