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Politics of Personality Assessment in Police Agencies (From Personality Assessment in Police Psychology: A 21st Century Perspective, P 362-371, 2010, Peter A. Weiss, ed. - see NCJ-231933)

NCJ Number
231949
Author(s)
James S. Herndon
Date Published
2010
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This chapter examines the issues surrounding the use of psychological assessments in the law enforcement personnel selection process.
Abstract
The chapter discusses some of the issues that have emerged regarding the use of psychological assessments in the selection of police officers that could undermine the effectiveness of these tests. The author collectively refers to these issues in this chapter as the "politics" of psychological testing. Some of these issues include in-house versus contract - whether to provide psychological services by means of in-house staff or external psychologists. Dictating tests - problems arise when psychological services in police departments are subordinated in the organization, thus taking decisions away from the psychologist; and ignoring science - external forces preventing police psychologists from using certain tests, forcing them to limit their testing options, or not permitting the psychologists to upgrade their technology. Additional issues confronting police psychologists include the assessor as scapegoat - the psychologist, or the psychological assessment, is to blame when police officers' performances do not go according to expectations. Dual roles - police psychologists are often placed in a bind, especially in small departments, when they act as both an evaluator of an officer's performance and as a counselor to the officer if he/she is having problems. Opinion shopping - obtaining opinions from outside psychologists to override the opinion and recommendations of the police psychologist and the issue of competence - no knowledge of police testing is required to provide services to law enforcement agencies, leading outside psychologists to provide opinions and recommendations not based on sound science. Navigating the waters (playing politics) - deciding whether as a police psychologist to be both loyal to the profession and at the same time, loyal to the police organization. References