Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice: 2014 Edition - Editors: Gerben Bruinsma, David Weisburd

9/13/2018 Police Selection | SpringerLink
Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice

2014 Edition
| Editors: Gerben Bruinsma, David Weisburd
Police Selection
Michael G. Aamodt (1) Email author (maamodt@radford.edu)
1. DCI Consulting Group, Inc., , Washington, USA
Reference work entry

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_652
115 Downloads
Overview
Over the past 30 years, great progress has been made in developing a process for
selecting police officers. There are four distinct phases to the selection process:
conducting a job analysis, determining which applicants have the competencies to be
good officers, investigating the background of the applicant, and conducting a
psychological evaluation to determine if there is something about the applicant that
would be a threat to the safety of the officer or to others. Each of these four phases is
conducted by professionals with very different skills and training. This entry will describe
each of the four phases and summarize the research findings regarding what methods
best predict police officer job performance.
Conducting a Job Analysis
The first step in developing a system to hire police officers is to conduct a job analysis.
The goal of a job analysis is to identify the tasks that are performed, the conditions under
which they are performed, and the competencies needed to perform the tasks. Although
there are many job analysis methods, the typical job analysis begins with the job analyst
observing the job being performed (ride alongs) and then conducting interviews with
incumbents. These interviews are conducted with individual officers, groups of officers at
one time, and their supervisors. When the interviews are conducted with groups of
incumbents and supervisors, they are called subject-matter expert (SME) conferences.
https://link-springer-com.ezp.auk.edu.kw/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_652 1/18
Once the observations and interviews are concluded, the next step is to develop a task
inventory and a competency inventory. The task inventory is a list of the tasks performed
by the officers, and the competency inventory is a list of competencies (e.g., knowledge,
skills, abilities) needed to perform the tasks. Next to each task are scales where
incumbents will rate the frequency with which a task is performed as well as the
importance of the task. Some tasks, such as writing traffic citations, will be rated as being
important and frequently occurring, whereas others, such as shooting a gun, will be rated
as occurring with low frequency but of having high importance.
Once the task and competency inventories have been developed, they are administered to
a sample of police officers who will rate the frequency and importance of the tasks and
competencies. These ratings are then summarized to determine which tasks and
competencies are critical to the performance of the job.
Although the critical tasks identified in the job analysis are often similar across law
enforcement agencies, the frequency with which they occur can vary tremendously. That
is, while every police officer makes arrests and writes traffic citations, the frequency of
those activities might be different in a large city with a high crime rate than it would in a
small rural town.
Developing the Test Battery
Now that the critical tasks and competencies have been identified, the next step is to
decide how to measure whether an applicant has the necessary competencies to perform
the essential tasks. Some competencies, such as knowledge of the law, will be taught in
the academy and thus will not be a part of the selection system. For competencies that
cannot be easily learned in the academy, it is essential to test for them prior to hiring the
officer. Although the term test often conjures up the image of a paper-and-pencil test,
psychologists and the courts use the term to describe any technique used to evaluate
someone. Thus, selection methods such as interviews and background checks are
considered to be tests. Common tests used in police selection include minimum
qualifications, interviews, cognitive ability tests, personality inventories, and physical
ability tests.
Minimum Qualifications
Every law enforcement agency has minimum qualifications that an applicant must have
to even be considered for the job. These minimum qualifications, often determined by
state regulation, include such requirements as being 21 years of age, having at least a
high school diploma/GED, possessing a valid driver’s license, and having never been
convicted of a felony. As an example, in 2012, the minimum requirements in Arizona are:
1. 1.
Be a United States citizen
2. 2.
Be at least 21 years of age; except that a person may attend an academy if the
person will be 21 before graduating
3. 3.
Be a high school graduate or have successfully completed a General Education

