Chapter 2 - Police Psychology

Forensic Psychology
Fifth Canadian Edition
Chapter 2
Police Psychology
Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.

Learning Objectives
• Outline the major steps in developing a valid police selection procedure

• Describe the various police selection instruments
• Define the term police discretion
• List some key decisions on the use of discretion
• Outline causes and consequences of police stress
• Describe strategies for dealing with police stress

Police Selection
• A process by which police agencies select police officers
• Can screen out those with undesirable qualities or select in those

with desirable qualities
• Canadian police agencies routinely conduct:

– background checks, medical exams, cognitive abilities tests, and personality
tests

A History of Police Selection
• In place since the early 1900s:

– 1917: Intelligence tests
– 1950s: Personality tests
– 1950s-60s: Psychological/psychiatric screening becomes standard
• Today:
– Background checks and selection interviews
– Higher education requirements
– Personality assessments, cognitive ability tests, etc.

Developing Police Selection Instruments
• From a research perspective, the police selection process involves

two separate stages:
– Job analysis
– Construction and validation

Job Analysis
• The goal is to define what KSAs make a good police officer:

– Knowledge
– Skills
– Abilities
• Can conduct a job analysis using:

– Survey methods
– Observational techniques
– Interviews with staff

Problems with Conducting a Job Analysis
• Numerous problems can be encountered:

– KSAs not stable over time
– Different KSAs for different jobs
– Disagreement over important KSAs
• Despite problems, core KSAs can be agreed on, including:

– Honesty
– Sensitivity to others,
– Good communication skills, etc.

Construction and Validation
• The goal is to:

– Construct instruments to measure KSAs
– Ensure the KSAs are related to job performance
 i.e., valid predictors
• The most common measure of validity used in this context is

predictive validity

Problems with Construction & Validation
• Numerous problems can be encountered:

– Deciding what job-performance measure to use
 Punctuality
 Complaints
 Commendations, etc.
– Different performance measures may provide different results

 Peer vs. supervisor ratings

Validity of Police Selection Instruments
• Selection interviews
• Psychological tests
– Cognitive ability tests
– Personality tests
• Assessment centres
– Situational tests

Selection Interviews
• Selection interview is one of the most common procedures used
• Questions are asked to determine if the applicant possesses relevant

KSAs
• Research examining predictive validity is mixed

– structured interviews (e.g. with pre-determined questions) provide most
useful information

Cognitive Ability Tests
• Cognitive ability tests are used to assess abilities:

– Verbal
– Mathematical
– Memory
– Reasoning abilities
• Research examining predictive validity indicates higher validity scores

for predicting training success than job performance
– Personality variables may be important to consider

Personality Tests
• Two of the most commonly used personality tests for police

selection:
– Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
– Inwald Personality Inventory (IPI)

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
(MMPI) (1 of 2)
• The MMPI was developed to identify psychopathological problems
(e.g., depression)
• May be useful for screening out unsuitable police candidates
• Research examining predictive validity indicates significant, but low

validity scores

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
(MMPI) (2 of 2)
• Large scale study of MMPI-2 (Weiss et al., 2013):
– Included 4,348 police officers
– Assessed predictive validity of the Lie Scale
– Lie Scale assesses degree to which test taker is “faking good”
– Results indicated Lie scale score was a significant predictor of problematic

police behaviour as later rated by police supervisors

Inwald Personality Inventory (IPI)
• The IPI was developed specifically for police selection
• Measures personality traits and behaviour patterns that are relevant

to policing
• Research examining predictive validity indicates that the IPI is slightly

more predictive than the MMPI

Assessment Centers
• A facility where the behaviour of applicants is observed by experts
• Primary selection instrument used is the situational test

– i.e., real-world simulations of policing tasks
• Research examining predictive validity indicates significant, but low

to moderate validity scores

Police Discretion
• Police discretion involves knowing when to enforce the law and

when to allow for some latitude
• Discretion is required in a wide range of police tasks

Importance of Police Discretion
• Police discretion is required because:
– Some laws are vague and were not intended to be fully enforced
– Full enforcement would alienate the public
– Full enforcement would overwhelm the criminal justice system
– Full enforcement would deplete limited police resources

Problems with Police Discretion
• Most commonly cited example of the inappropriate use of police

discretion:
– Racial profiling:
 the initiation of police action (e.g., traffic pullovers) based on the race of an individual
rather than any evidence of wrongdoing
– General consensus that racial profiling does occur in Canada (e.g., Ontario
Human Rights Commission, 2003)

