Police psychology is broadly defined as the application of psychological principles and methods to law enforcement. With the popularity of television shows like Criminal Minds and Law & Order: SVU, the job of a police psychologist has become more well known and even popular. As seen on these shows, a police psychologist can be helpful in profiling a criminal, but they also provide many other services to the members of a police department. Although the development of this field has a long history, police psychology as a separate entity is still relatively recent and growing. This intimate relationship between psychology and law enforcement can be traced back to almost a century ago.[1] It first developed out of a need for a variety of psychological services in the law enforcement field, including screening applicants and counseling during grief and stress situations. In the time that it has been around, it has proved to be a valuable resource for the law enforcement profession.
Since the inception of this niche in psychology, there has been a greater appreciation for the use of police psychological services. Now almost every police department has a separate psychology department with a number of psychologists working with its other employees. This specialized subset of psychology delivers a number of services to its employees, from assessing qualified applicants, counseling, to suspect profiling and providing expertise during hostage situations. The field has grown tremendously, especially over the last 40 years and has developed into its own sub-specialty with its own dedicated research, journals and professional organizations. During that time, there have been great strides made in developing this relationship betwe...
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...established the first internship in the field, establishing the fact that there was a need for this sub-specialty. By the early 1970's, although many law enforcement agencies were using psychological assessment before hiring trainees, it was still not a wide phenomenon.
Another important step in recognizing this sub-specialty came with certification through the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). This certification demonstrates that one has attained the highest level of competence within the field, but also recognizes the field as an important area of study within the broad category of psychology. Board certification in psychology was first established in 1947 through the American Psychological Association (APA). Then in 2010, police psychology was recognized as a sub-specialty by the APA Committee on Recognition of Specialties and Proficiencies.
The Thompson Valley Police Service is seeking to double the number of police recruits over the next three years. In an attempt to attract more applicants, the newly appointed Police Commissioner, Commissioner Jason DeVillain is proposing two key changes to the current selection process. Firstly, Commissioner DeVillain is proposing to eliminate the requirement for partial or completed tertiary education. Secondly, it is being proposed that psychological testing should be removed from the selection process. As a research and policy officer for the Thompson Valley Police Service, the validity and likely impact of the above two proposed changes will be investigated thoroughly, followed by recommendations to Commissioner DeVillain to ensure the selection process is as effective as possible in selecting the most suitable candidates for the new police recruits. The role of a general duties police officer is broad in nature and requires the officer to be efficient in many areas, ranging from administrative duties to conflict resolution and problem solving. In addition to the recording and logging of all jobs attended while on duty, the officer may be required to prepare documents for court hearings, where written communication skills will also be
Gilmartin, K. M. Emotional survival for law enforcement, a guide for officers and their families. 1st ed. Arizona: E-S Press, 2002.
Police Psychology: A New Specialty and New Challenges for Men and Women in Blue. Thomas, David J. 2011.
On Tuesday, September 23rd, I had the opportunity to do a ride along with the Takoma Park police department. My ride along was quite interesting. I rode with Officer Carl, a twenty-six-year-old officer who has been with the police department for six months. During the ride along we engaged in so many conversations concerning his work routine, and some the important things to be aware of as a police officer. Officer Carl and I were about the same age group so I felt much comfortable talking to him. Before I went for the ride along I had a different perspective about police work, I thought police work was much amusing and entertaining, but after the ride along with Officer Carl, I have realized that there is much more to police work and it often
Although founded and held to the ethical guidelines of the APA, I/O psychology has struggled with licensure. Should I/O Psychologists be Licensed? An article written by Howard and Lowman (1985) address the initial findings of the result of poorly developed licensing requirements. Few articles discuss the gaps between current laws and regulations. However, research reported within the article stated that there was a study conducted of the directory of the American Psychological Association in 1981 which revealed that “fewer licenses were obtained by younger I/O practitioners” (Howard & Lowman, 1985, p.40). The results of the study indicated 22% of those age 34 or younger were licensed, compared with 39% of those age 35 to 44, 51% of those age 45 to 54, and 67% of I/O psychologists age 55 to 64 (Howard & Lowman, 1985). The results may not have been seen as a major concern during the early 1980s however the article continues to highlight the many hurdl...