Development (G.E.D.) examination
4. 4.
Undergo a complete background investigation
5. 5.
Undergo a medical examination within 1 year before appointment
6. 6.
Not have been convicted of a felony or any offense that would be a felony if
committed in Arizona
7. 7.
Not have been dishonorably discharged from the United States Armed Forces
8. 8.
Not have been previously denied certified status, have certified status revoked, or
have current certified status suspended
9. 9.
Not have illegally sold, produced, cultivated, or transported for sale marijuana
10. 10.
Not have illegally used marijuana for any purpose within the past 3 years
11. 11.
Not have ever illegally used marijuana other than for experimentation
12. 12.
Not have ever illegally used marijuana while employed or appointed as a peace
officer
13. 13.
Not have illegally sold, produced, cultivated, or transported for sale a dangerous
drug or narcotic
14. 14.
Not have illegally used a dangerous drug or narcotic, other than marijuana, for
any purpose within the past 7 years
15. 15.
Not have ever illegally used a dangerous drug or narcotic other than for
experimentation
16. 16.
Not have ever illegally used a dangerous drug or narcotic while employed or
appointed as a peace officer
17. 17.
Not have a pattern of abuse of prescription medication
18. 18.
Undergo a polygraph examination
19. 19.
Not have been convicted of or adjudged to have violated traffic regulations

governing the movement of vehicles with a frequency within the past 3 years that
indicates a disrespect for traffic laws or a disregard for the safety of other persons
on the highway
20. 20.
Read the code of ethics and affirm by signature the person’s understanding of and
agreement to abide by the code
Interviews
Interviews used in police selection will differ in structure and style. The structure of an
interview is determined by the source of the questions, the extent to which all applicants
are asked the same questions, and the structure of the system used to score the answers.
A structured interview is one in which (1) the source of the questions is a job analysis
(job-related questions), (2) all applicants are asked the same questions, and (3) there is a
standardized scoring key to evaluate each answer.
An unstructured interview is one in which interviewers are free to ask anything they
want (e.g., Where do you want to be in 5 years? What was the last book you read?), are
not required to be consistent in what they ask of each applicant, and may assign numbers
of points at their own discretion. Interviews vary in their structure, and rather than
calling interviews structured or unstructured, it might make more sense to use terms
such as highly structured (all three criteria are met), moderately structured (two criteria
are met), slightly structured (one criterion is met), and unstructured (none of the three
criteria are met). The research is clear that highly structured interviews are more reliable
and valid than interviews with less structure (Huffcutt and Arthur 1994).
The style of an interview is determined by the number of interviewees and number of

interviewers. One-on-one interviews involve one interviewer interviewing one applicant.
Serial interviews involve a series of single interviews. For example, the lieutenant might
interview an applicant at 9:00 a.m., the captain interviews the applicant at 10:00 a.m.,
and the chief interviews the applicant at 11:00 a.m. Return interviews are similar to serial
interviews with the difference being a passing of time between the first and subsequent
interview. For example, an applicant might be interviewed by the HR manager and then
brought back a week later to interview with the chief. Panel interviews have multiple
interviewers asking questions and evaluating answers of the same applicant at the same
time. Panel interviews are the most commonly used interviews in police selection.
Questions asked in job interviews for law enforcement positions often focus on two major
areas: the applicant’s background and their situational judgment. Background questions
might focus on whether the applicant has used illegal drugs, why they want to be a police
officer, and the extent to which they have engaged in violent behavior (e.g., fights at
school, yelling at a girl/boyfriend). Situational judgment questions ask the applicant how
he or she would handle a hypothetical situation. For example, an applicant might be
asked, If you saw a fellow officer accept a bribe, what would you do? or If a motorist
would not roll down their window during a traffic stop, what would you do?
Interview questions often vary tremendously across law enforcement agencies. For
example, questions asked of applicants for the Michigan State Police focus on building
trust, adaptability, decision making, work standards, initiating action, stress tolerance,
continuous learning, customer focus, communication, and job fit, whereas questions
asked in one New Mexico agency covered such topics as history, current events, and
hobbies.
Cognitive Ability Tests
In one form or another, cognitive ability tests are commonly used in law enforcement
selection. This category of tests includes a wide variety of tests ranging from those
tapping general intelligence to those tapping such specific aspects of cognitive ability as
reading, math, vocabulary, and logic. From a content validity perspective, cognitive
ability tests are thought to be important in law enforcement selection as they are related
to the ability to perform such tasks as learning and understanding new information,
writing reports, making mathematical calculations during investigations, and solving
problems.
Cognitive ability tests can be placed into four categories on the basis of where they were
developed and the extent to which they are commercially available: Publisher developed
general cognitive ability tests, nationally developed law enforcement tests, tests
developed by the federal government, and locally developed civil service exams.
Publisher Developed General Cognitive Ability Tests. This first category includes
cognitive ability tests developed by national test publishers. These tests are available for a
wide variety of uses and can be purchased directly from the publishers. Though these
tests were not specifically designed for law enforcement selection, many are certainly
compatible with constructs related to law enforcement performance. Tests from this
category that are commonly used in law enforcement selection include the Wonderlic
Personnel Test, Nelson-Denny Reading Test, Shipley Institute of Living Scale, and the
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.
Nationally Developed Law Enforcement Tests. The second category of cognitive ability
tests includes those developed by consultants or trade organizations for specific use with
law enforcement agencies. Examples of tests from this category include the Entry-Level
Police Officer Test, National Police Officer Selection Test (POST), and the Law
Enforcement Candidate Record (LECR). The Entry-Level Police Officer Test, published
by the International Public Management Association for Human Resources (a trade
organization), is a 100-item test that measures observation and memory, ability to learn
police material, verbal and reading comprehension, and situational judgment and
problem solving. It also contains a noncognitive component that measures interest in
policing as a career. In contrast, the POST, published by Stanard and Associates (a
private company), is a 75-item test that measures arithmetic, reading comprehension,
grammar, and incident report writing.
Tests Developed by the Federal Government. The third category of tests was developed
by the federal government for use either with the military or with general employment
testing. The major test in this category used in law enforcement selection was the Army
General Classification Test. Although these tests were commonly used for police selection
in the 1960s and 1970s, they are seldom used today outside of the federal government.
Locally Developed Civil Service Exams. The fourth category consists of cognitive ability
tests developed by various municipalities and Civil Service Commissions for their own
use. Normally, the municipality hires an outside consulting firm to develop these tests.
Though it is not unusual for these tests to be shared with other agencies, they are not
commercially available.
The use of cognitive ability tests in law enforcement selection is controversial.

