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Chapter 9

POLICE PSYCHOLOGY

In this chapter, you will become familiar with: The diverse nature of law enforcement agencies operating in the United States The practice of police psychology and how it has changed over time The four major domains of practice in police psychology Some of the specifi c profi ciencies of police psychologists

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CHAPTER OBJECTIVES

Police psychology is the application of psychological theory and research to law enforcement or, more specifi cally, “ the delivery of psychological services to and on behalf of law enforcement agencies, their executives, and employees ” (Aumiller et al., 2007, p. 65). As we will see, the fi eld of law enforcement is broad. It certainly includes the local agencies, typi- cally city or county police and sheriff departments, with which we are most familiar. But it is much broader, and includes various public safety, corrections, and national security agencies at all levels of government. We begin this chapter with overviews of law enforcement and the history of police psychology in the United States. Next, we discuss in greater detail four core domains of police psychology: assessment, intervention, opera- tional support, and organizational consulting. Specifi c topics in the fi eld of correctional psychology, including the assessment and management of offenders, are covered in Chapter 9.

Modern societies give law enforcement agencies the responsibility to uphold their laws and protect their citizens, and give them special powers to do so. But how do we make sure that law enforcement agencies hire the best possible offi cers, give them the best possible education and training, and support them to do the best job possible? And what can law enforce- ment agencies do to minimize the chances that a tragedy such as the shoot- ing of Jean - Charles de Menezes does not happen again? These are the kinds of questions that interest police psychologists.

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C o p y r i g h t 2 0 1 0 . W i l e y .

A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . M a y n o t b e r e p r o d u c e d i n a n y f o r m w i t h o u t p e r m i s s i o n f r o m t h e p u b l i s h e r , e x c e p t f a i r u s e s p e r m i t t e d u n d e r U . S . o r a p p l i c a b l e c o p y r i g h t l a w .

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240 Police Psychology

POLICING IN THE UNITED STATES

Police or law enforcement agencies are bureaucracies created by gov- erning bodies to maintain public order and safety by ensuring compliance with laws, rules, and regulations (Skolnick, 2001). The term governing

London, England . It is July 22, 2005, two weeks after suicide bombings on the transit system killed 52 people, and just one day after another suicide bombing attempt failed. Offi cers of the London Metropolitan Police are watching the apartment building where a suspected terrorist is being kept under surveillance. Police believe the suspect was part of the network responsible for the bombings and may be planning more attacks. Jean - Charles de Menezes, a 27 - year - old electrician from Brazil who has been in the country for three years, has the misfortune to live in the same building as the suspect. When de Menezes leaves his apartment that morning carrying a knapsack, he is mistakenly identifi ed as the suspected terrorist. Offi cers become concerned when he boards a bus, and an armed response unit is placed on alert. They continue to follow de Menezes, even after they realize he is not the original surveillance target. The offi cers become concerned when de Menezes leaves the bus and, still carrying a knapsack, enters the Stockwell tube station. Fearful de Menezes may be somehow connected with the suspected terrorist and that his knapsack may contain a bomb, several offi cers follow him onto a waiting subway train. As de Menezes takes a seat, members of the armed response unit rush into the subway car with their weapons raised. When de Menezes stands up, offi cers of the armed response unit fear he may be trying to set off a bomb and shoot him seven times in the head and once in the shoulder; he dies immediately. In the aftermath of the shooting, the police apologized to de Menezes ’ s family for his death and acknowledged they made mistakes, but also emphasized they were under tremendous pressure at the time to thwart more terrorist attacks. A jury subsequently found the London Metropolitan Police guilty of violating several health and safety laws.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Menezes.jpg.

Jean-Charles de Menezes

CASE STUDY

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bodies is somewhat vague, because it covers a wide range of organiza- tions. Many are governmental organizations, such as elected federal, state, county, or city governments and their executives. Others are intergovern- mental or even nongovernmental organizations. The powers of any given law enforcement agency are limited by the jurisdiction or powers of its governing body, as well as by jurisdictional laws and policies. Some of the limits are geographical in nature, due to the fact that a governing body has jurisdiction only within specifi ed areas. Other limits are authoritative, due to the fact that the powers of a governing body are restricted to certain activities or domains.

A few concrete examples will help illustrate the diversity of law enforcement agencies. Most people in the United States live in an area under the jurisdiction of local or regional law enforcement agencies, such as a city police department or a county sheriff department. These agencies are often responsible for enforcing the criminal laws of a state, as well as the other quasicriminal or administrative laws passed by a state, county, or city government. But depending on where people live and what they have been doing (or are suspected of doing), they may also fall under the jurisdiction of other agencies. For example, someone who travels over- seas or communicates with people in other countries for certain criminal purposes, such as traffi cking drugs or distributing child pornography, may fall under the jurisdiction of international police — the International Criminal Police Organization, known as ICPO or Interpol. Someone who commits a crime or motor vehicle offense while on a major high- way may be under the jurisdiction of state police. Someone who commits currency crimes, crosses state lines to commit a crime, or commits crimes using telecommunications or on an Indian reservation may be under the jurisdiction of federal police, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the U.S. Secret Service. Someone who violates laws on a mili- tary base or on the territorial waters of the United States may be under the jurisdiction of military police or the Coast Guard. Someone who has been charged with or convicted of a criminal offense may be under the jurisdic- tion of city, county, state, or federal agencies, such as the U.S. Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a state probation or parole offi ce, or a county sheriff. Even some universities, hospitals, and museums have their own law enforcement agencies (e.g., the Hospital Police Offi cers of the California Department of Mental Health, the Smithsonian Institution Offi ce of Protection Services).

The early history of law enforcement in the United States can be traced back to colonial days, with the appointment of night watchmen in Boston and county sheriffs in Maryland as far back as the 1630s, as well as to the establishment of several federal law enforcement agencies — such as the

Policing in the United States 241

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242 Police Psychology

Postal Inspector, Customs Service, Revenue Cutter Service (now the Coast Guard), and Marshals Service — in the 1770s and 1780s. But modern U.S. law enforcement probably can be dated to the early 1800s, with the evolution of metropolitan police departments in large cities such as Boston and New York (White & Escobar, 2008). The original motivation for establishing these metropolitan police was to deal with social disorder, such as the ethnic and racial riots plaguing the United States; it was only in the 1900s that policing began to focus more on crime and law enforcement than on social disorder (Skolnick, 2001). Yet, social disorder continued to have an important infl u- ence on the nature of law enforcement throughout the century. For example, in the 1920s and 1930s, Prohibition caused many problems for law enforce- ment, including a subsequent rise in corruption among local governments and their police departments; and in the 1960s (and again in the 1990s), there was a resurgence in racial and ethnic tensions in many large cities.

