Payson Police Academy Information

Written Exam | Oral/Practical Exam | Physical Fitness Assessment

The Payson Police Department is looking for qualified participants to attend a Police Academy in Payson, Arizona. The academy dates and times will be scheduled once we have enough participants registered.

The Payson Police Department looks forward to implementing the basic peace officer academy and is confident that a corps of quality reserve officers will compliment our current patrol division, as well as creating a hiring pool for future full-time positions. While being a Reserve Police Officer does not guarantee employment with the Payson Police Department, over half of the police department’s current staff started their careers as reserve police officers.

This page will familiarize you with the testing and hiring process for Reserve Police Officers. The minimum standards are difficult to attain in any Arizona Law Enforcement Agency and the Payson Police Department is no exception. We are proud of the standards we meet and the example our officers set in the community.

The testing process will begin after the initial Town of Payson employment application is submitted to the Human Resources Department of the Town of Payson. The testing process will consist of a written exam, physical fitness assessment, and oral board/practical exam. The testing is formatted with the understanding that most of the applicants have limited knowledge of law enforcement.

The written test will include multiple choice, true or false, and fill in the blank questions. There will also be some spelling words on the test. The content of the test is general law enforcement knowledge and decision making ability. The testing will be administered at the police department and should take no more the two hours to complete. The written test must be passed with a minimum score of 70% before going on the next phase of testing.

The physical fitness assessment will be based on the Cooper Fitness standards and will include a one and one half mile run, maximum pushups in one minute, maximum sit-ups in one minute, vertical jump, and flexibility reach. The standards are available for viewing here . The current state physical fitness requirement for peace officer certification is the Police Officer Physical Aptitude Test or P.O.P.A.T. This test must be successfully passed in the academy prior to academy graduation and peace officer certification. 

The initial physical fitness testing will be an assessment and is not a disqualifier for entrance to the academy unless an applicant is in such poor physical condition that it is unlikely he/she would be able to pass the required physical fitness standards for certification prior to graduation of the academy. Applicants will be evaluated on the effort they put forth during all phases of the testing.

The oral board/practical exam is an interview process in which the applicant is asked a series of questions by a panel of experienced law enforcement personnel and evaluated on his/her responses and thought process. The practical portion of the testing involves putting the applicant in a role play situation in which the applicant resolves a law enforcement matter or call as a police officer would. As in prior portions of the testing, the oral board and practical exams are formatted with the understanding that most of the applicants have little or no prior law enforcement experience.

Testing dates are forthcoming. Applicants will be contacted as to when and where they need to report for testing. Phases of testing will be offered over two weekends to accommodate candidate’s schedules. All of the testing will be in Payson.

As the initial testing is successfully completed, Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board or AZ P.O.S.T. background forms will be distributed for completion to begin the background check process for candidates. This background process is extensive and includes a medical screening, psychological exam, polygraph exam, drug, traffic and criminal offense history, and personal reference interviews. This background process must be completed prior to acceptance into the academy.