Police Psychology

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Chapter 2

• Police Psychology

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Outline

• Police Selection
• History
• Process
• Police Discretion
• Areas of use
• Police Stress
• Police stressors
• Consequences of police stress
• Preventing and managing stress

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Police Work
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I. Police Selection

• The process by which police agencies select
  police officers
• Either by screening out those with undesirable
  qualities or selecting in those with desirable
  qualities
• Applicants are assessed for physical fitness,
  cognitive abilities, personality, and job related
  abilities

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History of Police Selection

• Used since the early 1900s
• 1917 IQ tests used to select officers
• 1950s psychological and psychiatric screening
  procedures were standard in many agencies
• Today background checks, medical exams,
  selections interviews, personality assessments,
  etc.

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Who can apply to the RCMP?

• Canadian citizen
• Good character
• Proficient in English or French
• Canadian high school diploma
• Valid drivers license
• 19 years of age
• Physically fit meet medical assessment
• Be willing to relocate anywhere in Canada

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Police Selection in Canada

• There are some Provincial and Territorial
  differences
• All agencies conduct background checks and
  require medical exams
• Most use cognitive ability tests and personality
  tests

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The Police Selection Process

• Involves two stages
• Job analysis Define what knowledge, skills, and
  abilities (KSAs) make a good police officer
• Construction and validation Develop an
  instrument to measure these qualities and ensure
  these qualities are related to performance

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1. Job Analysis

• Issues
• Stability of KSAs over time
• Different KSAs for different jobs
• Agreement on KSAs

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2. Construction and Validation

• Issues
• Deciding on performance measure (e.g.,
  punctuality, complaints, commendations)
• Different performance measures provide different
  results

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Selection Instruments?

• Selection interview
• Psychological tests
• Cognitive ability tests
• Personality tests
• Assessment centres (situational tests)

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Selection Interview

• Selection interview
• Very common
• Goal is to determine if applicant has KSAs
• Problems
• Research on predictive validity is mixed
  (Doerner, 1997)
• Low interviewer agreement

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Psychological Tests

• Cognitive ability tests
• Measures aptitude (memory, logic, observation,
  comprehension)
• Used frequently in Canada (e.g., RCMP Police
  Aptitude Test)
• Moderate predictive validity (slightly higher for
  training success)

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RPAT - Composition

• Which words complete the next sentence? My
  partner and _____ went to the home and _____
  knocking on the door.
• a) I, began
• b) me, began
• c) me, begun
• d) I, begun

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RPAT - Judgment

• You are a police officer in a small town. You are
  on patrol at 200 a.m. when you see a car leaving
  town and moving very fast. You turn on the lights
  and sirens of your police car and attempt to pull
  the car over. The car does not pull over and a
  brief high speed chase results. After a short
  distance, the driver loses control of the car and
  it skids into the ditch. Four men jump out of the
  car and run into the forest.
• A) Call for backup and immediately chase the
  suspect into the forest
• B) Call for backup and request police dog(s).
  Upon their arrival, begin the chase of the
  suspects into the forest.
• C) Determine the registered owner of the car. The
  following day, go to the registered car owner's
  home and question him about the incident.
• D) Draw your gun and order the men to stop. If
  they do not comply, fire a warning shot into the
  air.

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RPAT - Observation
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Observation
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Psychological Tests

• Personality tests
• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
  (MMPI)
• Identifies psychopathology (e.g., schizophrenia)
• Screening-out tool
• Moderate predictive validity (Scogin, et al.,
  1995)

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Psychological Tests

• Inwald Personality Inventory (IPI)
• Developed specifically for police selection
• Measures personality and behaviour
• Better predictive validity than the MMPI (Scogin
  et al., 1995)
• Example IPI Questions
• I have never cheated on an exam.
• I have been suspended from school.

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Assessment Centres

• Assessment Centres
• Use of situational tests
• Simulation of real world police tasks
• Applicant behaviour is assessed by multiple
  observers

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Assessment Centres

• Work simulation exercise
• Watch crime and identify violations of law and
  recommend action.
• Domestic disturbance exercise
• 15 minutes to resolve dispute
• Homeowner complaint
• Deal with both homeowner and high-priority call
• Witness probing exercise
• Interview witnesses of armed robbery

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Gun Crime Scenario
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II. Police Discretion

• Police discretion involves knowing when to abide
  by the law and when to allow for some latitude
• Those who support the use of discretion argue
  that laws cannot take into account all the
  situations police officers will encounter

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Police Discretion Youth Crime

• Discretion is encouraged
• 30-40 currently handled informally
• Belief that formal sanctions are not most
  effective response
• Responses include community referrals, resolution
  conferences, arrests, etc.

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Police Discretion Offenders with Mental Illnesses

• Informal resolution
• Escort to psychiatric facility
• Arrest

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Police Discretion Offenders with Mental Illnesses

• Problems with institutions leads to frequent use
  of informal resolution and jail (Teplin, 2000)
• 72 informally resolved
• 16 criminalization
• 12 hospitalization

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Police Discretion Domestic Violence

• Options Arrests, community referral, mediation,
  and separation

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Police Discretion Use of Force

• Necessary and reasonable
• Use of force is rare 1.5 of interactions

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Canadas Use of Force Model

• Model designed as a guideline with regard to
  level of force that should be used
• Instructs officer to consider
• Situational factors
• Subjects behavior
• Officers perceptions
• Tactical considerations

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Explaining the Model
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Use of Force Videos
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Factors Influencing Arrest Decisions

• Seriousness of crime
• Strength of evidence
• Whether victim wants arrest
• Relationship between victim and offender
• Degree of suspect resistance
• Race, gender, neighborhood

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• Break

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Badge of Life Video

• Police Stress

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III. Police Stress
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Sources of Police Stress

• Occupational stressors
• Shift work, human suffering
• Organizational stressors
• Excessive paperwork, lack of advancement
• Criminal justice stressors
• Frustration at court systems
• Public stressors
• Distorted views of police

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Consequences of Police Stress

• Physical
• High Blood Pressure
• Cardiovascular Disease
• High Cholesterol
• Stomach Ulcers
• Respiratory problems
• Skin problems
• Weight gain
• Diabetes
• Death

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Consequences of Police Stress

• Psychological personal
• Depression and Anxiety
• Aggression
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Drug and alcohol abuse
• Suicide
• Domestic violence
• Separation and Divorce
• Extra-marital affairs
• Burnout

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Consequences of Police Stress

• Job-related
• Low morale
• Tardiness
• Absenteeism
• Early retirement
• Reduced productivity
• Reduced efficiency
• Citizen complaints
• Turnover
• Hostile Interactions

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Preventing and Managing Police Stress

• Many programs are in place to prevent and manage
  police stress
• Physical fitness programs
• Professional counseling services
• Family assistance programs
• Critical incident debriefings
• Adaptive coping strategies

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Adaptive Coping Strategies

• Change maladaptive coping
• Adaptive coping skills (e.g., better
  communication)