Deck 2: B: Police Psychology

Question 1

In general,there are two stages involved in developing a valid police selection process.Name these stages and explain them briefly.

Answer 1

a.The job analysis stage: the police agency must define the knowledge,skills,and abilities (KSAs)that characterize a "good" police officer
b.The construction and validation stage: The police agency must develop instruments to measure the degree to which applicants possess these KSAs (i.e.,construction)and determine the extent to which the applicants' scores on these instruments correspond to actual police performance (i.e.,validation).

Question 2

Name and describe two of the three most common types of police selection procedures.

Answer 2

a.The selection interview: This is a semi-structured interview intended to determine the degree to which an applicant possesses the knowledge,skills,and abilities (KSAs)that characterize a "good" police officer.
b.Psychological tests: These include tests of cognitive ability that tap into skills like memory and logic (e.g.,RPAT)and personality tests that attempt to identify stress reactions,interpersonal styles,and psychopathological problems (e.g.,MMPI).
c.Assessment centres: This refers to facilities in which police-related behaviours can be observed by multiple raters usually in the context of simulated tasks (i.e.,situational tests).

Question 3

Define "police discretion" and name three areas of policing in which discretion is often used.

Answer 3

-Police discretion is the quality that enables officers to discriminate between those situations that require strict adherence to the law and those in which a certain amount of latitude is justified.
-Typically,police officers are called upon to use a degree of discretion when dealing with cases of youth crime,mentally ill offenders,domestic disturbances,and cases involving the potential use of force.

Question 4

You are a police officer who has encountered a mentally ill person causing a disturbance.What are the three main options available to you in this situation? Identify a disadvantage associated with each.

Question 5

Name four main sources of police stress and provide an example of each.

Question 6

List four reasons why police discretion is necessary,as indicated by Sheehan and Cordner (1989).

Question 7

What are the main conclusions from Butler and Hall's (2008)study of use of force using data from the Calgary Police Service?