Court OKs Barring High IQs for Cops

I tend to think that high intelligence + legal powers + combat training could be a somewhat dangerous thing potentially. I can just imagine how many "smart" people have gone to become a cop for the sole purpose of gaining that power (in order to later abuse it). At any rate I am sure the test also accounts for people potentially trying to go in for the wrong reasons. I highly doubt it is as simple as they make it sound, remember this...

In the wild (and I think it applies to man). The true test of intelligence is how well one can deceive another or group.

This is truly a sad state of affairs in this country when a police officer cannot be hired because he or she has a high I.Q. They want the dumb and aggresive ones out of the military? Well, Since most of them are going to come back here with P.T.S.D., When they step into a situatuon, Something will trigger them and then someone gets hurt and as a further result, The department faces lawsuits, Then taxes go up in order to either pay out judgements or out-of-court settlements. Velkomme to Amerika.

reply to post by FSBlueApocalypse


I think it makes perfect sense.

A cop has to be smart enough to do his job but not so smart that he feels he can question the laws he / she has to uphold.

Intelligence also comes with a great deal of moral flexibility as a result of our ability to question those in positions of authority and moral rules that have weak rational basis.

-rrr

Originally posted by FSBlueApocalypse

Court OKs Barring High IQs for Cops

abcnews.go.com

Jordan, a 49-year-old college graduate, took the exam in 1996 and scored 33 points, the equivalent of an IQ of 125. But New London police interviewed only candidates who scored 20 to 27, on the theory that those who scored too high could get bored with police work and leave soon after undergoing costly training.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Wow, I wonder what the requirement for cops here in Edmonton is...it's like, "Quick-draw MacGraw", ya okay, you're hired! Wonder if it's still open season here on the "Natives'.
Hope I don't regret saying that...

reply to post by DIDtm


No not all our troops are in foreign countries. Only 1/4-1/5 is deployed overseas.
So still plenty of people to beat the crap out of protesters

reply to post by FSBlueApocalypse


Ha! This doesn't surprise me a bit. I come from a small Eastern European country, where if you don't get accepted to university/college/army you end up going to the police academy. Usually, the dumbest, no-future hollowheads end up as cops, either because they had no other choice, or because one of their parents is a cop. The absurdity is that the lucky pigs end up working at customs, where they get bribed and do favors for drug lords and make tons more money than people that went and got 2-3 bachelor's degrees in university.

reply to post by setsero


In my neck of the woods, the criteria for cops is very stringent.
They must be extremely sadistic control freak commando-wannabe idiot bullies with deep-rooted psychological issues that rule out normal human behavior such as empathy, understanding or compassion.

And that's just Phase I of the profile!

They try to weed people out very early on. The police exam itself is not overly difficult and it is not intended to be. In the police academy they fond out who is intelligent by the grades in law and other classes. Many, if not most U.S police dept's. require college. At 49 years old i thought would be too old for a cop just starting and the pay is low. Stands to reason new rookies cops would be young though. Cannot believe there is no age requirement so i question the source. 49 years old? Is that serious?

Originally posted by Observor

I have a strong suspicion most of those here decrying the decision would have qualified for the job

I have to agree whole heartedly.

reply to post by FSBlueApocalypse


Wow, so now if you're smart you can't be a police officer. Someone please explain to me how that makes sense that they should have stupid people in charge to dealing with the law? Next thing you know it, they'll be letting aliens and animals in.

Originally posted by FSBlueApocalypse


Well, doesn't this explain a whole lot. I mean, wouldn't smarter officers be able to figure out where a criminal might be hiding out faster or be more apt to make rational decisions?

Oh wait, that isn't what the government wants, is it? Smart cops who might question all of the bogus and unconstitutional laws wouldn't be a good thing. Instead we need cops who are just willing to obey and be happy to have a star on their chest. Happy New Year ATS!

abcnews.go.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Thats appaling. In other countries cops need to have graduated college, to stand a chance to be picked. Guess they cant have cops getting at the bottom of say, the drug trade.

reply to post by Nite_wing


153 out of a population of how many?

153 isn't much. Bad if you're one of them, but if you don't want to be one of them, pay more attention to where you pull people over, and use the radio and some smarts rather than driving recklessly at 120 mph. Most police deaths are due to traffic accidents, not violence.

A lot more construction workers, farm workers, 7-11 clerks, taxi drivers, and hookers die each year than police, both in raw numbers and as a percentage of the whole. Hell, even office managers are more likely to get shot on the job than cops are.

Quit whining about how dangerous the job is, because relatively speaking it is one of the safest professions to be in. It is a stressful job, no doubt, but not a particularly dangerous one. And it isn't one of the most stressful, either; try being a teacher, for instance.

So stop the whining, please.

The rest of us have to deal with assholes on a daily basis, too, plus we have to deal with cops who view us all as scum beneath their exalted position.

