Police Selection Flashcards
What were 5 members of the Toronto police department charged with in 2004?
Obstruction of justice, theft, assault, perjury, and conspiracy.
What were 3 Calgary police service members charged with in 2016?
Breach of trust, bribery, and unauthorized use of a computer system
How many incidents of police corruption were found within the National Police force between 1995 and 2005?
322
What was the most common type of corrupt behaviour found in the RCMP study?
Improperly giving out police information (followed by fraud, misuse of police officer status, theft, and interference with the judicial process.
What types of corruption were found in the police force between 2008-2012?
- 5 cases of assault, sexual assault, and harassment.
- 30 officers impaired on the job or while driving
- 29 mounties who gave false or misleading statements
- 16 unauthorized uses of CPIC
- 2 cases of child pornography
What is police selection?
The process by which police agencies select police officers
What are applicants to the police force assessed for?
Physical fitness, cognitive abilities, personality, job related abilities, criminal record, medical health
What are the 7 essential competencies assessed on the RCMP police aptitude test?
1) Composition (spelling, grammar, vocab)
2) Comprehension (both written and verbal)
3) Memory
4) Judgement
5) Observation
6) logic
7) computation
How high is the predictive ability on the police aptitude test?
Moderate
What 2 measures are used to assess personality in the police force?
MMPI for aspects of psychopathology, and the Inwald Personality Inventory which was developed specifically for the police force (antisocial behaviour and psychopathology, better predictive ability)
What are the six factor personality’s?
Agreealeness, independence, methodicalness, extraversion, industriousness, openness (low scores indicate bias)
How are personality tests used in police assessments?
1/3 of departments weigh psychological assessment scores with other considerations, 2/3 use it as a pass/fail hurdle for further consideration
What percentage of applicants are rejected based on psychological assessment?
29%
How do police departments assess for job-related abilities?
Situational tests which involve real world policing tasks like clues tests and foot patrols. Behaviour is evaluated by trained observers.
How does job-related abilities compare to personality tests in determining job performance?
Is essentially equivalent.
How is a criminal record assessed?
Using a background check and a polygraph test to check for questionable activities (RCMP and CPS)
What are some of the questions used when looking at a polygraph test?
- What is the worst thing anyone is going to say you have done to them?
- Do you associate with anyone who uses illegal drugs?
Who typically makes it through the police selection process?
People with right-wing authoritarianism- conventionalism, authoritarian submission and authoritarian aggression.
Why is it a good reason to consider authoritarianism?
Due to the nature of law enforcement itself and Milgram’s work with obediance.
What is authoritarian aggression?
Belief that aggression is okay in condoned situations.
What was the study done by Lavine et al in 2005 on right wing authoritarianism?
Measured RWA attitudes and used the highest and lowest 1/3. Half of each group was exposed to a mortality salience induction to see which death penalty op-ed they would choose- pro-attitudinal, counter attitudinal, and balanced. Belief is that terror management will attract us to safety.
What were the results of this study?
High RWA: introducing a threat was found to induce more attitude consistent choices vs no threat. Same thing found with low RWA but with less frequency.
What is the problem with authoritarian police officers?
They respond to threats by having their authoritarian traits activated and are especially likely to seek out attitude consistent information.
