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56 3 Police and Law Enforcement—Civil Forensics

Patrol officers can, on occasion, confront dangerous citizens, aggressive suspects,

and agitated groups. How, if at all, do exchanges such as these relate to the devel-

opment of a police personality? Are officers susceptible to psychopathology? Can

preemployment (mental health) screening of officers assess for such characterolog-

ical traits? Does cynicism and violence, as dimensions of law enforcement, draw

certain individuals to this line of work?

The police increasingly find themselves responding to citizen encounters with

the mentally ill. What preconceived notions, if any, do officers harbor regarding the

psychiatncally disordered? How do officers deal with the mentally ill? Does police

academy training sufficiently prepare cadets to interface with the psychiatncally ill?

Recent strategies designed to improve the law enforcement presence in various

urban, rural, and suburban neighborhoods have relied upon community-oriented

policing techniques. What are these techniques? Is this strategy a viable solution to

fighting crime? Is it a law enforcement trend with limited effectiveness? How does

the public perceive community-oriented policing?

Police departments find that communication skills and conflict resolution train-

ing are integral dimensions to effective police—citizen encounters. What kind and

degree of training do officers receive? How do these skills affect victims and of-

fenders?

Officers exercise a wide range of discretion in different contexts. This discretion is

operative when making decisions about racial and ethnic minorities. What attitudes

do police officers engender toward such constituencies? Where do these sentiments

come from, and are they institutionalized within the organization of policing?

The sections within this chapter reveal several important civil forensic areas

where the psychological sciences and law enforcement are significantly linked.

While certainly not exhaustive, it is clear that a societal dimension to the police-

psychology interface does, in fact, exist. It is also evident that forensic psychologists

schooled in organizational analysis, social psychology, race relations, and similar

domains of inquiry would offer the public a uniquely trained specialist who could

meet the changing and pressing needs within the civil arena of law enforcement.

In addition, more and better research at the crossroads of psychology and policing

would help educate future generations of forensic experts with interests in these and

related issues. Indeed, if forensic psychology is to affect the organization, culture, and

practice of policing in society, then responding to crime and justice controversies

such as those canvassed in this chapter is not only necessary but essential.

PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARD POLICE

Introduction

The public's perception of police can be broken down into a variety of separate
entities. For example, the "public" may be considered the everyday citizen, who has
had their own dealings, either positive or negative, with local police departments.