evaluation. However, a dual relationship occurs when
in-house or outside psychologists counsel or have
counseled an officer whom the police agency refers for
a fitness-for-duty evaluation. Most police agencies
contract with outside psychologists to avoid the con-
flicts that such dual relationships produce. Police
departments must make every effort to avoid dual
relationships.
The Psychological Services section of the
International Association of Chiefs of Police recom-
mends that psychologists have training and experi-
ence in psychological testing and police assessment
techniques and that they have knowledge of police
job-related functions and the legal issues surrounding
employment practices. An assessment of job-related
mental fitness usually involves reviewing background
information, administering a battery of psychological
tests, conducting a clinical interview, generating a
report, and making recommendations. The scope of
the assessment is breadth and depth of psychological
fitness, with the aim of identifying the absence or
presence of personal characteristics essential for per-
forming job-related behaviors that the officer falls
short of doing. Outcome recommendations first spec-
ify “fit” or “not fit.” Police chiefs or other police
stakeholders (the client) may request additional rec-
ommendations, such as mental health counseling,
remedial training, or other remedies.Frank J. GalloSee alsoPolice Psychologists; Police Selection;
Police Training and EvaluationFurther Readings
Bartol, C. R. (1996). Police psychology: Then, now, and
beyond. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 23(1), 70–89.
Craig, R. J. (2005). Personality-guided forensic psychology.
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Cutler, B. L., & Penrod, S. D. (1995). Mistaken
identification: Eyewitnesses, psychology and the law.New
York: Cambridge University Press.
Kurke, I. M., & Scrivner, E. M. (1995). Police psychology
into the 21st century.Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
McNally, V. J., & Solomon, R. M. (1999). The FBI’s critical
incident stress management program. FBI Law
Enforcement Bulletin, February,20–25.
Police Executive Research Forum. (1997). The police
response to people with mental illness.Washington, DC:
Police Executive Research Forum.POLICESELECTION
Police selection is a process by which police agencies
decide on which applicants are suitable for law enforce-
ment training. The application of psychology to the
selection of police officers has long been a part of the
process, usually in the form of a psychological evalua-
tion performed by a licensed clinical psychologist. The
evaluation typically involves considering a selection
strategy, administering a battery of psychological tests,
carrying out a personal interview, giving situational
tests, and making a selection recommendation.Selection Strategy
“Selecting-in” police applicants who demonstrate the
qualities necessary to be successful on the job is one
strategy some psychologists use to evaluate applicants’
suitability for law enforcement training. A job-task
analysis, usually performed by industrial-organizational
psychologists, is one way psychologists obtain select-
in information about necessary job skills and traits to
perform them. The evolving nature of policing, how-
ever, can lead to selecting in applicants who have “no-
longer-needed skills” and traits to perform the job
well. Though some psychologists use select-in criteria
to accept police applicants, there is a lack of consensus
among police and community stakeholders on the
qualities needed to be successful in the police profes-
sion. There is more agreement on the unwanted quali-
ties of police applicants.
In practice, the selection of suitable police appli-
cants often involves screening out those applicants
who demonstrate undesirable police characteristics.
Psychologists are concerned with mental stability
because an unstable officer, not surprisingly, is more
likely to perform poorly on the job than a stable one.
Empirical evidence suggesting that a screening-out
focus best predicts which candidates are more likely
to experience on-the-job difficulties falls short of
being consistent.
Today, many psychologists use an evaluation strat-
egy that screens out psychopathology and selects in
ideal police characteristics. Their select-in and screen-
out procedures must (a) adhere to ethical principles
and standards of practice, (b) focus on applicants’
ability to perform necessary job functions, (c) avoid
clinical diagnoses, and (d) use objective and validated
tests that specify what police functions they intend to584 ———Police SelectionP-Cutler (Encyc)-45463.qxd 11/18/2007 12:43 PM Page 584