Proponents of these tests cite an abundance of research demonstrating that cognitive
ability tests are excellent predictors of performance in a wide variety of jobs (Schmidt
and Hunter 1998) as well as good predictors of how a police cadet will perform in the
academy (Aamodt 2004). Opponents argue that cognitive ability tests result in adverse
impact against Blacks and Hispanics (Roth et al. 2001) and that there are alternative
methods with comparable validity but result in lower levels of adverse impact.
Because of the high levels of adverse impact that occur with cognitive ability tests, it is
essential that a law enforcement agency conducts a validation study to ensure that the
people who score highly on these tests actually perform better on the job than those that
do not. In the typical validation study, the test is administered to newly hired police
officers, and their scores are correlated with such criteria as academy grades, supervisor
ratings of on-the-job performance, number of commendations received, and number of
disciplinary incidents.
In recent years, applicants have challenged the legality of cognitive ability tests based on
the score needed to pass the test. That is, should the applicants with the highest scores
always be given preference over people with lower scores or should the law enforcement
agency set a passing score (e.g., 70 %) such that anyone who achieves that score is
considered equally qualified for the job? Most law enforcement agencies have adopted
the passing score approach.
Personality Inventories
Personality inventories are commonly used methods to predict performance in law

enforcement settings (Weiss 2010). Although there are hundreds of personality
inventories available, they generally fall into one of two categories based on their
intended purpose: measures of psychopathology and measures of normal personality.
Measures of Psychopathology. Measures of psychopathology (abnormal behavior)

determine if individuals have serious psychological problems such as depression, bipolar
disorder, and schizophrenia. Commonly used measures of psychopathology used in law
enforcement research include the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 2
(MMPI; MMPI-2), Millon Multiaxial Clinical Inventory (MMCI-III), Personality
Assessment Inventory (PAI), and the Clinical Assessment Questionnaire (CAQ). Such
measures are designed to screen out applicants who have psychological problems that
would cause performance or discipline problems on the job. Measures of
psychopathology are not designed to select in applicants and are seldom predictive of job
performance (Aamodt 2004, 2010).
Measures of psychopathology are considered to be medical exams. As a result, to be in

compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), they can only be
administered after a conditional offer of employment has been made. Prior to the
passage of the ADA in 1990, these tests were routinely administered to all applicants.
Measures of Normal Personality. Tests of normal personality measure the traits

exhibited by normal individuals in everyday life. Examples of such traits are extraversion,
shyness, assertiveness, and friendliness. Though there is some disagreement,
psychologists today generally agree there are five main personality dimensions. Popularly
known as the Big Five, these dimensions are openness to experience (bright, adaptable,
inquisitive), conscientiousness (reliable, dependable, rule oriented), extraversion
(outgoing, friendly, talkative), agreeableness (works well with others, loyal), and
emotional stability (calm, not anxious or tense). Commonly used measures of normal
personality in law enforcement selection include the California Psychological Inventory
(CPI), M-PULSE, 16PF, NEO PR-R, Inwald Personality Inventory (IPI), and Edwards
Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS). In contrast to measures of psychopathology,
measures of normal personality are used to select in rather than screen out applicants.
Though personality inventories are commonly used in police selection, in part because
racial groups tend to score similarly (Foldes et al. 2008), a meta-analysis of the validity
of personality inventories indicates that, in general, they are not good predictors of police
performance (Aamodt 2004, 2010).
Physical Ability Tests
Most law enforcement agencies require applicants to pass a physical ability test either
prior to hire or at the completion of the academy. These physical ability tests usually
come in one of two formats. In the first format, applicants perform a variety of exercises
related to stamina and strength. Such exercises often include sprints, push-ups, and sit-
ups. In the second format, applicants perform a job-related simulation involving physical
agility. Such a simulation might involve getting out of a car, running a short distance,
leaping over an obstacle, climbing a fence, going through a window, and dry firing a
pistol at the end of the obstacle course.
Because physical ability tests often result in adverse impact against women, it is essential
that law enforcement agencies establish the validity of their physical ability tests. Best
practices include using simulations rather than individual tests (e.g., push-ups) and
using cutoff scores that are realistic and appropriate for the work being performed.
Below is an example of the physical ability test used by the Oakland (CA) Police
Department:
Cone Maze: While running through the cone maze, you may not knock over or
move any of the cones from its original position. If you do, you will be asked to put
the cone back to its original position. The additional time you use to do so will be
counted toward your overall qualifying time.
Fence Climb: You will have three (3) chances to climb over the 5-ft fence. If you
fail to go over the fence after three attempts, the proctor will stop the test and give
you a failing grade. While climbing the fence, you may not use the support on
either side of the fence to assist you.
Ditch Jump: You will have three (3) chances to jump over the simulated 4-ft ditch
(rubber mats). Your foot must not come in contact with the ditch area at anytime.
If you fail to complete this event after three attempts, the proctor will stop the test
and give you a failing grade.
Stair Climb/Window Entry: When climbing the stairs and going through the
window, you must step on each stair on both the front and backside of the
simulated window frame. You may use any part of the window frame to brace
yourself in order to help facilitate your climb through the window frame.
Dummy Drag: In order to pass this event, you must successfully drag the dummy
around the designated cone and drop it after it crosses over the black tape marker.
Then you will run as quickly as you can to the handcuff simulator platform. Your
timed run will end when you touch the handcuff simulation platform.
Handcuffing Simulator: This is the last event of the physical ability test. You are
allowed three (3) attempts to complete. You must grasp each end of the bar and
bend the bar until both ends touch. You must hold the bar in this position for 30 s.
You may not interlock your fingers and your hands must not touch your chest at
any time. If you let the ends of the bar separate, even slightly, your time will be
restarted and you must begin the event again. Remember: The time begins when
the ends of the bar touch.
The applicant must complete the first five events within 2 min and 35 s. To pass the
handcuff simulation, the applicant must perform the activity for 30 s while maintaining a
proper posture.
Background Investigation
Once it has been determined that an applicant has the competencies needed to be an
effective police officer, the department then conducts a background investigation to
determine if there are problems that were missed in the interview and testing process.
The background investigation begins with the applicants completing a lengthy set of
questions regarding their education, work history, credit history, driving record, arrest
and conviction record, and previous places of residence. The department will then verify