An important development began, starting in the 1960s and 1970s and becoming mainstream by the 1980s and 1990s, when there was a move away from reactive, incident - oriented policing — in which law enforcement responded to reported or detected crimes — and a move toward community - and prob- lem - oriented policing. These new approaches emphasized the need for law enforcement agencies to work more closely with members of the public, to mobilize and cooperate with other community agencies, and to help prevent crime whenever possible by taking steps to address its root causes (Moore, 1992; White & Escobar, 2008). Perhaps unsurprisingly, also starting in the 1960s and 1970s, the demographics of law enforcement started to undergo major changes, with increasing representation of women and ethnic and racial minorities among sworn offi cers (Sklansky, 2006; Skolnick, 2008).

The number and size of law enforcement agencies has increased dramat- ically over time, along with the number of laws governing the behavior of the citizens of the United States. It is impossible to determine exactly how many law enforcement agencies and law enforcement offi cers there are in the United States today. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, there were about 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States in 2004, employing more than 800,000 full - time law enforcement offi cers (see Table 9.1 ). These numbers are low - bound estimates, because they include only sworn offi cers — those authorized to make arrests and carry fi rearms — and exclude offi cers working for military law enforcement agencies.

Most police psychologists function in the role of nonsworn or civilian support staff, working in a variety of roles. (Only a handful of psycholo- gists are sworn police offi cers.) There are also a number of psychologists who are not employed directly by law enforcement agencies, but instead operate as external consultants or contractors. These police psychologists have backgrounds in many different subfi elds of psychology and do many

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different kinds of work, but regardless of the particulars of their employ- ment, the essence of their work is to improve the effectiveness, productivity, and well - being of law enforcement offi cers.

The History of Police Psychology

It is impossible to date precisely the birth of police psychology as a speciali- zation within the broader fi eld of forensic psychology. Although psycholo- gists had consulted on law enforcement topics on an informal or occasional basis for decades, an eminent police psychologist and the fi rst manager of Psychological Services for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Dr. Robert Loo, put its emergence as a formal specialization sometime in the late 1960s (Loo, 1986). For example, in 1966, the fi rst full - time police psychologist in Germany was hired; in 1968, Martin Reiser (sometimes referred to the as “ father of police psychology ” in the United States) was hired by the Los Angeles Police Department as the fi rst full - time police psychologist; and in 1971, the Society of Police and Criminal Psychology was established and began to hold annual meetings that included papers on topics related to police psychology (Allen, 2008; Bartol, 1996).

It is much easier to date the coming - of - age of police psychology: the mid - 1980s. Several important events occurred around that time. For exam- ple, the section on Police and Public Safety in Division 18 (Psychology in Public Service) of the American Psychological Association was founded in 1983. Also, there was increasing recognition of the importance of police psychology within law enforcement agencies. The FBI hosted an infl uen- tial National Symposium on Police Psychological Services in 1984 (Bartol, 1996), and the International Chiefs of Police formed a standing committee on Police Psychology in 1985 (Ostrov, 1986).

Table 9.1 Number of Law Enforcement Agencies and Full-Time Offi cers in the United States in 2004

Type of Agency Number of Agencies Number of Offi cers

Federal N/A 104,884

State and Local 17,876 731,903

State police 49 58,190

Local police 12,766 446,974

Sheriff 3,067 175,018

Other 1,994 51,721

Total N/A 836,787

N/A = Not available. Federal includes nonmilitary federal offi cers authorized to carry fi rearms and make arrests. Local police includes consolidated police/sheriffs. Other includes constable, marshal, and special jurisdiction agencies. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/lawenf.htm).

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244 Police Psychology

Another important event was the release of a special issue on “ Psychology in Law Enforcement ” published in the journal Behavioral Sciences & the Law in 1986. In the introduction, the editors of the special issue referred to police psychology as “ one of the most exciting ‘ new areas ’ . . . in the fi eld ” (Cavanaugh & Rogers, 1986, p. 351). An article included in the special issue reviewed the history of police psychology in the United States (Ostrov, 1986). Ostrov lamented that as late as 1967, national reviews of law enforce- ment practice indicated that the only real involvement of psychology was with respect to screening of police applicants — and even that role was greatly restricted in scope — and there were probably only a half dozen or so law enforcement agencies that employed police psychologists on a full - time basis (Bartol, 1996). But the use of psychologists in screening applicants expanded greatly in the ensuing years, and psychologists also took on new roles. Ostrov was encouraged that by the 1980s, psychologists were being used in many other roles in law enforcement, including fi tness for duty evaluations of and interventions for law enforcement offi cers, and support of police operations such as hostage negotiation, antiterrorism, undercover work, and criminal profi ling (see also Bartol, 1996).

Police psychology is now fully established as a specialization. Aumiller and colleagues (2007) provided a thorough description of the work of police psychologists in their summary of the fi nal report of the Joint Committee on Police Psychology Competencies established by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Police Psychological Services Section of the Society for Police & Criminal Psychology, and Police & Public Safety Section of Division 18 of the American Psychological Association. The Joint Committee identifi ed more than 50 specifi c distinct profi ciencies, or areas of practice, within police psychology, comprising four general domains of pro- fi ciency. The assessment domain comprises activities associated with the development, implementation, and evaluation of procedures for evaluating individuals, primarily law enforcement applicants, offi cers, and administra- tors. The assessment procedures include such things as self - report question- naires, interviews, performance tests, and case history reviews; they are used to make decisions about such things as hiring, placement, and promotion. The intervention domain comprises activities associated with provision of clinical services to law enforcement personnel. These clinical services are designed to promote and improve the health and well - being of offi cers. The operational domain comprises activities associated with supporting and enhancing the work of law enforcement offi cers, including investigation and incident management. Finally, the consulting domain comprises activi- ties associated with supporting and enhancing the administration of law enforcement agencies. Table 9.2 presents some examples of distinct profi - ciencies within each of these four domains.

