In order to attend the Criminal Justice Law Enforcement or the Corrections Officers Academy, you must take the CJBAT (Criminal Justice Basic Abilities Test) evaluation prior to receiving an application into the program.
CJBAT Evaluation
This evaluation is mandatory for all those entering into the Criminal Justice Academy's Law Enforcement and Corrections programs. (This includes any cross-over applicants.) The test is 125 multiple-choice questions and covers written comprehension, written and oral expression, problem sensitivity, inductive and deductive reasoning, information ordering, spatial orientation, visualization, selective attention, and flexibility of closure. The passing score for this evaluation is 70 %. The time limit for completing the CJBAT is 2.5 hours.
The charge for this evaluation is $37.00 . It is offered at: the Institute of Public Safety Campus, 1565 Lane Park Cutoff, Tavares, Florida, 32778. Call 352-742-6463to pre-register. Arrive 15 minutes early to complete registration and make payment in front office by cash, credit card, or money order . Picture Identification is required at time of testing!
Criminal Justice Basic Abilities Test results are valid for application into Basic Criminal Justice training programs throughout the state of Florida. All test takers will be notified in writing of their CJBAT results approximately one (1) week after the date the test was administered. If scores are unacceptable, persons may retest two (2) additional times ($37 each test). If scores are still unacceptable, persons must wait one (1) year before retesting.
Overview
During the 2000 session, the Florida Legislature passed House Bill 1481 requiring applicants entering into a criminal justice basic recruit program to successfully pass a Commission-approved basic abilities test. This test is a multiple choice, written exam which tests the abilities identified as important for the successful performance of the entry-level law enforcement officer or corrections officer.
These abilities include:
Verbal Comprehension : Understanding the meaning of words or ideas.
Associative Memory : Such as memorizing information from wanted posters that requires later recall and the information does not necessarily have a logical relationship.
Memory for Relationships : Such as step by step instructions and operating procedures used in filling out an incident report.
Memory for Ideas : Such as reading and understanding the main ideas and themes from police academy training materials.
Semantic Ordering : For example, an officer, when arriving at a crime scene, is required to make decisions on what order he/she should set about to accomplish the necessary tasks.
Identifying Themes and Ideas : Reading material and making inferences and inducing certain issues/hypotheses from that information typically required of an officer in attempting to solve a crime.
Problem Sensitivity : For example, officers are constantly required to make decisions on what action to take (i.e., choosing between backing up another officer or stopping a traffic violator).
Observational Judgment : Such as when observing an accident scene, an officer is required to “sift” through the information, visually and verbally, in order to determine what is relevant and important.
Spatial Orientation : For example, an officer is required to draw sketches of traffic accidents and in doing so must be able to visualize the placement of cars and directions in order to accurately depict the accident.
Spatial Scanning : Such as finding one's way through a paper maze, requiring quick scanning of the field for openings, following paths with the eye, and quickly rejecting false leads such as determining the quickest route to take to get to a crime scene.
Visualization : For example, an officer may not have a recent picture of a wanted felon but must be able to visualize this felon with possible physical changes.
The Criminal Justice Selection Center at Lake Technical Center Institute of Public Safety uses the products of I/O Solutions to conduct both the Law Enforcement and the Corrections Basic Abilities Tests.
Please also refer to the Florida Department Enforcement at
http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/cjst/officerrequirements/Basic_Abilities/index.html