whether the applicants have the degrees they claim to have earned, worked at the jobs
listed in their application, and listed all arrests or convictions. From there, the
investigators will often contact the applicants’ former professors, employers, and
neighbors to determine if the applicant acted in a way that would reflect potential
problems. For example, an employer might indicate that an applicant was verbally
aggressive with customers, a neighbor might mention the loud music and noise from wild
parties that came from the applicant’s apartment, and a professor might indicate that the
applicant occasionally seemed stoned during her 9:00 a.m. class. The last step in the
background investigation is a polygraph test in which the applicant is asked questions
about such activities as drug use, theft, and aggressive acts.
At the conclusion of the background investigation, the investigator will compile all of the
information and make a recommendation about the fitness of the applicant. This overall
recommendation is important because seldom does a single piece of information (e.g.,
number of traffic citations, being fired from one job) predict how an officer will perform
on the job. Instead, it is a pattern of problematic behaviors that is most predictive of
potential problems.
Psychological and Medical Evaluation
The final step in the selection process is for the applicant to be evaluated by a licensed
physician and a licensed psychologist. The physician is given a job description and asked
to evaluate whether the applicant has any medical condition that would keep him or her
from performing the duties of a police officer. The clinical psychologist is asked to
determine if the applicant has a psychological disorder that might make them a potential
danger to themselves or to others. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that the
medical exam and the psychological exam be administered after a conditional offer of
hire. That is, the applicants are told that they will be hired as long as they pass the
medical and psychological evaluations.
The nature of the psychological exam will depend on the needs of the department. If the
department already has a comprehensive selection system such as that described in this
entry, the role of the psychological exam is limited to determining whether the applicant
has some sort of psychopathology that will limit his or her ability to be an effective police
officer. This limited role is because the law enforcement agency has already tested and
interviewed the applicant and believes that the applicant has the competencies needed to
perform the job. What the agency needs from the psychologist is certification that there is
not some form of psychopathology that will make the applicant a danger to themselves or
to others.
If, however, the applicant has applied to a small police department that does not use
extensive testing, the agency might ask the psychologist to determine not only whether
the applicant has some form of psychopathology but also whether the applicant has the
basic competencies (e.g., personality, cognitive ability) to effectively perform the job. In
some states, such as New Mexico, an applicant can go directly to a clinical psychologist to
get certified and then take that certification to the department as proof that they are
ready to be hired and sent to the academy.
Though clinical psychologists will differ in how they conduct psychological evaluations,
there are usually three main parts to the evaluation: assessment of background
information, a written test of psychopathology (e.g., MMPI-2), and a clinical interview.
The clinician will use all three components to arrive at an overall recommendation of
whether the applicant is psychologically fit to be a law enforcement officer.
From these assessments, Trompetter (1998) believes that the clinical psychologist should
determine whether the applicant:
1. 1.
Can accept criticism
2. 2.
Can adapt to change
3. 3.
Be assertive when appropriate
4. 4.
Be interpersonally sensitive
5. 5.
Is motivated to achieve
6. 6.
Be objective
7. 7.
Be persuasive
8. 8.
Be vigilant
9. 9.
Can conform to rules and regulations
10. 10.
Has good impulse control
11. 11.
Demonstrates integrity
12. 12.
Demonstrates practical intelligence
13. 13.
Demonstrates reliability
14. 14.
Demonstrates social concern
15. 15.
Exhibits a positive attitude
16. 16.
Can manage his/her anger
17. 17.
Can tolerate stress
18. 18.
Can work in a team
The Academy
Once the applicant has been hired, he/she will still need to complete a law enforcement
academy to become certified as a police officer, sheriff’s deputy, state trooper, or other
law enforcement professional. Graduation from an accredited academy is mandatory in
order to be certified as a peace officer. Each state sets a minimum number of training
hours for an academy, but each academy can offer more extended training. The average
academy lasts 761 h (19 weeks) at a cost per cadet to complete the academy of $16,100
(Reaves 2006). Louisiana has the fewest required hours (520), and West Virginia has the
most (1,582; Rojek et al. 2007). Approximately 14 % of cadets who enter the academy fail
to complete the requirements needed to become a certified police officer (Reaves 2006).
As shown in Table 1, there are a wide range of topics studied in the typical academy.
Table 1
Topics learned in law enforcement academies
% of academies Median hours of