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Table 9.2 Core Domains and Specifi c Profi ciencies of Police Psychology

Specifi c Profi ciencies

Core Domain Example Description

Assessment Domain Job analysis Identifi cation of the relevant knowl- edge, skills, and abilities (KSAOs) required for various positions within a law enforcement agency

Pre-employment (pre- and postoffer) psychological evalu- ations of job candidates

Evaluation of applicants to ensure that they have the minimum KSAOs required in the positions for which they are applying

Psychological fi tness-for-duty evaluations of incumbents

Evaluation of offi cers already on the job to determine whether they are able to safely and effectively carry out essential job duties

Intervention Domain Employee assistance counseling

Interventions provided by agencies to offi cers experiencing personal, psychological, or behavioral problems that may adversely affect their job performance

Critical incident counseling Interventions provided by agencies to offi ces impacted by traumatic events occurring at work

Wellness programs Interventions provided by agencies to prevent or reduce the negative impact of stress on health by promoting physical and mental well-being

Operational Domain Criminal profi ling Identifi cation of personality, behav- ioral, and demographic factors characteristic of the perpetrators of particular crimes or criminal patterns to assist investigation

Threat assessment Evaluation and management of people who may pose a risk of harm to the assets or mission of an agency

Operations-related education and training

Development of offi cers’ KSAOs to support and enhance their performance of essential job duties

Consulting Domain Organizational development Development, implementation, and evaluation of initiatives designed to improve organizational performance

Executive consultation Assistance provided to agency execu- tives to support and enhance their job performance

Development of performance appraisal systems

Design and implementation of poli- cies, processes, and instruments for measurement and feedback of indi- vidual job performance

Source: Aumiller et al., 2007, Table 9.3.

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246 Police Psychology

THE PRACTICE OF POLICE PSYCHOLOGY: SOME EXAMPLES

We have space in this chapter to discuss only a few aspects of the practice of police psychology. We focus on job analysis and applicant screening from the assessment domain and, from the operational domain, operations - related edu- cation and training with respect to use of force. Chapters 5 and 6 present more information regarding other distinct profi ciencies from the operational domain, such as operations - related education, training, and research with respect to eyewitness testimony, interviewing, and interrogation.

Job Analysis

What specifi c knowledge, skills, abilities, and other personal characteristics — sometimes referred to as KSAOs (Christal & Weissmuller, 1988) — are required to perform well as a law enforcement offi cer? The answer to this question is critically important to law enforcement agencies, so they can try to hire the best applicants as offi cers, make sure these applicants receive the best training possible, and place them in or promote them to the most suitable positions. But the answer depends in part on the agency for which offi cers will work, as well as the positions they will hold within that agency. For example, an offi cer responsible for enforcing vehicle safety and maintenance on highways must have a different set of KSAOs than another who is responsible for enforcing wildlife regulations, investigating suspi- cious fi res, or border patrol. To make matters more complicated, the specifi c responsibilities of agencies and positions change over time. Every major law enforcement agency in the United States now requires offi cers who know how to investigate computer - related crimes, including distribution of child pornography, commercial fraud, and terrorism.

Job analysis is the process of identifying the relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities required for various positions within a law enforcement agency (Christal & Weissmuller, 1988). Police psychologists help to identify, describe, and quantify the performance components of a position in terms of such things as nature, frequency, and criticality (Aumiller et al., 2007). This may be done in many different ways. One is to survey offi cers or their super- visors and ask them to identify important KSAOs. Another is to ask these same people to describe prototypical “ successful ” or “ ideal ” offi cers, and see which KSAOs characterize the prototypes. Also, experts can follow offi cers on the job to observe the actual tasks they engage in on a daily basis, and then analyze the KSAOs required for successful completion of those tasks.

An excellent example of job analysis was the one conducted by Kaczmarek and Packer (1996). They set out to identify the critical KSAOs

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for “general duties” police offi cers in Australia. In the fi rst phase of their research, they surveyed 913 general duties police offi cers and their super- visors, asking them to rate 87 specifi c job activities in terms of how impor- tant they perceived them, how frequently they performed them, and how diffi cult they were to learn. (The job activities had been identifi ed through previous research with other general duties police offi cers.) Ratings of importance were correlated positively with ratings of frequency, r = .37, but negatively with ratings of diffi culty, r = – .15. A set of 31 job activities were identifi ed as being of core importance, regardless of the experience, rank, gender, or geographic location of the survey respondents (see Table 9.3 ). Respondents were also asked to identify the characteristics they consid- ered necessary to perform what they believed were the fi ve most important job activities. In the second phase, the researchers consulted a group of experts, comprising 17 police psychologists and 50 psychology graduate students, to identify the psychological characteristics required for success- ful completion of the core activities. In total, 42 psychological characteris- tics were identifi ed by at least one - third of the sample (see Table 9.4 ). The characteristics identifi ed by the experts were, in general terms, similar to those identifi ed by police offi cers.

Although different law enforcement positions (e.g., administrator, supervisor, undercover offi cer, emergency response offi cer) obviously require different KSAOs, there may be a core set that applies to all law enforcement offi cers (Sanders, 2003) and is very similar to that identi- fi ed by Kaczmarek and Packer (1996). In general, then, law enforcement requires cognitive characteristics such as reading, writing, and memory abilities that facilitate the understanding of and adherence to laws, poli- cies, and regulations; physical characteristics such as health and fi tness that facilitate performance of challenging tasks (e.g., rescue, shift work, self - defense, use of weapons); interpersonal characteristics such as good com- munication skills, sensitivity, and a sense of humor that facilitate positive interaction with fellow offi cers and with members of the public; psycho- logical characteristics such as motivation, resilience, and fl exibility that facilitate problem - and emotion - focused coping with job - related tasks and stresses; and moral characteristics such as honesty, sound judgment, integ- rity, and reliability that facilitate sound decisions, some of which involve matters of life and death (e.g., use of deadly force).

Applicant Screening

Identifying the core and specifi c KSAOs for law enforcement makes it much easier to develop sound procedures for identifying the job applicants who are best suited for a career in a given agency. Applicant screening ,

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248 Police Psychology

Table 9.3 Importance, Frequency, and Diffi culty Ratings for Core Job Activities Identifi ed by General Duties Police Offi cers and Supervisors in Australia

Activities Importance Frequency Diffi culty

1. Use fi rearms 1 4 3

2. Maintain a safe working environment 1 1 3

3. Investigate incidents/offenses 2 1 3

4. Respond to reported crime, inquiries, or requests for assistance

2 1 3

5. Prioritize tasks 2 1 3

6. Adapt communication strategies to meet the needs of individuals

2 1 3

7. Utilize problem-solving techniques 2 1 3

8. Record information using notes, plans, photos, etc. 2 1 3

9. Establish good relationships with the community 2 1 3

10. Participate in teamwork or encourage team morale

2 1 3

11. Manage personal stress 2 1 3

12. Carry out tasks/allocated tasks 2 1 3

13. Respond to jobs via radio calls 2 1 4

14. Adhere to/apply the code of ethics/conduct 2 1 4

15. Provide customer service 2 1 4

16. Establish local knowledge of a specifi c patrol area 2 1 4

17. Use/maintain operational equipment 2 1 4

18. Utilize police databases 2 1 4

19. Keep up-to-date with current affairs 2 1 4

20. Undertake mobile patrols as a preventative measure 2 1 4

21. Use police communications equipment 2 1 4

22. Maintain communication with other members and sections

2 1 4

23. Maintain notebook/diary/mobile duty returns 2 1 4

24. Act in accordance with OH&S regulations and guidelines

2 1 4

25. Complete departmental forms/reports 2 1 4

26. Use safe driving procedures 2 1 4

27. Use keyboard skills 3 1 3

28. Provide information to the community 3 1 4

29. Prevent/detect traffi c offenses 3 1 4

30. Adhere to guidelines relating to uniform 3 1 5

31. Deal with aggressive people 2 2 2

Source: Kaczmarek & Packer, 1996. Ratings were made on a 5-point scale (1 = High, 5 = Low).

