Cincinnati police and fire recruits are being asked intimate details about their sexual experiences in a questionnaire.
‘Have you ever participated in a sexual act in a public place?’ the questionnaire asks the police and firefighter hopefuls. ‘Location(s) and number of times … Explain each circumstance.’
‘Not counting self-masturbation or legal sexual activity with a willing partner, what was your most unusual sex act?’ another question asks as part of a 35-page questionnaire known as a personal health questionnaire (PHQ).
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, these risque questions can later become accessible to the public – perhaps concerning those with sexual histories considered taboo.
A questionnaire for Cincinnati police and fire recruits asks questions about sexual history
Cincinnati Police Union President Sgt Dan Hills says certain questions are an ‘indication of law-breaking exposure’ but admits that others are may go too far.
‘What we should be asking about are things that are criminal in nature,’ Sgt. Dan Hils told the Cincinnati Enquirer. ‘Stuff geared more to people’s private, behind-closed-doors lives, I do not see as having a bearing on the work we do.’
City officials said in a statement the personal questions are a ‘small component of a comprehensive questionnaire’.
The questions are then used along with a polygraph exam.
‘The polygraph is used to help gauge a respondent’s reactions and responses to difficult questions,’ the statement read.
Mary Tuocy, director of public affairs for the Ohio Civil Rights Commission said the questions ‘certainly raise eyebrows’ but no discrimination lawsuits have been filed.
‘However, if someone made an allegation related to any question, especially a question that is somewhat unusual like those, we’d be looking at whether it is relevant to the duties of the job,’ she told the Enquirer.
‘Have you ever participated in a sexual act in a public place?’ one question asks, meant to be an ‘indication of law-breaking exposure’
Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said Thursday: ‘I don’t think they are appropriate. I am asking they be dropped,’ according to Fox 19.
But Cincinnati isn’t the only city in Ohio to ask deeply personal questions to their future officers and firefighters.
In West Chester, recruits are asked if they have ever been ‘sexually aroused by fire’ while those in Norwood are asked if they have ever watched other people having sex.
In Delhi Township, the future cops and firefighters are asked if they have posted naked photos of themselves either online or on dating apps.
‘Being in the business of public trust, I think this is the least we can do to vet prospective employees who will be afforded the public’s trust simply by being a Delhi representative,’ Delhi Township Administrator Jack Cameron told the Enquirer.