Police Officer

Police Officer Written Test

If your application is in good standing with all documentation in place, you will be contacted with your testing date/time. DO NOT BE LATE!  Applicants who are late for the testing time will NOT be permitted to test. Applicants not meeting the eligibility or failing to complete the application correctly, including required documentation will not be permitted to test. Picture ID will be verified before testing. Applicants should dress in jogging/running attire due to the fact that the physical agility testing will commence immediately after the testing process. This part of the process usually lasts two to three hours.

Applicants will take the National Police Officer Selection Test.  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 that need to be answered, but does not require previous law enforcement experience.  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.

Essay  

After completing the National Police Officer Selection Test, you will be required to write an 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.

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 or not completing the physical agility course will result in disqualification.

Physical Agility Video

Interviews

After completing the physical agility course, the applicant will be assigned an interview time. Generally, the interview panel is made up of one Human Resource representative and four police officers ranging from the rank of Captain to Patrol Officer. The Myrtle Beach Police Department will attempt to interview out-of-state applicants during the first day(s) of the process; however, we cannot promise that this will happen in all processes. This is dependent upon the number of applicants in the process.  Interview times cannot be scheduled prior to the completion of the testing process; if an applicant fails the test, they will not be permitted to proceed in the application and interview process.

Background Investigation

After the interview process, the department will begin the background investigation on the qualified applicants.  The Background Investigation process can take up to four weeks, or 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 email 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. It is important to include phone numbers and email addresses for these references and to let them know that you have given their name as a reference
  • Criminal History, Drivers History, Complete Credit Report, 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
  • Following the Command Staff review of all process documents, decisions will be made on who will receive a conditional offer

Conditional Offer

  • A conditional offer is made pending the outcome of a medical and psychological exam.
  • If an applicant receives a conditional offer for any police department position, he/she must schedule a date to complete
  • A physical exam with the medical facility contracted by the City of Myrtle Beach.
  • A Psychological Exam with medical staff contracted by the Medical University of South Carolina.
  • These two processes will be completed during one visit whenever possible.
  • Upon passing the exams, Human Resources will provide a hire date.

The entire process will require two visits to Myrtle Beach:

  • Written Exam, Physical Agility Test, and Interview (first visit)
  • Physical and Psychological Exam (second visit)
    • South Carolina residents will complete their Psychological Exam follow-up in person at MUSC in Charleston.
    • Out of state applicants will complete their Psychological Exam follow-up online.

Pre-Service

The Myrtle Beach Police Department works hard to prepare new officers for the Academy. The department places new officers in a pre-service training program which includes the first four weeks of the Police Academy Training. This program will prepare the new officer on various aspects of the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy (SCCJA). The new officer will attend a legal course, driving course, firearms qualifications, and various other courses. Upon completion of our pre-service program, officers will attend the SCCJA in Columbia, SC for the remaining eight weeks of Academy Training to become certified police officers.

For additional information on the SCCJA, please visit http://www.sccja.org

Out-of-State Certified Officers

Out-of-state certifications vary by state. There is no way to know if your out of state certification will transfer to SC until after you are hired and your training files have been reviewed by SCCJA. Unfortunately, SC departments are unable to submit transfer reviews until after the department has hired the applicant.  Applicants are encouraged to talk with our Recruitment Officer (843) 918-1808 for further details. The following documents are required to learn if your out-of-state certification will transfer:

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)

For current Police Department job postings, details and application instructions, click below:

CITY OF MYRTLE BEACH JOB OPPORTUNITIES