Areas Where Police Discretion is Used
• Youth crime (discussed in Ch. 12)
• Offenders with mental illness
• Domestic violence (discussed in Ch. 13)
• Use of force situations

Individuals with Mental Illnesses
• Encounters with mentally ill offenders more common since

deinstitutionalization
• Police responses typically include:

– Informal resolution
– Escort to psychiatric facility
– Arrest
• Problems with accessing mental health system often leads to

criminalization of mentally ill individuals

Use of Force Situations
• Use of force situations receive much attention but only account for a
small number of police-citizen interactions
• Section 25 of the Canadian Criminal Code states that use of force can
be used by the police on reasonable grounds and if only as much as
is necessary (requires discretion)

Controlling Police Discretion
• Use-of-Force Models provide guidance with respect to:

– Factors to consider
– Appropriate level of force
• Instructs officers to consider the following:

• Situational factors
• Subject’s behaviour
• Officer’s perceptions
• Tactical considerations

Use-of-Force Models

Police Stress
• Policing involves high levels of stress for officers and their families
• Causes and consequences of stress vary considerably from officer to

officer
• In a large Canadian study, Duxbury and Higgins (2012) found

numerous issues related to difficulty balancing work and home life
(see Box 2.6)

Consequences of Police Stress
• Physical Health Problems

– E.g. possible links to digestive disorders, cancer, cardiovascular disease
• Psychological/Personal Problems:
• E.g. possible links to depression, alcohol abuse, marital problems
• Job Performance Problems:

• E.g. decreased productivity, increased absenteeism

Preventing & Managing Police Stress
• A variety of stress prevention and management strategies now exist

within policing:
• Informal support networks

• Physical fitness programs
• Professional counseling
• Family assistance programs
• Critical incident stress debriefings

Resiliency Training
• Training police officers to improve their ability to effectively adapt to

stress and adversity
• One key is facilitating mental preparedness through:

• Education about reactions to stress
• Training in stress reduction techniques
• Evidence of resiliency training is limited but favourable

Psychological Debriefings
• Consists of brief psychologically-oriented intervention delivered to

officers after distressing event
• Includes social support and venting of emotions
• Education about stress responses and coping mechanisms
• Mixed findings on efficacy in reducing stress:

• Meta-analytic studies show effectiveness for reducing stress
• Small or no effect on reducing PTSD symptoms specifically

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Forensic Psychology

Fifth Canadian Edition

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.

• Outline the major steps in developing a valid police selection procedure

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.

• A process by which police agencies select police officers

• Can screen out those with undesirable qualities or select in those

• Canadian police agencies routinely conduct:

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.

• In place since the early 1900s:

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.

• From a research perspective, the police selection process involves

– Construction and validation

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.

• The goal is to define what KSAs make a good police officer:

• Can conduct a job analysis using:

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.

• Numerous problems can be encountered:

• Despite problems, core KSAs can be agreed on, including:

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.

• The goal is to:

• The most common measure of validity used in this context is

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.

• Numerous problems can be encountered:

– Different performance measures may provide different results

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.

• Selection interview is one of the most common procedures used

• Questions are asked to determine if the applicant possesses relevant

• Research examining predictive validity is mixed

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.

• Cognitive ability tests are used to assess abilities:

• Research examining predictive validity indicates higher validity scores

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.

• Two of the most commonly used personality tests for police

– Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

– Inwald Personality Inventory (IPI)

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.

• May be useful for screening out unsuitable police candidates

• Research examining predictive validity indicates significant, but low

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.

– Included 4,348 police officers

– Assessed predictive validity of the Lie Scale

– Lie Scale assesses degree to which test taker is “faking good”

– Results indicated Lie scale score was a significant predictor of problematic

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.

• The IPI was developed specifically for police selection

• Measures personality traits and behaviour patterns that are relevant

• Research examining predictive validity indicates that the IPI is slightly

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.

• A facility where the behaviour of applicants is observed by experts

• Primary selection instrument used is the situational test

• Research examining predictive validity indicates significant, but low

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.

• Police discretion involves knowing when to enforce the law and

• Discretion is required in a wide range of police tasks

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.

• Police discretion is required because:

– Full enforcement would alienate the public

– Full enforcement would overwhelm the criminal justice system

– Full enforcement would deplete limited police resources

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.

• Most commonly cited example of the inappropriate use of police

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.