Dallas Police Sergeant's Thesis Questions Role-Playing Process in Promotions

A research project by a Dallas police sergeant suggests that the department may need to revamp its processes for how the organization picks middle managers.

In his 50-plus-page master's thesis, Sgt. Stephen Bishopp concludes that Dallas places too much emphasis on an assessment center process in which job candidates get about 40 minutes of face time with evaluators in role-playing scenarios. The role-playing assessment center accounts for 60 percent of their promotion score for the rank of lieutenant.

"You have to promote the best and the brightest, and we just don't know if we're doing it," said Bishopp, 42, who expects to complete a doctoral program in criminology at the University of Texas at Dallas next year. "I'm not arguing against assessment centers. In fact, they should be used. But they shouldn't be the one thing that you count on."

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