Originally posted by locololo
reply to post by FSBlueApocalypse

 

Wow, so now if you're smart you can't be a police officer. Someone please explain to me how that makes sense that they should have stupid people in charge to dealing with the law? Next thing you know it, they'll be letting aliens and animals in.

Re: Stupid people in charge to dealing with the law?
It certainly explains alot though doesn't it...

i remember hearing somewhere a similar story for bus drivers.

apparently if they are too smart they would try to change their course to something more efficient, less traffic, who knows.

anyway, i dont know if theres any truth in it, but it seems fairly harmless, as opposed to the op's.

reply to post by alilonthecheekyside


ok, please replace that with a bunch of idiotic people who are in charge of enforcing the law, even though they may be too stupid to understand it, and understand the exceptions.

Why would scoring high on an IQ test automatically mean you would be good at any job well actually the majority of jobs?

Could just be good at taking IQ tests.

Now, everyone should know that we don't need cops who are smart enough to think for themselves. I believe this is the driving force behind this type of hiring practice. If you have an intelligent person who is smart enough to know when he is given an unlawful order. And an cop with a higher IQ might think independently and be susceptible to "group think" and "organizational bonding" which are used to program the officers into the blue cult.

Originally posted by apacheman
reply to post by Nite_wing

 

153 out of a population of how many?

153 isn't much. Bad if you're one of them, but if you don't want to be one of them, pay more attention to where you pull people over, and use the radio and some smarts rather than driving recklessly at 120 mph. Most police deaths are due to traffic accidents, not violence.

A lot more construction workers, farm workers, 7-11 clerks, taxi drivers, and hookers die each year than police, both in raw numbers and as a percentage of the whole. Hell, even office managers are more likely to get shot on the job than cops are.

Quit whining about how dangerous the job is, because relatively speaking it is one of the safest professions to be in. It is a stressful job, no doubt, but not a particularly dangerous one. And it isn't one of the most stressful, either; try being a teacher, for instance.

So stop the whining, please.

The rest of us have to deal with assholes on a daily basis, too, plus we have to deal with cops who view us all as scum beneath their exalted position.

Yeah but cops have to deal with people like you. Not something I would care to do when you are so cavalier about them getting killed trying to keep other people safe. Your facts are fallacious about the other statistics. that's ok. Skew them as you will.

A few years ago after I was discharged from the military I tried out for the local PD and passed all the exams. Never understood why I wasn't offered a job either. I even tried out for TSA when I was in desperate need of work and passed everything they had too. I suppose this explains why I wasn't allowed to be in the "cool" crowd.

Oh well. I build airplanes now.

Originally posted by hadriana
125 is considered bright but not superior on most scales.

125 is a good place to be, unless you're looking for a job as a police officer in some areas, apparently. Very much higher than 125 and many find themselves "mal-adjusted" or somewhat of a misfit. This is not a "rule" but just a trend so we need not look for exceptions. 125 is a good, bright person that is not too "over the top" and can probably excel in most fields.

Persons around the 150 range are often not even very good students because the public education system only looks to provide the basic "tools" for one to be productive, the "3 r's" (readin', 'ritin', and 'ritmetic), and the rest is mostly conditioning for conformity. Many "superior" intellect types often don't go on to higher education because their basic schooling seems exceedingly boring and a waste of time so therefore not deemed good students. Many exceedingly high IQ types dropout of the school system. Many also tend to live life by their own standards and don't necessarily abide by written law when the law conflicts with their own ethics.

Law enforcement officers are less and less desired to make judgement calls, judgement being left for the courts to decide and often expected that many infractions and misdemeanors will be won and paid uncontested or by default or lack of interest to invest the time to fight it. This is one reason LEOs in the field are not desired to be exceptionally bright but often preferring unreasoning bullies. Another is that "average" people are much more accepting of society's laws, rules, regulations, codes, etc., and feel everyone should obey them, obedient to the letter, and that they will receive justice through the justice system. This is a rather naive view but such is the way our society is structured to work.

Average people are much better at conforming, in fact there is more conformity at the lower end of the "average" scale. It is no wonder we are being fed fluoride and aspartame along with a number of other things to "dumb us down." The military is another place where conformity unquestioning obedience is highly desireable. There are, however, many technical areas where "bright" enlistees are needed and placed. 125 should do very nicely in these areas and in most places where bright people are required.

Einstein was supposedly around 150 or so IQ and I have read as low as 145. We've all heard about his difficulties handling mundane tasks like making change for bus fare. There are different IQ systems and charts along with our politically-correct views changing our vernacular but 90-110 would be considered average, 110-125 above average, 125 and beyond being grouped as, superior, highly superior, genius, and on the low end 0-25 called idiot, 25-50 imbecille, 50-75 moron, below average. Some people question the validity of this type of grouping for various reasons such as cultural differences and that some people are just better at taking these tests than others. Often times peoples reactions to these will be somewhat an indicator where they fall in these groups.