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also known as police selection , is the process of evaluating applicants — either before or after an initial offer of employment is made — to ensure that they have the minimum KSAOs required for their jobs. Police psycho- logists help to develop and evaluate applicant screening procedures, as well as conduct actual evaluations through the administration of various assess- ment procedures. Guidelines to assist applicant screening have been devel- oped by the Police Psychological Services Section of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. The applicant screening procedures used by some agencies also are guided by statutory requirements or national accreditation standards.

In most circumstances, applicant screening conducted prior to an offer of employment is not conducted directly by police psychologists; rather, police psychologists assist in the development and evaluation of screening procedures, and may also supervise the administration and interpretation of assessment procedures. Screening at this stage focuses on general cog- nitive or intellectual abilities, basic or normal personality functions, and physical fi tness. Psychological assessment procedures used at this stage may include intelligence tests to assess cognitive abilities and self - report questionnaires to assess personality functions. In addition to any psycho- logical assessment procedures, applicants typically undergo background checks, medical exams, personal interviews, situational tests (a sort of structured role - play exercise), and physical ability tests. Once the pool of applicants has been narrowed and initial offers of employment have

Table 9.4 Psychological Characteristics Identifi ed by Experts as Essential for Performing Core Activities of General Duties Police Offi cers

Manual dexterity Finger dexterity Speed and accuracy

Agreeableness Mechanical ability Clerical ability

Writing ability Responsibility Conformity

Motor skills Spatial relations Reading comprehension

Self-control Cooperativeness Flexibility

Sociability Interpersonal relations skills Listening comprehension

Communication skills Judgment Objectivity

Conscientiousness Observation skills Memory

Decision-making skills Assertiveness Empathy

Sensitivity Integrity Confl ict-resolution skills

Tolerance Deductive reasoning Inductive reasoning

Abstract reasoning Perception Trustworthiness

Self-esteem Moral judgment Internal locus of control

Orderliness Vocabulary Spelling

Source: Kaczmarek & Packer, 1996.

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250 Police Psychology

been made, a second screening process then focuses on assessment of men- tal health, substance use, and morals or values. This is the stage at which direct involvement of police psychologists is required. Psychological assessment procedures used at this stage may include clinical interviews to assess mental health. In addition, candidates may undergo further interviews and situational tests, drug testing, and even polygraph tests (Cochrane, Tett, & Vandecreek, 2003; Gallo, 2008).

Applicant screening sounds like a good idea, but does it work? Research on the effectiveness of applicant screening procedures has yielded three general fi ndings:

1. Many individual assessment procedures predict some aspects of job success, although their predictive power is limited. For example, Weiss, Zehner, Davis, Rostow, and DeCoster - Martin (2005) examined the predictive validity of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1996, 2007), a self - report test of personality and psychopathology, with respect to subsequent performance problems in a sample of 800 police offi cer candidates in the United States. The specifi c performance problems they examined were related to insubor- dination, citizen complaints, and neglect of duty. Looking at specifi c scales of the PAI that measures antisocial behavior, attitudes, and personality, they found small but statistically signifi cant correlations with performance prob- lems. Similar fi ndings have been reported for other personality tests, as well as for interviews, cognitive ability and personality tests, and situational tests (Detrick, Chibnall, & Luebbert, 2004; De Meijer, Born, Terlouw, & Van der Molen, 2008; Pynes & Bernardin, 1992; Sellbom, Fischler, & Ben - Porath, 2007; Scogin, Schumacher, Gardner, & Chaplin, 1995).

2. Various assessment procedures have small to moderate correlations with each other, suggesting they may all tap aspects of job suitability but with only lim- ited overlap or redundancy. This is illustrated by the fi ndings of a recent study by Dayan, Fox, and Kasten (2008). They studied a cohort of 423 police offi cer candidates in Israel, all of whom had passed initial physical, medical, and back- ground screening. The candidates then completed additional screening, includ- ing an interview, cognitive ability testing, and situational tests at an assessment center. Candidates were interviewed individually by a trained police offi cer. The interview was structured in nature, focusing on the candidate ’ s current atti- tudes and behavioral history, and lasted about 30 minutes. The interviewer then made a number of discrete ratings of the candidate, as well as a summary rat- ing of suitability, on a 7 - point scale. The cognitive ability testing included three standardized intelligence tests, and scores on each test were averaged to create an overall ability score. At the assessment center, candidates were divided into groups of 13 to 15 and completed two days of activities, including individual and group tasks. Individual tasks included situational tests in which they role - played police offi cers completing various assignments, such as seizing prop- erty, searching and arresting suspects, and issuing traffi c tickets. Group tasks included moving a log over a wall under strict conditions, developing a strategy

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for recruiting new police offi cers, and designing security features for a new police station. Two assessors made independent ratings for each candidates in several specifi c areas, as well as a summary rating of suitability on a 7 - point scale; as well, candidates were asked to nominate three peers in their group who had outstanding qualities. The interview, cognitive ability testing, and assess- ment center ratings were all reliable. The cognitive ability testing had small to moderate correlations with interview and assessment center ratings, r = .18 to .44, and the correlations between the cognitive ability testing and assess- ment center ratings were also moderate, r = .34 to .37. All three sets of rat- ings were signifi cantly correlated with the fi nal acceptance decisions made by a senior police psychologist, with each containing unique (i.e., nonredundant) information.

