Chapter 2: Police Psychology

Question 1

What are the two stages involved in developing a valid police selection procedure?

Answer 1

1) Job analysis
2) Construction and Validation

Question 2

What is the job analysis stage and what are some issues with it

Answer 2

• define KSAs that make a good police officer
• conducted by: psychologist
• determined through surveys, interviews, observation, etc.

Issues:
- Stability over time - KSAs may change based on stage in career
- different KSAs for different roles
- people may disagree on which are most important

Question 3

What is the construction and validation stage and what are some issues with it?

Answer 3

• ensure predictive validity (will it be able to accurately predict performance?)
• how to test KSAs and develop instruments

Issues:
how is performace measured? how well can in correlate?

Question 4

What is the goal of police selection procedures?

Answer 4

to screen-out undesirable candidates and select-in desirable ones

Question 5

Predictive validity

Answer 5

extent that scores on a test predict the outcome of another measure

Question 6

Selection Instruments

Selection Inverviews:
what is the goal?
how is it done?
what are some issues?

Answer 6

• interview to determine KSAs
• semi-structured list of standard questions (pre-determined)
• can sometimes predict job performance

Issues:
- predictive validity isn’t 100% (ex. didn’t know anything about cows but did really well at the job)

Question 7

selection instruments

Cognitive Abilities Test
what is the goal? how is it done? how strong is the predictive validity?

Answer 7

goal: measures verbal, mathematical, memory, reasoning, judgment, logic, computation, etc.
- RCMP Aptitude Test (RPAT)

moderate predictive validity

Question 8

selection instruments - personality tests

Minesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2)
what is the goal? how is it done? how strong is the predictive validity?

Answer 8

• most popular
• not originally for law use
• goal: to identify psychopathology (depression, schizophrenia, paranoia, etc.)
• moderate predictive validity

Question 9

selection instruments - personality tests

Inwald Personality Inventory (IPI)
what is the goal? how strong is the predictive validity?

Answer 9

• designed for police use
• goal: measure personality and behaviour (ex. stress reactions, alcohol/drug use, interpersonal difficulties, etc.)
• better predictive validity than MMPI-2

Question 10

Selection instruments - assessment centers

Physical tests
what is the goal? how are they done? what are some problems and criticisms?

Answer 10

goal: observe behaviour of police officers
method: situational tests - simulations/scenarios

ex. PARE test
problems : NO predictive validity
usually built for men
criticisms: more important skills required?
most police work is sedentary
misses other important physical elements (ex. handcuffing someone)

Question 11

Why is police discretion uses?
What are some issues with it?

Answer 11

• can’t predict every scenario
• trusted to use good judgment
• sometimes officers have to let things slide because they can’t always be using full enforcement

issues:
- sometimes it is used inappropriately (ex. discrimination)

Question 12

What are the rules for the use of police discretion with iindividuals with mental illnesses?

Answer 12

• allowed to intervene and should apprehend the individual if they are a threat to themselves or others

options:
- take them to a psychiatric unit/hospital (sometimes hospitals won’t take them because of danger but this can put the idividual at risk of becoming criminalized)
- arrest
- resolve informally

Question 13

use-of-force

What are the 5 levels of resistance?

Answer 13

1) COOPERATIVE (no resistance, compliance)
2) NON-COOPERATIVE (no physical resistance, verbal defiance)
3) RESISTANT (pulling/running away)
4) COMBATIVE (threats, punching, kicking, applying force)
5) Showing potential to cause harm or death to themselves or others (maybe has a weapon)

Question 14

Canada’s use of force model

Answer 14

chart guideline for needed level of force
- a way to control police disctretion (have some rules)

Question 15

what is the new taser policy and why was it made?

Answer 15

can only use a taser when someone is actively resisting

Robert Dziekański case
- didn’t speak english, travelling to Vancouver
- lost in the airport, couldn’t find his mom
- gets frustrated
- police were contacted due to eratic behaviour
- chose to use a taser and used it too much which killed Robert

Question 16

use of force

What are the 5 response levels?

Answer 16

1) OFFICER PRESENCE (maybe a knock on the door is all that’s needed)
2) DIALOGUE (talking to offender)
3) EMPTY HANDS (uses some physical force like asking the person to sit on their hands)
4) COMPLIANCE TOOLS (ex. pepper spray)
5) LETHAL FORCE (ex. used if someone has a weapon and they need to shoot)

Question 17

what are some statistics regarding use-of-force interactions?

Answer 17

• rarely used (.07% to 1.5% of interactions)
• mainly male (94%)
• most people are impaired (88%)

Question 18

How is use-of-force justified and what is an issue with it?

Answer 18

• must be necessary and reasonable
• determined by opinion rather than rule (police discretion)

Question 19

Controlling Police Discretion

RCMP Incident Management

Answer 19

visual aid to help officers explain their intervention decisions

Question 20

How did Sergeant Beaudry use police discretion inappropriately in Beaudry v. The Queen (2007)?

Answer 20

• purposefully didn’t breathalyze another officer who was intoxicated while on the job
• obstruction of justice

Question 21

What are some steps in the RCMP Selection Process?

(8 steps)

Answer 21

1) meet job requirements (permanent resident, 19+, willing to carry a firearm, willing to relocate, no criminal record)
2) vision and hearing assessments
3) online application
4) entrance exams (personality and aptitude test)
5) forms
6) polygraph
7) full physical and psychological health assessment
8) 26 week cadet training

90% of people who apply don’t get the job

Question 22

sources of police stress

Intra-Organizational stressors and Inter-Organizational stressors

Answer 22

IntRA - ex. excessive paperwork
IntER - ex. jurisdictional isolationism (lack of cooperation, sometimes unhealthy competition)

Question 23

sources of police stress

Occupational stressors

Answer 23

ex. human suffering
- people often assume this would be the hardest stressors BUT research shows that workplace conflicts (intra and inter-organizational stressors) are actually the hardest

Question 24

sources of police stress

Criminal justice system stressors

Answer 24

ex. unfavourable court desisions
- frustration at court systems
- some officers think decisions are unfairly making them work more

Question 25

sources of police stress

Public stressors

Answer 25

ex. the media (often contains false information)

Question 26

How does stress impact officers?

Answer 26

• poor physical health
• psychological and personal (depression, ptsd, substance abuse, marital problems, suicide, etc.)
• job performance

Question 27

What are some solutions for police stress?

Answer 27

1) Prevention strategies - resiliency training
2) Management strategies - psychological debriefing

Also, culture around policing suggests that work comes before family (which needs to be adressed)

Question 28

What are some of the highest ranking stressors?

Answer 28

1) feeling that rules aren’t equal (favouritism)
2) fatigue
3) feeling like you always have to prove yourself
4) poor/inconsistant leadership
5) dealing with court systems
6) bureaucratic red tape
7) work-life balance
8) shift work
9) poor physical health due to a lack of time
10) percieved pressure to give up and volunteer free time