Civil Service Hiring Process

Per Chapter 41.12 RCW, certain positions in the Police Department are covered by Civil Service. The City’s Civil Service Commission oversees the selection, appointment and employment of police officers, as well the positions of senior police clerk, evidence technician, parking enforcement officer, community health navigator, and harbormaster.

Entry Level Officer Applicants

Basic Qualifications

To be considered as an entry level police officer with the City of Bainbridge Island, you must:

  • Have a high school diploma or GED;
  • Be a U.S citizen or lawful permanent resident;
  • Be at least 21 years of age at the time of hire;
  • Have a valid Washington State Driver’s License at the time of hire;
  • Take a written general skills test with Public Safety Testing and a physical exam;
  • Complete the City of Bainbridge Island employment application;
  • Successfully complete a polygraph examination, a physical agility test and a criminal and personal background investigation prior to hire;
  • Successfully pass both psychological and medical examinations as a condition of employment; and
  • Qualify to possess a firearm in accordance with Federal or State regulations (a condition of continuing employment).

Application Process

Interested entry level applicants should complete a written and physical examination with Public Safety Testing to be considered for an oral examination. Top scoring applicants will be invited to an oral interview.

Lateral Officer Applicants

Hiring Incentive Payment

Qualified lateral applicants are eligible for a $5,000 hiring incentive payment. $2,500 is payable upon hire, and the remaining $2,500 is paid upon completion of the probationary period.

Read the full Resolution (PDF) for more information.

Vacation Incentive

Qualified lateral applicants are eligible for 80 hours of vacation at the time of hire, plus a monthly vacation accrual rate consistent with their consecutive uninterrupted years of active service as a Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC)-recognized commissioned law enforcement officer.

Basic Qualifications

To be considered as a lateral police officer with the City of Bainbridge Island, you must:

  • Meet the entry level officer requirements listed above, with the following exception: Lateral officers are not required to test through Public Safety Testing.
  • Have successfully completed the Washington State Basic Law Enforcement Academy (BLEA) or be a graduate of a Basic Law Enforcement Training Academy or equivalent, as accepted by the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission.
  • Have 12 months’ or more active law enforcement experience, which is calculated from the date you graduate BLEA.
  • not have been separated from law enforcement for more than 24 months.

Application Process

Lateral applicants should complete the City's employment application and complete the Personal History Statement on the Public Saftey Testing website. Qualified applicants will be invited to an oral interview on a first come, first served basis.

Automatic Disqualifiers

Please be sure to review the list of the City’s automatic disqualifiers (PDF) prior to applying.

Oral Interview Process - Entry and Lateral

The oral interviews are conducted by a four member panel consisting of one representative from the Bainbridge Island Police Department, one representative from another jurisdiction’s police department and two members of the Bainbridge Island community.

The panel will ask set questions and will rate applicants on their answers, utilizing scoring information provided during pre-interview training. Scores are then tallied, weighted and combined with weighted written scores to produce the applicants’ overall scores. This information is compiled for the purposes of producing an eligibility list from which to hire.

Scores for the written and oral portions of the examination process are weighted and, depending on the overall scores, candidates will be entered on an eligibility list.  The minimum qualifying score for the written/oral portion is 70%.

For entry level applicants, the weighting is as follows: 40% written score from Public Safety Testing and 60% oral board score.  

For lateral applicants the oral board score is 100% of the weight as there is no written exam for lateral applicants.

Current Eligibility Lists

We keep our entry level and lateral eligibility lists updated through the Civil Service Commission page.