3. Well - constructed screening procedures — batteries that combine standardized assessment procedures, each of which taps different KSAOs — improve pre- diction of job performance. A good example is a recent study by Lough and Ryan (2006). They compared the job performance of two groups of police offi cer candidates. One group underwent a standard or low - intensity appli- cant screening after the initial offer of employment and the other underwent an intensive screening program, based on a model developed in the United States. The researchers used nine indicators to judge the subsequent occupational performance of both groups, including such things as the number of public and internal complaints; motor vehicle accidents; compensation claims for stress and other reasons; and days off work due to sickness, stress, and other rea- sons. At the end of the fi rst year on the job, the group that underwent intensive screening performed better than the other group on eight of the nine indica- tors. At the end of the second year, the performance advantage of the inten- sively screened group was somewhat small, although their performance was still better on six of nine indicators. Aggregated across two years, there were statistically signifi cant ( p < .05) differences between the two groups on four indicators, with the intensively screened group having fewer motor vehicle accidents, sick days, nonstress compensation claims, and nonstress days off. The intensively screened group did not perform signifi cantly worse than the other group on any of the nine indicators.

Despite the apparent success of intensive applicant screening procedures, there are still reasons to be cautious regarding their implementation. First, the predictive validity of assessment procedures is limited. To be fair, indi- vidual assessment procedures were not designed to be used in isolation, and each may be useful for screening in or out applicants with different kinds of strengths or weaknesses. But even intensive screening procedures typically have predictive validity that is moderate at best. This may be the result of weaknesses in the scientifi c research, such as problems measuring overall job performance in a reliable and valid manner, and diffi culties controlling for organizational characteristics, which may have as much infl uence on job performance as do an offi cer ’ s personal characteristics (Sanders, 2003).

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252 Police Psychology

Second, intensive screening procedures are diffi cult and expensive to imple- ment. For example, assessment centers require careful planning and admin- istration, trained staff, considerable space and equipment, and lots of time with applicants; it is diffi cult to estimate their cost – benefi t ratio relative to more traditional assessment procedures, such as tests of cognitive ability and personality (Hale, 2005; McLaurin, 2005). Finally, it is important to consider issues of fairness and acceptability. For example, Carless (2006) found that screening procedures perceived as focusing too much on the past (e.g., background checks) or on general psychological characteristics (e.g., tests of cognitive ability and personality) were viewed by applicants as less fair or relevant than those perceived as focusing on the present (e.g., inter- views) or actual performance in job - related situations (e.g., physical ability tests, situational tests, assessment centers).

Criminal Profi ling

It can be diffi cult for law enforcement agencies to investigate complaints of criminal offenses and gather suffi cient evidence to lay charges or support con- victions; it is even more diffi cult when the identities of the perpetrators of those offenses are unknown. Criminal profi ling is an investigative support method that attempts to identify the personality, behavioral, and demographic char- acteristics of unknown criminal perpetrators based on an analysis of offense - related behaviors either in the case at hand or in similar cases. The purpose of a criminal profi le is to help identify, apprehend, or interview suspects.

It is probably more accurate to refer to criminal profi ling as a set of methods or approaches, rather than as a specifi c method. Regardless of the specifi c method employed, the underlying general principle is the same: Inferences regarding what happened during an offense are used to draw inferences about the identity of the perpetrator. Some methods add an inter- mediate step, with behavior being used to draw inferences about the likely goals and motivations of the perpetrator, which in turn are used to make inferences about identity. Put simply, investigators work backward in time from the “ What? ” of a crime to understand the “ Why? ” and, ultimately, the “ Who? ” (Pinizzotto & Finkel, 1990).

Criminal profi ling clearly involves a lot of inference, which really is just a technical term for educated guesswork. The inferential process is most likely to yield accurate, useful information when three conditions are met.

First, the quantity and quality of offense - related information — physical evidence, witness reports, and so forth — must be suffi cient to permit a reli- able behavioral reconstruction. This means criminal profi ling should only occur after an offense has been thoroughly investigated using standard

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operating procedures, and may be particularly useful in cases that involve a series of offenses rather than a single offense. Second, the offense - related behavior must be suffi ciently unusual to per- mit a detailed and specifi c motivational reconstruction. This means crim- inal profi ling is unlikely to be helpful in cases involving, say, ordinary property crimes, as the motivations underlying them are rather common- place and straightforward. Instead, criminal profi ling is most often used to investigate offenses such as homicide, kidnapping, hostage taking, sexual assault, arson, bombing, and some offenses that involve threats, stalking, or extortion — and, once again, especially when there is a series of such offenses. (It may also be used to investigate more commonplace offenses that involve unusual offense - related behavior.) Third, there must be enough known about “ typical ” perpetrators that the criminal profi ler can link certain offense - related behaviors and motiva- tions with specifi c personal characteristics. The knowledge of typical per- petrators may come from the personal experience of the criminal profi ler, or it may come from scientifi c research on known groups of offenders or databases of past offenses.

The notion that offense - related behavior can be used to infer identity isn ’ t a new one. It is likely that since the fi rst law enforcement agencies were established, good investigators all relied on this notion at times. Attesting to this view are famous cases, such as the profi le of the serial murderer, Jack the Ripper, by London police surgeon Dr. Thomas Bond in the 1890s, or the profi le of George Metesky, the Mad Bomber of New York, by psychiatrist James Brussel in the 1950s (Petherick, 2005). What is new about criminal profi ling, however, is the attempt to make the process a more rigorous one. This has been done in two major ways. First, criminal profi lers made the process more systematic by specifying the way a profi le should be constructed, according to their preferred approach. Systematization is crucial to enhancing the replicability or reliability of an approach. Second, criminal profi lers have attempted to ground their approaches in scientifi c theory and research. Reliance on a sound evidence base is crucial to enhancing the accuracy or validity of an approach.

As noted previously, there are several different methods of or approaches to criminal profi ling. These methods are often contrasted in terms of where they rely on deductive versus inductive analytic techniques (Alison, West, & Goodwill, 2004). Deductive analytic techniques are case - focused or idiographic in nature: They attempt to infer characteristics of a perpetra- tor from review of the evidence surrounding a particular offense or series of offenses, without explicit consideration of or reference to more general knowledge about other perpetrators or other offenses. The inferences are

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254 Police Psychology

based on the reasoning, experience, insight, and intuition of the criminal profi ler. The inferential process puts a heavy emphasis on the mediat- ing role of motivations. It is assumed that a perpetrator ’ s offense - related behavior refl ects specifi c motivations, which in turn will be associated with specifi c personal characteristics of the perpetrator. An important strength of deductive analytic techniques is their focus on the uniqueness and dynamic nature of offense - related behavior and motivations, and so they are most likely to be useful when an offense or offense series includes rare or unu- sual behavior, or when a perpetrator ’ s behavior or motivation appears to be changing over time. Inductive analytic techniques , in contrast, are com- parative or statistical (also referred to as nomothetic ) in nature: They infer a perpetrator ’ s characteristics from knowledge of general patterns of crimi- nal behavior, as refl ected in scientifi c theory and research. The inferences are based on the apparent similarity of the offense - related behavior in the case at hand to the behavior of known groups of perpetrators. The infer- ences do not require any speculation concerning mediating factors such as motivations. An important strength of inductive analytic techniques is their focus on established patterns of criminal behavior, so they are most likely to be useful when an offense or offense series includes common or typi- cal and stable behaviors. All approaches to criminal profi ling recognize the importance of both deductive and inductive analytic techniques; the differ- ences between the approaches lie in terms of which analytic techniques are used earliest or most often in the profi ling process. Regardless of the type of analytic techniques used, police psychologists may play a role either as criminal profi lers or, more commonly, members of a team of criminal profi lers; they also may conduct research on offenders to assist inductive analytic approaches.

