Course Details

Course TitleSPCP 2015 - A 50-State Examination of Psychological Requirements for Entry-Level Law Enforcement Officer Candidates
Date 10/2/2015
ProviderSociety for Police and Criminal Psychology (SPCP)
Phone 
Email 
Website http://www.policepsychology.org/Resources/Documents/SPCP_2015.pdf
LocationAtlanta
Credit Hours0.5
Instructor(s)Wayman C. Mullins, William Sandel, Elizabeth Villa
Method of InstructionWorkshop/Seminar
Approving AgencyAPA
Course Syllabus

Course Description

Members of The Society of Police and Criminal Psychology are at the forefront of providing relevant and critical psychological services to law enforcement and correctional agencies. These services range from preemployment evaluations, to fitness-for-duty evaluations, counseling services, organizational research/development and more “front-line” type of services (i.e., serving on Special Operations Units, serving as commissioned patrol officers and investigators). One of the most critical functions of the psychologist is to provide pre-employment assessment of applicants. This function is becoming even more critical today in light of public reactions to law enforcement use of force issues. And that arena also contains one of the most critical shortcomings in selection; the lack of standardization across states regarding psychological assessment. This paper presents the results of a national survey of state requirements for the psychological assessment of law enforcement officer applicants, including basic requirements (or lack of), any required assessment tools, and other mandatory assessment requirements. In addition, psychologists who conduct pre-employment assessments were surveyed national to determine what tests, interviews, and other procedures were used to assess applicants for psychological fitness. Recommendations are given to help strengthen state requirements and make pre-employment assessment more standardized across the country.

Course Objectives