Topic
offering instruction
Operations
Report writing 100 20
Patrol 99 40
Investigations 99 40
Basic first aid/CPR 99 24
Emergency vehicle operations 97 40
Computers/information systems 58 8
Weapons/self defense
Self-defense 99 51
Firearms skills 98 60
Nonlethal weapons 98 12
Legal
Criminal law 100 36
Constitutional law 98 12
History of law enforcement 84 4
Self-improvement
Ethics and integrity 100 8
% of academies Median hours of

Topic
offering instruction
Health and fitness 96 46
Stress prevention/management 87 5
Basic foreign language 36 16
Community policing
Cultural diversity/human
98 11
relations
Basic strategies 92 8
Mediation skills/conflict
88 8
management
Special topics
Domestic violence 99 14
Juveniles 99 8
Domestic preparedness 88 8
Hate crimes/bias crimes 87 4
Source: Reaves (2006)
After completing the academy, the final step toward becoming a law enforcement
professional is to complete supervised field training. Some academies include this field
training as part of the academy training, whereas others have the agency that hired the
cadet conduct the training. The typical department requires 520 h (13 weeks) of field
training (Rojek et al. 2007).
Conclusion
As you can see from this entry, law enforcement agencies often expend tremendous effort
and finances to ensure that their agencies are staffed with high-quality employees. To
survive a legal challenge, each stage of the selection process must be shown to be job
related.
Related Entries
Minorities Within the Police Workforce (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33335-

4_197)
Officer Safety, Health, and Wellness (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33335-4_651)
Police Promotional Practices (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33335-4_654)
Women Police (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33335-4_459)
Recommended Reading and References

Aamodt MG (2004) Research in law enforcement selection. BrownWalker, Boca Raton
Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?
title=Research%20in%20law%20enforcement%20selection&author=MG.%20Aamodt&p
ublication_year=2004)
Aamodt MG (2010) Predicting law enforcement officer performance with personality
inventories. In: Weiss PA (ed) Personality assessment in police psychology. Charles C.
Thomas, Springfield
title=Predicting%20law%20enforcement%20officer%20performance%20with%20perso
nality%20inventories&author=MG.%20Aamodt&publication_year=2010)
Foldes HJ, Duehr EE, Ones DS (2008) Group differences in personality: meta-analyses
comparing five U.S. racial groups. Pers Psychol 61(3):579–616
title=Group%20differences%20in%20personality%3A%20meta-
analyses%20comparing%20five%20U.S.%20racial%20groups&author=HJ.%20Foldes&a
uthor=EE.%20Duehr&author=DS.%20Ones&journal=Pers%20Psychol&volume=61&iss
ue=3&pages=579-616&publication_year=2008)
Huffcutt AI, Arthur W (1994) Hunter and Hunter (1984) revisited: interview validity for
entry-level jobs. J Appl Psychol 79(2):184–190
title=Hunter%20and%20Hunter%20%281984%29%20revisited%3A%20interview%20v
alidity%20for%20entry-
level%20jobs&author=AI.%20Huffcutt&author=W.%20Arthur&journal=J%20Appl%20
Psychol&volume=79&issue=2&pages=184-190&publication_year=1994)
Reaves BA (2006) State and local law enforcement training academies, 2006. Bureau of
Justice Statistics, Washington, DC
title=State%20and%20local%20law%20enforcement%20training%20academies%2C%2
02006&author=BA.%20Reaves&publication_year=2006)
Rojek J, Kaminski RJ, Smith MR, Scheer C (2007) South Carolina law enforcement
training survey: a national and state analysis. University of South Carolina, Columbia
title=South%20Carolina%20law%20enforcement%20training%20survey%3A%20a%20n
ational%20and%20state%20analysis&author=J.%20Rojek&author=RJ.%20Kaminski&a
uthor=MR.%20Smith&author=C.%20Scheer&publication_year=2007)
Roth PL, BeVier CA, Bobko P, Switzer FS, Tyler P (2001) Ethnic group differences in
cognitive ability in employment and educational settings: a meta-analysis. Pers Psychol
54(2):297–330
title=Ethnic%20group%20differences%20in%20cognitive%20ability%20in%20employm
ent%20and%20educational%20settings%3A%20a%20meta-
analysis&author=PL.%20Roth&author=CA.%20BeVier&author=P.%20Bobko&author=F
S.%20Switzer&author=P.%20Tyler&journal=Pers%20Psychol&volume=54&issue=2&pa
ges=297-330&publication_year=2001)
Schmidt FL, Hunter JE (1998) The validity and utility of selection methods in personnel
psychology: practical and theoretical implications of 85 years of research findings.
Psychol Bull 124(2):262–274
title=The%20validity%20and%20utility%20of%20selection%20methods%20in%20pers
onnel%20psychology%3A%20practical%20and%20theoretical%20implications%20of%2
085%20years%20of%20research%20findings&author=FL.%20Schmidt&author=JE.%2
0Hunter&journal=Psychol%20Bull&volume=124&issue=2&pages=262-
274&publication_year=1998)
Trompetter P (1998) Fitness-for-duty evaluations: what agencies can expect. Police Chief
60:97–105
Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Fitness-for-
duty%20evaluations%3A%20what%20agencies%20can%20expect&author=P.%20Trom
petter&journal=Police%20Chief&volume=60&pages=97-105&publication_year=1998)
Weiss PA (2010) Personality assessment in police psychology. Charles C. Thomas,
Springfield
title=Personality%20assessment%20in%20police%20psychology&author=PA.%20Weiss
&publication_year=2010)
Copyright information
© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014
How to cite
Cite this entry as:

