Editor’s note: This article is part of Police1’s Police Recruitment Week, which provides resources and strategies for police agencies to improve their hiring initiatives. Thanks to our Police Recruitment Week sponsor, eSOPH by Miller Mendel.
By Frank McGaha
Across the country, agencies are struggling to fill their ranks. The shortage of qualified officers has become one of the most pressing issues in law enforcement. But the real problem isn’t always a lack of applicants. Often, it’s a lack of readiness.
Having worked in federal law enforcement and now training those who hope to serve, I’ve seen how many otherwise capable, motivated candidates don’t make it through the hiring process. Not because they lack character or commitment, but because they never received the right guidance before applying.
When we treat hiring as a filter instead of a development process, we lose good people to preventable mistakes. Agencies can change that, not by lowering standards, but by investing earlier in mentorship and structured readiness.
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Where good candidates are lost
Many strong applicants wash out long before they ever put on a uniform. They stumble over details, phrasing or interviews, not integrity.
One candidate I worked with was on track to be disqualified because she misunderstood a section of her personal history statement. The legal language was complex, and she nearly admitted to a felony she never committed because she didn’t understand how to interpret the question. With one-on-one guidance, we clarified her record and corrected the issue. She was hired within two months — a record time for her agency.
Another candidate passed every phase of the process until the final psychological evaluation. The evaluator openly questioned the applicant’s religious commitment and ultimately deemed it a liability to policing. The candidate, shaken and self-doubting, later failed an interview with a different department. Eight months later, after coaching focused on confidence, articulation and mindset, the same candidate retested with the same psychologist and passed.
These cases illustrate the reality of modern law enforcement hiring. Human error and misunderstanding can affect outcomes on both sides of the table. Mentorship and preparation can make the difference between losing a good candidate and hiring one who is truly ready.
Testing for readiness vs. building it
Most hiring systems are designed to test readiness, not build it. Background checks, oral boards, polygraphs and psychological evaluations assess whether a person already meets professional standards. They do not teach candidates how to demonstrate those standards.
Agencies often assume applicants arrive with the communication skills, ethical judgment and emotional awareness expected of officers. In reality, many are navigating the process for the first time. Veterans, college graduates and career changers may have strong leadership potential but little idea how to translate their life experience into the framework of law enforcement.
When we fail to guide these individuals early, the result isn’t a shortage of applicants. It’s a preparation gap.
Mentorship as a recruitment strategy
The solution isn’t complicated: mentorship. Agencies that build structured prehire mentorship programs see stronger candidate pools, fewer disqualifications and higher academy completion rates.
A mentorship approach can take many forms:
- Pair applicants with experienced officers or retirees who volunteer to guide them through the process.
- Host workshops where background investigators explain common mistakes on personal history statements.
- Offer mock oral boards to help applicants practice decision-making and situational judgment.
- Provide group sessions that explain what psychological evaluators look for and how to express personal beliefs with professionalism and balance.
None of these steps require lowering standards or significant funding. What they require is intention. A few hours of mentorship early on can prevent months of costly reprocessing later.
When agencies treat mentorship as an extension of recruitment rather than an afterthought, they not only retain good candidates, they reinforce the culture of guidance and professionalism that defines effective policing.
What effective readiness looks like
The most successful mentorship programs combine realism with encouragement. Candidates need to understand both expectations and the realities of the job.
From my experience working with applicants, five practices consistently yield strong results:
- Prehire readiness workshops that clarify hiring stages, testing requirements and standards upfront.
- Mock oral boards that rehearse professional articulation and ethical reasoning under pressure.
- Personal history coaching that walks through background paperwork and explains the implications of each section.
- Psychological interview preparation that teaches candidates to present self-awareness, stability and values clearly.
- Fitness and mindset training that builds the discipline and stress tolerance needed for academy success.
When mentorship emphasizes these areas, candidates don’t just prepare to pass. They prepare to serve.
Shared responsibility
Building better officers isn’t solely the applicant’s responsibility or the agency’s. It’s both. Agencies that mentor early create stronger officers later. Candidates who seek mentorship before applying show initiative, humility and a commitment to the profession that cannot be taught in the academy.
We don’t need to lower standards to fill our ranks. We need to raise readiness.
If half your applicants wash out by week two, it’s not a hiring crisis. It’s a preparation gap — one agencies and candidates can close together.
About the author
Frank McGaha is a U.S. Navy veteran and former federal law enforcement officer. He has served in tactical, protective and instructional roles throughout his career and now focuses on helping law enforcement applicants and agencies strengthen readiness through structured mentorship and training. As director of training for Armogan Consulting & Training LLC, McGaha works to close the preparation gap between intention and service, building the next generation of capable, ethical and resilient officers. Learn more at www.armoganct.com.