The fi rst systematic approach to profi ling was Criminal Investigative Analysis , which was developed by the FBI ’ s Behavioral Science Unit in the 1970s and 1980s. Many people made important contributions to this approach, including FBI offi cers such as Patrick Mullany, Howard Teten, Robert Ressler, John Douglas, and Roy Hazelwood, as well as consulting mental health professionals such as Park Dietz. The hallmark of the FBI ’ s approach is a strong reliance on offense motivational typologies to infer offender characteristics, based on the assumption that similar behavior with similar motivation refl ects similar personal characteristics (Dietz, 1985; O ’ Toole, 1999). To assist this process, the FBI devoted considerable effort to the development of motivational typologies based on qualitative analy- ses of cases or case series, initially for sexual homicide (Burgess, Douglas, Hartman, McCormack, & Ressler, 1986) and later for a range of violent offenses (Douglas, Burgess, Burgess, & Ressler, 1992). As it is currently

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used, Criminal Investigative Analysis begins by using information about offenses — and, in particular, information about crime scenes — to classify the offense according to a motivational typology (O ’ Toole, 1999). This is followed by a full reconstruction of the circumstances surrounding the offense, including the perpetrator ’ s personality, mood, and mental health; the role of fantasy and planning; victim selection; and interactions with the victim before, during, and after the offense, including the method and manner of any physical or sexual assault and any evidence of travel. Next, investigators look for evidence of “ signatures, ” idiosyncratic aspects of offense - related behavior that may be specifi c to the offender. The fi nal step is to generate a profi le that speculates about the personal characteristics of the perpetrator, such as gender, race, family background, education and employment, intimate and general social relationships, medical and men- tal health problems, criminal history, and residence. Note that the process begins with a straightforward inductive analytic technique — namely, clas- sifi cation using a motivational typology — followed by extensive deductive analysis.

Critical of the FBI ’ s heavy reliance on deductive analytic techniques, Canter developed the Investigative Psychology approach to criminal profi l- ing in the 1990s. His goal was to make criminal profi ling less of an art — the success of which depends directly on the talents of profi lers — and more of a science. He started with the basic assumption that criminal behavior can be understood much like any other form of human behavior, all of which is essentially lawful or rule - governed. The Investigative Psychology approach has two hallmarks. The fi rst is the incorporation of various psycho- logical theories to guide the analysis of offense behavior and personal characteristics of offenders. The second is the central role of statistically derived offender typologies. Both of these features are inductive analytic techniques that use information about other offenders to make inferences about the perpetrators in the case at hand.

Behavioral Evidence Analysis (Turvey, 2008) is a strongly deductive approach, developed in reaction to the reliance on typologies, psychologi- cal theory, and statistical analysis that characterize Criminal Investigative Analysis and Investigative Psychology. In Behavioral Evidence Analysis, profi lers make rational inferences about the personal characteristics of per- petrators based directly on the facts of the case at hand; there is no refer- ence to “ other offenders ” as a means of justifying conclusions.

The fi nal approach we discuss here is geographic profi ling , which uses criminological theory, quantitative analysis of geospatial data, and typologies of offender mobility to determine the personal characteristics of perpetrators. A particular focus of geographic profi ling is identifying the likely residence

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256 Police Psychology

or travel routes of perpetrators. Rossmo (1995, 1998) apparently was the fi rst to use principles derived from environmental criminology to develop a quan- titative means of doing this. He and others have since developed specialized software to implement sophisticated mathematical models, called criminal geographic targeting algorithms , that use data about the location of criminal activity (in the form of addresses or coordinates) to yield information relevant to the search for suspects. The nature of the output varies, but it may be geo- profi le (an ordinary two - dimensional street map that contains search instruc- tions) or a jeopardy surface (a two - dimensional map that also includes a third dimension, refl ecting probability density information about the suspect ’ s location). This is obviously a highly inductive technique. But geographical profi ling that uses mobility typologies to infer other personal characteristics such as age, gender, psychopathology, criminal history, and so forth may also incorporate deductive techniques (Beauregard, Proulx, & Rossmo, 2005).

Criminal profi ling is a fascinating activity that has attracted the attention and interest of the general public. But there are several good reasons to be cautious about the usefulness of criminal profi ling.

First, it is used in very rare and specifi c circumstances. A suspect ’ s iden- tity usually is known to police; the problem they face is gathering the evidence that will support arrest, charge, or conviction of the suspect. (Consider the fact that the more than 80% of physical and sexual assaults in the United States are committed by close acquaintances, including family members or intimate partners.) Even when the suspect ’ s identity is unknown, police have a wide range of investigative procedures they use before they turn to criminal profi ling. In essence, criminal profi ling is an investigative tool of last resort. A second reason to be cautious about criminal profi ling is that it car- ries some risks. An inaccurate profi le may mislead investigators, lead- ing them down irrelevant avenues, ignoring or foreclosing potentially useful lines of inquiry. Profi ling may also lead investigators to alter their strategies to focus on a particular suspect in ways that may be viewed as harassment or entrapment. Third, a range of methods are used by people with diverse backgrounds. It is diffi cult to ensure that criminal profi lers are adequately trained and using accepted methods. The establishment of professional organizations (e.g., the International Association of Investigative Psychology) and credentialing processes (e.g., International Criminal Investigative Analysis Fellowship) are important in this regard. Fourth, and most important, the reliability (consistency) and validity (accuracy) of criminal profi ling are not well established. Research in

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this area is hampered by the fact that many profi les contain claims that are vague, of little investigatory relevance, or diffi cult to either verify or falsify (e.g., Almond, Alison, & Porter, 2007; Dowden, Bennell, & Bloomfi eld, 2007). For example, some studies have attempted to evalu- ate the effectiveness of criminal profi ling by comparing the judgments of experts to those of untrained professionals, including law enforce- ment offi cers, psychologists, university students, and even self - identifi ed psychics; others have evaluated the accuracy of geographical profi les generated by sophisticated software to those generated by people given a few simple rules. Systematic reviews of the literature have reached dramatically different conclusions: Some argue there is no evidence that criminal profi ling is anything but “ smoke and mirrors ” (Bennell, Taylor, & Snook, 2007; Snook, Cullen, Bennell, Taylor, & Gendreau, 2008; Snook, Eastwood, Gendreau, Goggin, & Cullen, 2007), whereas oth- ers argue there is at least limited support for its reliability and validity (Kocsis, Middledorp, & Karpin, 2008; Rossmo & Filer, 2005).