Aamodt M.G. (2014) Police Selection. In: Bruinsma G., Weisburd D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Criminology and
Criminal Justice. Springer, New York, NY
About this entry

DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2
Publisher Name Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN 978-1-4614-5689-6
Online ISBN 978-1-4614-5690-2
eBook Packages Humanities, Social Sciences and Law
Buy this book on publisher's site

Reprints and Permissions
© 2017 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Part of Springer Nature.
Not logged in American University of Kuwait AUK (3000162976) 213.132.244.31

Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice: 2014 Edition - Editors: Gerben Bruinsma, David Weisburd

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice: 2014 Edition - Editors: Gerben Bruinsma, David Weisburd

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

9/13/2018 Police Selection | SpringerLink

Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice

1. DCI Consulting Group, Inc., , Washington, USA

Reference work entry

Conducting a Job Analysis

Developing the Test Battery

Be a United States citizen

Be a high school graduate or have successfully completed a General Education

Undergo a complete background investigation

Undergo a medical examination within 1 year before appointment

Not have a pattern of abuse of prescription medication

Undergo a polygraph examination

Not have been convicted of or adjudged to have violated traffic regulations

The style of an interview is determined by the number of interviewees and number of

Cognitive Ability Tests

The use of cognitive ability tests in law enforcement selection is controversial.

Personality inventories are commonly used methods to predict performance in law

Measures of Psychopathology. Measures of psychopathology (abnormal behavior)

Measures of psychopathology are considered to be medical exams. As a result, to be in

Measures of Normal Personality. Tests of normal personality measure the traits

Physical Ability Tests

Psychological and Medical Evaluation

Can accept criticism

Can adapt to change

Be assertive when appropriate

Can conform to rules and regulations

Has good impulse control

Demonstrates practical intelligence

Demonstrates social concern

Exhibits a positive attitude

Can manage his/her anger

Can tolerate stress

Can work in a team

Topics learned in law enforcement academies

% of academies Median hours of

Report writing 100 20

Basic first aid/CPR 99 24

Emergency vehicle operations 97 40

Criminal law 100 36

History of law enforcement 84 4

Ethics and integrity 100 8

% of academies Median hours of

Health and fitness 96 46

Basic foreign language 36 16

Hate crimes/bias crimes 87 4

Source: Reaves (2006)

Minorities Within the Police Workforce (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33335-

Officer Safety, Health, and Wellness (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33335-4_651)

Police Promotional Practices (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33335-4_654)

Women Police (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33335-4_459)

Recommended Reading and References

Cite this entry as:

About this entry

Buy this book on publisher's site

© 2017 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Part of Springer Nature.

Not logged in American University of Kuwait AUK (3000162976) 213.132.244.31

You might also like