CHAP 1 /2 (Intro / Police Psychology) Flashcards
Canada is based on _________-
Common Law System
- Past is very important, rather than rules per se
- Lower courts bounds by higher court rulings
- Adversarial Roles
Constitutional Bill of Rights (Rights to be informed, to council, to be presumed innocent, etc.) in Canada
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982)
The important thing about the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, (not being under British rule or jurisdiction) means we can strike down laws which __________-
Violate rights
Expert Testimony
Does the probative value outweigh the danger of invading the providence of the jury
Is information common knowledge?
Will Jurors see it as the “answer”
Is it ethical to speak for “one side”
Current State of Psych and Law
AP-LS; Division 41 of the American Psychological Association (APA)
Law and Society Association (LSA)
Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition (SARMAC)
Undergrad and Grad Programs
Our 4 Roles in Psych Law
Basic and Applied Researchers
- Lab and Field Studies
Expert Witnesses
- Friend of court?
-Ethical?
Policy Evaluators
- Program Evaluation
Advocates
- Ptp, jury selection, trial prep, etc
Science versus the law
Stats relevant? Two Hands? (one hand and the other hand)
Equality versus discretion (should we all get the same sentence for a crime)
Man in U.S received 40 years for 22 rolls of toilet paper in Miami
Another, Life for a 100$ fraudulent cheque
For context, Murderers on Average get 20 years
In the U.S, the highly publicised beating of _____ in 1991, sparked action in working on weeding out corruption
Rodney King
Mental Health Challenges In Policing - In Canada over the past 25 years, _______ die each year in the line of duty due to suicide
6-8 officers
What does the public want in a police officer?
Fairness
Respect
Lack of Prejudice (Racial Profiling Issues)
Other Traits
Police Selection
The process by which police agencies select police officers
Either by screening out those with undesirable qualities or selecting in those with desirable qualities
Applicant area assessed for physical fitness, cognitive abilities, personality, and job related abilities
History of Police Selection throughout the years
Starting being used since the early 1900’s (little care of qualities back then)
1917: IQ tests used to select officers
Terman ; Average IQ for police recruit 84 in California “Dull-normal”
Suggested new cutoff going forward should be “80” - arbitrarily
1950’s: Psychological and Psychiatric screening procedures were standard in many agencies
Introduced Temperament Scales
1970’s: Psych Testing Mandated
Today: Background Checks, Medical Exams, Selection Interviews, Personality Assessments, etc.
Who and how many can apply to the police force in RCMP?
10,000-15,000 per year
Canadian Citizen
Good Character
Proficient in English or French
Canadian High School Diploma
Valid Driver’s licence
19 years of age min
Physically fit and meet medical assessment
Be willing to relocate anywhere in Canada
The Police Selection Process
Involves two stages:
Job Analysis
Construction and Validation
Define what knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) make a good police officer
What are some KSA’s
Issues:
Stability of KSAs over time
Different KSAs for different jobs
Agreement on KSAs differs (some standard like honesty, reliability, communication skills)
Job Analysis
Develop an instrument to measure these police qualities and ensure these qualities are related to performance
Issues:
Deciding on performance measure (e.g, punctuality, complaints, commendations)
What are good ways to assess these?
Want to be able to find a correlation between measure and performance (reliability)
Construction and Validation
In Construction and Validation of selecting police officers, since its hard to rely on traits, or other qualities, there is ___________, so best to go with ____________
No consistent way, so the best way to go is with convergent validity (multiple measures reach the same conclusion, not any single measure)
Ask peers, teachers, academy scores, as many things as possible accurately
Very common police selection process through conversation
Goal is to determine if applicant has KSAs
Selection Interview
Problems with Selection Interviews
Research on predictive validity is mixed (How well you did on selection tests is completely random at how you do on the actual job) (Doerner, 1997)
Measures aptitude (memory, logic, observation, comprehension)
Used frequently in Canada (e.g, RCMP Police Aptitude Test, or RPAT)
Moderate predictive validity (slightly higher for training success)
Cognitive Ability Test:
Common Canadian Police Test that measures
Composition
Comprehension
Memory
Judgment
Observation
Logic
Computation
RCMP Police Aptitude Battery (RPAT)
Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory (MMPI)
Inwald Personality Inventory (IPI)
and sometimes
Assessment Centres (Situational Tests)
are examples of
Personality Tests
Identifies psychopathology (e.g; schizophrenia)
567 items!
Moderate Predictive Validity (Scogin, et al, 1995)
Wasn’t developed for this purpose
Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory (MMPI)
26 Scales of traits
Developed specifically for police selection
Better predictive validity than the MMPI
Inwald Personality Inventory (IPI)
Involves the simulation of real world police tasks
Work simulation, domestic disturbance, etc
Involves the simulation of real world police tasks
Applicant behaviour is assessed by multiple observers
Assessment Centres (Situational Tests)
___________ involves knowing when to abide by the law and when to allow for some latitude
Police discretion
Some say laws cannot take into account _________ police officers will encounter
all the situations
Police Discretion: Youth Crime
Discretion is encouraged
30-40% of youth crime is handled informally (warnings, reduced tickets)
Belief that formal sanctions are not most effective response
Responses include community referrals, resolution conferences, and so on
Police Discretion in Offenders with Mental Illness
Problems with institutions leads to frequent use of informal resolution
72% of mental illness cases and police intervention are informally resolved (de-escalation, referred to mental health resources)
16% Criminalization
12% Direct Hospitalisation
Police Discretion: Domestic Violence
Separation; Community referral; Arrest, etc
Model designed as a guideline with regard to level of force that should be used
What is “reasonable grounds”
Instructs officer to consider
Situational factors
Subject’s behaviour
Officer’s perceptions
Tactile considerations
And more
Canada’s Use of Force Model
Sources of Police Stress
Occupational Stressors
Organisational stressors
Criminal Justice Stressors
Public Stressors
example of Occupational Stressors In Policing
Shift Work
example of Organisational stressors In Policing
Excessive Paperwork
example of Criminal Justice Stressors In Policing
Frustration at court systems
example of Public Stressors In Policing
Distorted views of police
Types of police stress
Physical
Psychological
Personal
Police Suicide
OPP - 10 officers in the last 5 years, three in one month in 2018
Toronto Police - three in 2023
Police officer suicide data is difficult to come by, but experts and police unions say more officers die by suicide than in ___
the line of duty
Training delivered to police officers to improve their ability to effectively adapt to stress and adversity
Resiliency training
A psychologically oriented intervention delivered to police officers following exposure to an event that resulted in psychological distress and an impairment of normal functioning
Psychological debriefing
