issues, and the potential for participation in police
psychology research and introduction to other police
psychologists by being sponsored to attend local and
national police psychology conferences.Scott W. AllenSee alsoCrisis and Hostage Negotiation; Police Psychology;
Police Selection; Police Stress; Police Training and
EvaluationFurther Readings
Allen, S. W. (1986). Suicide and indirect self-destructive
behavior. In J. T. Reese & H. A. Goldstein (Eds.).
Psychological services for law enforcement (pp. 412–416).
Washington, DC: U.S. Government Press.
Allen, S. W. (2001). Suicide prevention training: One
department’s response. In D. C. Sheehan & J. I. Warren
(Eds.),Suicide and law enforcement(pp. 9–17).
Washington, DC: U.S. Government Press.
Blau, T. H. (1994). Psychological services for law
enforcement.New York: Wiley.
Lord, V. B. (Ed.). (2004). Suicide by cop: Inducing officers to
shoot. Flushing, NY. Looseleaf.
McMains, M. J., & Mullins, W. C. (2000). Crisis
negotiations: Managing critical incidents and hostage
situations in law enforcement and corrections.Cincinnati,
OH. Anderson.
Reiser, M. (1982). Police psychology. Los Angeles: LEHI.POLICEPSYCHOLOGY
Police psychology, the practice of psychology in
police settings, has been part of American policing
since the late 1960s and has traditionally been a clini-
cal endeavor by clinical psychologists. Although many
large police agencies and some medium-sized ones
employ full-time clinical psychologists, most agencies
contract for part-time work with clinical psychologists
who often maintain separate private practices. The
practice of psychology in police settings has also been
a research, consultation, and training endeavor by
psychologists who have backgrounds in, for instance,
experimental, social, and industrial-organizational
psychology. Therefore, generally, police psychology is
a field of practice in which psychologists of different
training investigate and apply psychological knowl-
edge to police settings and problems. (Here, this doesnot include other law enforcement settings and profes-
sionals, such as sheriffs, marshals, or correctional offi-
cers, who at times perform job tasks similar to police
officers.) Psychological services for the police have
traditionally involved evaluating police applicants,
educating and training police officers, evaluating job
tasks and duties, and carrying out fitness-for-duty
assessments.Evaluating Police Applicants
Since the 1960s, organizations and commissions such
as the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement
and the Administration of Justice, the Commission on
Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, and the
International Association of Chiefs of Police have rec-
ommended that police agencies evaluate the psycho-
logical fitness of police applicants. Today, most police
agencies recognize and use a psychological evaluation
as one part of the selection of police officers. Typically,
licensed clinical psychologists carry out the evalua-
tion. Some psychologists use a “select-in” evaluation
strategy, whereby they look for applicants who demon-
strate the qualities necessary to be successful on
the job and recommend that police agencies accept them
for law enforcement training. Other psychologists
screen out applicants who demonstrate undesirable
characteristics and recommend that police agencies no
longer consider employing them. Many psychologists
use both screen-out and select-in evaluation strategies,
by which they screen out psychopathology and select
in ideal police characteristics. Both focus on screening
for suitable applicants. Evaluations typically involve
administering a battery of psychological tests, carrying
out a personal interview, giving situational tests, and
making a selection recommendation.
Psychological test batteries administered by psy-
chologists have included intelligence tests, personality
tests, projective tests, and situational tests. Intelligence
tests, such as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test, mea-
sure applicants’ cognitive abilities. Scholarly research
has linked intelligence tests with success on the job
and in recruit training. Psychologists use personality
tests to measure the relatively stable characteristics
or traits of applicants. Commonly used tests are the
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI),
the California Psychological Inventory (CPI), and the
Inwald Personality Inventory (IPI). These tests are self-
report, paper-and-pencil personality inventories. Research
has shown empirical support for their usefulness in580 ———Police PsychologyP-Cutler (Encyc)-45463.qxd 11/18/2007 12:43 PM Page 580