Police stress is viewed as a structural problem that is amongst the police culture (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). The argument made is that the working environment causes the stress. Even though a police officers job is not as dangerous officers still determine the danger as a source of stress. Police stress can be split up in to three sources: occupation, job-related and external stress (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Just the thought of the job gives officers stress. Job-related circumstances such as responding to calls can also create stress. Finally, external sources such as personal stress can all lead to an officer being highly
Social psychology is defined as the “scientific study of the way in which individuals’ thoughts, feelings and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presences of others” (lecture, 9/3/14). Understanding the concepts discussed in our social psychology course and then implementing them into everyday life can be extremely beneficial, especially for certain professions outside of the psychology realm. One of these specific professions is law enforcement. Although there are many different levels to our law enforcement system, every police officer is responsible for protecting and maintaining law and order in a fair and unbiased manner. I believe police officers’ abilities to carry out these duties and make decisions on the job could be
Most people, if asked would surely agree that being a police officer is not easy, but most probably do not realize that becoming one is just as difficult. During our field trip to the Warren County Police Department Major Bowles and officer Fields talked a little about the extensive process, similar to the process our textbook, Forensic Psychology describes, of being hired into the police department. After putting in their application and being selected to move forward in the program a future police officer must have a background check, complete a psychological screening, a polygraph test, several interviews, and a physical test. If they pass each of those they continue on to the police academy. In whole, the process takes over a year before
What is the purpose of police officers? Are they here to provide safety for the people or are they here to just mess up their lives? All around the country the statement “protect and serve” can be seen on any police vehicle and any police building. But more often times than not the question arises, who are they truly protecting? Themselves or the helpless citizens of The United States of America. Over the past century crimes rates have sky rocketed; although these crimes are not being committed by your everyday criminals they 're being committed by the police officers that are suppose to be protecting the people. The reasoning behind these crimes remains unknown, but, there are always two sides to every story.
This article gives some examples of crimes and how they were solved using a psychology technique along with how criminal profiling is used to solve crimes and how the profilers know how to slim down the suspects. In the first case, there was a man that planted bombs in multiple places each time writing a note in block letters- signing it F.P. The first bomb was found in 1940, in 1954 he struck four times, and in 1955 five times. In
Winnerman, L. (2004, August 1). Criminal profiling: the reality behind the myth. American Psychological Association. Retrieved , from http://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug04/criminal.aspx
Walker, Jeffery T., Ronald G. Burns, Jeffrey Bumgarner, and Michele P. Bratina. "Federal Law Enforcement Careers: Laying the Groundwork." Journal of Criminal Justice 19.1 (2008): 110-135. Web. 20 Apr 2011.
Redl, F. & Toch, H. (1979). The psychological approach to crime, in Toch, H. (Ed.). Psychology of Crime and Criminal Justice. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Forensic psychology is an area of psychology that has been rapidly gaining popularity in recent years. Entertainment media’s fascination with the intersection of crime and psychology has fueled the growing interest in the field. According to Jane Tyler Ward, PhD, forensic psychology can be defined as psychology that “emphasizes the application of research and experimentation in other areas of psychology to the legal arena.” Although forensic psychology is popular right now, it was not until 1962 that a court case set the precedent that properly trained psychologists could provide expert testimony (Page 20). Additionally, forensic psychology was not APA (American Psychological Association) certified until 2001 (Page 16). The field of forensic
Torres, A. N., Boccaccini, M. T., & Miller, H. A. (2006). Perceptions of the validity and utility of criminal profiling among forensic psychologists and psychiatrists. Professional Psychology: Research And Practice, 37(1), 51-58. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.37.1.51