Lower Merion Township PD

[firemedik287]

Recently applied to Lower Merion Township PD for their upcoming exam. I'm currently an out of state LEO, and I don't know much about the department. Anyone have any insight that can PM me? Any info would be helpful. Thanks

[shotgunnar1]

Best of luck! All the southeast PA departments are politically driven.

[coreyf2004]

Anyone know how many officers they're looking to hire this application period? And is it a political department? Just don't want to waste my time. Thanks for any info.

[shotgunnar1]

Sometimes they hire one, but if they anticipate retirements they will conduct testing. I would predict that no less than 400 people apply to this department. But somehow these agencies get away with charging a fee to apply!? Peanuts compared to the reward:




TOWNSHIP OF LOWER MERION POLICE DEPARTMENT

INTEGRITY

PROFESSIONALISM

RESPECT

ANNUAL COMPENSATION
2015 SALARY AND BENEFITS
(Anticipated date of hire is January 2015)
Probationary $56,046 (Without Act 120 Training)
$62,830 (Upon Successful Completion of Act 120 Training)
Grade “D” Officer $70,566
Grade “C” Officer $75,454
Grade “B” Officer $79,895
Grade “A” Officer $84,338
Senior Police Officer $89,283

(Salaries are annual base wages and do not include shift differential, longevity, holiday pay, and
overtime
WORK SCHEDULE AND SHIFT DIFFERENTIAL

Patrol officers currently work a 12-hour shift schedule with alternating weekends off. Officers are
compensated an additional 6.75% of the hourly base wage for hours worked between 3PM and 7AM.


LONGEVITY Payable the January following 3 years of service, 3.6% of base salary
to a maximum of
8.7% at 25 years.

OVERTIME Overtime is compensated at a rate of one and a half times the hourly
rate. Double Time is paid for holidays worked and an extra day off is granted.

VACATION 2 weeks after 1 year
3 weeks after 5 years
































4 weeks after 11 years
5 weeks after 19 years

HOLIDAYS Nine (9) paid legal holidays (72 hrs.) and six (6) personal holidays
(48 hrs.) provided upon completion of Act 120 training and probationary period.

MEDICAL PLAN Medical Insurance, Dental, Vision Care and Prescription Program for
Officer and dependents after three (3) months, with contribution by the Officer.

LIFE INSURANCE $80,000 Policy while active, paid by the Township. $10,000 Township policy
continued at retirement.














































EQUIPMENT & TRAINING














































All equipment, uniforms and training are provided to all officers of the department at no cost.
Officers are given an annual cleaning allowance after completing one year of service.



















































RETIREMENT Officers are eligible for retirement at age 50 with 25 years of service,
under the Police
Pension Fund. Officers become eligible for vesting after twelve (12) years of service.






















































EDUCATIONAL REFUND




















































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[Ifly]

They hired close to 20 off the last list.

[coreyf2004]

They hired close to 20 off the last list.

That's good to hear. Does anyone know how they make their selections? Is it based off test scores or up to the administration?

[cgravines]

That's good to hear. Does anyone know how they make their selections? Is it based off test scores or up to the administration?

Test scores. I was 52 on the list about 6-7 years back and was eventually offered a position but already had a job.

[coreyf2004]

Test scores. I was 52 on the list about 6-7 years back and was eventually offered a position but already had a job.

Thanks the for info.

[GangGreen712]

Someone told me to be careful about applying to this department. What I was told was that they tend to hire way more officers than there are actual openings, and when the probationary period is over, they take only who they need and fire the rest which pretty much black balls the fired officers from law enforcement for the rest of their lives. The warning was that unless I'm 100% sure that I'm among the best of the best of the best of the best, I'm risking my career if I apply to LMPD. It sounded a little extreme, but I'm wondering if there is any truth to this at all?

[Copkid228]

Huge politics upper and lower merion. If they don't like u before ur probationary period is complete, they can u. Simple. High turnover rate.

[Tommydesigns]

What I was told was that they tend to hire way more officers than there are actual openings, and when the probationary period is over, they take only who they need and fire the rest which pretty much black balls the fired officers from law enforcement for the rest of their lives.

Not true my department will hired anyone with a pulse

[Ifly]

LOL, I'm sure they love spending $1,000's to send people to the academy, paying them $50k a yr while there, buying them custom uniforms, training them, and then kicking them out to start all over again. Use some common sense. I heard this first hand before from someone who then went on to get fired from two other departments. In my opinion this is an excuse used by someone who doesnt want to admit they failed. As many as they hire they need everyone they can get.

[GangGreen712]

LOL, I'm sure they love spending $1,000's to send people to the academy, paying them $50k a yr while there, buying them custom uniforms, training them, and then kicking them out to start all over again. Use some common sense. I heard this first hand before from someone who then went on to get fired from two other departments. In my opinion this is an excuse used by someone who doesnt want to admit they failed. As many as they hire they need everyone they can get.

That's what it sounded like. The claim was that when they hired Act 120 guys that the majority of them got dropped before FTO was done, so it was really was no skin off their nose. It is a common management philosophy that it is easier, quicker, and cheaper to keep hiring and firing at a high rate in hopes of finding people who are exactly what they're looking for right out of the gate, than it is to try and develop the skills of new hires. Obviously though, this is speaking more of jobs where the hiring process is much less stringent. I thought it sounded like BS, but I figured I'd find out what, if any, truth this warning came from.

[cgravines]

I've heard that about LMPD as well. However, it is a commonly known practice about them so most of the departments in the area of aware of it and don't hold it against an applicant.

[dagwood2001]

live in the township and went through 75% of the process before withdrawing for personal reasons in 2009. here's what i can tell you.

first off, this can be a difficult community to work in. everyone (well, almost everyone) is wealthy, knows someone, will have your job tomorrow, will complain about you at the drop of the hat. if you have a short fuse or don't like "i know the superintendent and i'm calling him" policing, this might not be the department for you.

that said, those saying politics are involved in the hiring process, well i would respectfully disagree. i knew no one, other than a couple of officers who i doubt had any drag whatsoever.

so here is the process:

written test-expect 200-250 to test. maybe a little less. 40% of overall score

oral interview-situation panel interview, top 100 and ties move on. 60% of overall score

if you average out into the top 10 or so you will move on and be assigned to an investigator. if i recall correctly i scored an 82 on the written and a 92 on the oral and that got me to 9th on the list. there might have been veterans ahead of me, don't know.

the investigator will interview you and have you fill out a PDQ then meet with you again and go through it. then, it's onto the polygraph. took about an hour, breezed through that.

at that point, unless you fail your physical or psych, or something comes up in your background that you can't reasonably explain away, you wait.

LMPD is always hiring, and not all the turnover people "being fired" during their probation. As someone pointed out above, that's crazy. They have an outstanding reputation and as such frequently get people recruited away to other departments, the FBI, DA's unit, etc...good luck to those in the process.