Operations - Related Education and Training: Use of Force

Operations - related education and training is intended to help improve the success of law enforcement agencies and offi cers in the specifi c jobs or missions they undertake. One focus of education and training is improv- ing police decision making. Law enforcement offi cers have broad powers regarding such things as search or seizure of property; detention, arrest, or charge of people suspected of violating the law; and the use of force — up to and including deadly force — to enforce the law or protect the safety of citizens. Exercised properly, these powers are essential for successful performance of their duties; exercised improperly, they can result in the loss of citizen ’ s faith in and respect for the justice system. Although the use of police powers is limited by law and guided by agency policy, indi- vidual offi cers must use their discretion to interpret the application of law and policy in specifi c situations. For this reason, decision making by law enforcement offi cers has been a focus of considerable research, edu- cation, and training in police psychology, examining topics such as how police make decisions about traffi c stops, arrest in cases of suspected domestic violence, or handling of people suffering from mental illness.

One of the most important topics in police decision making concerns the use of force. This is obviously a high - stakes decision: Improper exercise of discretion can result in psychological trauma, physical injury, or death of innocent people. (See Box 9.1 for an example of controversy regard- ing police use of force.) But the context of these decisions is also unusual,

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258 Police Psychology

as they often must be made under conditions of extreme stress. Imagine, for example, you are a uniformed member of a large metropolitan police force, armed with many of the weapons given to typical general duties offi cers. While on patrol one night, you receive a radio call reporting a domestic disturbance at a nearby residence. You and your partner respond and are fi rst on scene. When you arrive, the front door of the residence is open and you can hear people screaming and shouting, including both adults and children, but you cannot see anyone. You assume they must be in the back of house, probably in the kitchen. You pound on the open door and announce your presence, but no one responds. A few seconds later, you hear the sounds of a scuffl e and a woman screams, “ Oh! He ’ s killing me, he ’ s killing me! ” Your partner immediately gets on his radio to call for back - up. What do you do? Consider the following options; think about why you would or would not choose each one.

a. Wait with your partner for back - up to arrive before entering the residence.

b. Pound on the door and announce your presence again, but louder this time.

c. Enter the residence, with no weapon in hand. d. Enter the residence, with your nightstick (fl ashlight, pepper spray,

etc.) in hand. e. Enter the residence, with your conducted electricity weapon (Taser)

in hand. f. Enter the residence, with your fi rearm (handgun or shotgun) in hand.

The diffi cult thing about this scenario is that no matter how you respond, someone — the woman who is being assaulted, the man who is assaulting her, their children, you, your partner — could end up dead. If you respond with insuffi cient force, you may be unable to protect the safety of the victim or bystanders; if you use too much, you may provoke an escalation of violence, and even end up using your weapon. Even if you respond in a way that seems entirely reasonable, someone could end up dead, prompting you (and a lot of other people) to second - guess your original decision.

There is a large body of theory and research on decision making in the fi elds of cognitive and social psychology that has been of great assistance to police psychologists. But much of this theory and research is not directly relevant to the use of force by police. More relevant is research directly on police, which has examined the impact of personal characteristics such as age, gender, education, job - related experience, and race on use of force (e.g., McElvain & Kposowa, 2008). Even better is research directly relevant to education and training. Police psychologists increasingly are relying on an

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The Practice of Police Psychology: Some Examples 259

Robert Dziekanski, a 40-year-old Polish man, was traveling to Canada to visit his mother, a recent immigrant. He arrived at the Vancouver International Airport on October 14, 2007 at about four o’clock in the afternoon and cleared the immigration checks required for international visitors, but appar- ently had diffi culty retrieving his luggage and did not clear Customs for more than eight hours. During this time, he became increasingly agitated, a situa- tion that was exacerbated by his limited ability to communicate in English. When he cleared Customs, his behavior attracted the attention of border patrol offi cers: He walked aimlessly, talked loudly to himself, and picked up furni- ture and moved it around. He was sweating profusely and did not respond to attempts to communicate with him. Border patrol offi cers secured and cleared the area where Mr. Dziekanski was located, then summoned the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the federal police who have jurisdiction at the airport. Four RCMP offi cers attended the scene about 10 minutes later. The subsequent interaction was captured on video by a private citizen at the airport. The RCMP approached Mr. Dziekanski at a safe distance and attempted to calm him down by talking to him, but he was again unresponsive. His behavior was still agitated, and at one point picked up a computer monitor and threw it on the fl oor. The RCMP offi cers drew their con- ducted electricity weapons, also known as Tasers, and approached Mr. Dziekanski directly. About 25 seconds later, one of the offi cers discharged a weapon, and Mr. Dziekanski stumbled and fell to the fl oor, screaming and convulsing. A few seconds later, another loud crack was heard, apparently the result of a second Taser being fi red. The offi cers then attempted to restrain Mr. Dziekanski, who was still screaming and convulsing on the fl oor, by kneeling on him and handcuffi ng him. In the videotape, one of the offi cers can be heard to say, “Hit him again, hit him again,” and there may have been as many as two additional Taser discharges. Only 90 sec- onds after the fi rst Taser shot was fi red at Mr. Dziekanski, he fell silent and stopped moving. The RCMP immediately called for emergency assistance and administered fi rst aid, but Mr. Dziekanski died of heart failure. This tragic incident caused public outrage in Canada and resulted in a number of investigations and reviews, includ- ing internal reviews by the RCMP of its own whether the offi cers involved complied with the agency’s policies regarding use of force and the policy itself.

Box 9.1 A Controversy Concerning Police Use of Force

Robert Dziekanski lies on the fl oor of the Vancouver International Airport after being Tasered by Royal Canadian Mounted Police offi cers, as one offi cer looks on. (Paul Pritchard)

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260 Police Psychology

approach originally developed in military psychology sometimes referred to as operational psychology , the goal of which is to use basic psychology to “ generate empirical knowledge on individual and contextual factors infl uencing human behavior in dynamic settings that produce a hazard to life, health, or basic values ” (Johnsen & Eid, 2006, S1; see also Staal & Stephenson, 2006).

From an operational psychology perspective, police decisions regarding use of force have some important characteristics. First, and most obvious, these decisions involve use of skills under very diffi cult conditions, including physical and social environments that are complex and dynamic; incom- plete and uncertain information about those environments; and extreme emotional arousal, including fear. Second, the decisions always involve moral reasoning, which requires decision makers to understand, accept, and consider institutional values as they are refl ected in law and policy. Third, use - of - force decisions often involve the need to work closely with one or more team members. So, these are the problems faced by law enforcement offi cers; how have police psychologists tried to improve education and training regarding use - of - force decisions?

A major contribution of police psychology has been to support the movement toward simulation - based training, in which law enforcement offi cers are given the opportunity to practice decision making and use of force under controlled circumstances that closely resemble situations they are likely to encounter in the course of their employment. Training in real - world context sounds ideal, but it has some important limitations (Bennell, Jones, & Corey, 2007). Perhaps the biggest is that trainees may encoun- ter few relevant situations in the fi eld, and so have limited opportunity to practice skills or observe others practice their skills. Real - world training also exposes trainees to potentially dangerous situations before they have acquired a good skill set for managing those situations. And training in highly controlled situations, like a classroom or a traditional fi ring range, may actually be counterproductive, as trainees may be forced to acquire skills that later they will need to unlearn in the real world. For example, learning how to fi re a handgun accurately at a stationary bull ’ s - eye target under ideal lighting while calm and wearing earplugs does not necessar- ily help, and may even hinder, accurate shooting while chasing a human target at night with a police cruiser ’ s lights fl ashing and sirens blaring. In contrast, simulation - based training allows repeated exposure to challeng- ing and changing situations, and gives instructors the ability to work with trainees to improve their performance.

A common method for training police offi cers in use of force is the use of computer - based simulators (Bennell, Jones, & Corey, 2007). A typical simulator involves projection of various job - relevant scenarios

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via high - quality, life - size video with accompanying audio. Trainees are required to engage in interactive role play during the scenarios, armed with various weapons that emit infrared light when deployed. The pres- entation of scenarios is controlled by computer, so the conditions or progress of the scenario can be changed by instructors or automatically changed in response to the trainee ’ s deployment of weapons. This means a trainee ’ s actions can result in immediate feedback during the simu- lation. The entire simulation may be taped so it can be reviewed with the trainee, or a report may be generated to gauge performance (e.g., number of times or accuracy with which a weapon was used). Instructors can present trainees with the same scenarios, modify the outcome of the scenario, or change the scenario altogether.

Bennell, Jones, and Corey (2007) discussed how cognitive load theory can be used to understand and improve use - of - force training for police. Three concepts are crucial in cognitive load theory. Intrinsic cogni- tive load refl ects the inherent complexity of the information trainees are learning. Extraneous cognitive load , on the other hand, is due to the unnecessary demands placed on the mental information process- ing resources of trainees due to the learning materials and instructional methods used by instructors. Finally, germane cognitive load refl ects the direct efforts of instructors to help trainees develop relevant schemas, cognitive structures or “ mental maps ” they can use to organize the new information they acquire into meaningful concepts.

According to theory, there is little instructors can do to reduce intrinsic cognitive load; to put it simply, the relevant task “ is what it is. ” Instead, instructors should try to use training techniques that reduce extraneous cognitive load but increase germane cognitive load. To decrease extrane- ous cognitive load, instructors can present problems to trainees in differ- ent formats, such as partially completed or completed examples. (Partially completed examples present a problem with only a few steps missing or unsolved; completed examples provide a problem with the full solution.) These formats allow trainees to observe correct problem - solving tech- niques from the outset, instead of wasting their information - processing resources learning how to make mistakes before they learn correct per- formance. Alternatively, instructors can make sure that learning meth- ods allow trainees to focus their attention and minimize redundancy. To increase germane cognitive load, instructors can use a diverse set of examples or exercises that helps trainees generalize their learning across situations, or have them talk aloud while engaging in tasks so they can concretize and process the information they are acquiring.

An excellent example of the application of operational psycho- logy principles to police psychology is a study conducted by Saus et al.

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262 Police Psychology

(2006). They discussed the concept of situational awareness , a cognitive process that involves understanding the immediate physical environment. Situational awareness requires that a person perceives the environment accurately, uses those perceptions to develop an appreciation of what is happening right now, and can use that appreciation to make projections about what might happen in the immediate future. Just as the ability to visualize the fi eld of play helps professional athletes to improve their per- formance in team sports, the ability to visualize the environment during a critical incident — the features of the surrounding terrain, where people are, what they are doing, what might be coming next — is crucial to good decision making in use-of-force scenarios. Improving situational aware- ness is one potential way to improve use - of - force decisions; it can be viewed as a way to increase germane cognitive load, according to cogni- tive load theory. One technique that is used to improve situational aware- ness is the freeze technique , which involves stopping a simulated training exercise at various points in time and posing questions to trainees that will help them to develop microskills related to perception, appreciation, and projection.

Saus and colleagues (2006) evaluated the effectiveness of standard fi re- arms training that involved the use of the freeze technique. In Norway, they studied 40 police recruits — 20 males and 20 females. They were ran- domly assigned to the standard or experimental training conditions. The standard condition involved classroom instruction in the use of fi rearms, practice on a target range under increasing levels of diffi culty, and dis- cussion of the upcoming computerized simulation test. The experimental training condition received scenario - based instruction, which involved sessions in the computerized simulator using the freeze technique and discussion of situational awareness. The length of training was the same for both groups. After completion of training, all subjects completed the same scenario test in the computerized simulator, one that required them to use their fi rearms for successful outcome. To evaluate success, the researchers stopped the simulator at specifi c points and asked questions to determine each subject ’ s level of situational awareness, recorded the total shots taken and number of hits, and recorded heart rate during the exercise. Recruits in the experimental training condition had signifi - cantly higher levels of situational awareness according to both self - report and ratings made by instructors; they also fi red signifi cantly more shots, as well as signifi cantly more accurate shots. Finally, recruits in the experi- mental training condition demonstrated less heart rate variability, which the authors interpreted as indicating the expenditure of less cognitive effort during the simulation exercise.

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SUMMARY

Although some of the basic job requirements for law enforcement offi cers have remained unchanged for more than a hundred years, policing increas- ingly requires a set of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other personal char- acteristics that is both more diverse and more specialized. Psychologists have helped law enforcement agencies cope with the challenges of modern policing in a variety of ways. Some of the work done by police psycholo- gists involves more traditional activities, such as assessment, counseling, and evaluation; but some of the work is novel, involving the application of general psychological theory and research to the specifi c problems faced by offi cers in the fi eld.