Psychological skills needed in policing 1

Psychological skills needed in policing

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 Psychological skills needed in policing 2

Psychological skills needed in policing

Introduction

The nature of a policing career is that every police man or woman will need high

adaptability of his or psychological capabilities to counter atypical situations during policing

endeavors. As security officers, police are bound to encounter tough situations such that they

must effectively balance their psychology in order to deal with calm, authoritative, stressing and

violent situations by behaving in a manner relevant to each. Police officers also undertake the

duty of aiding the injured, abused, lost, abandoned and mentally ill besides crime fighting such

that they must be well endowed with people interaction and problem solving skills. It is further

notable that policing is a stressful job; yet officers must balance this with their family and social

life. Motivation and strong willingness to endure these difficulties is therefore vital in ensuring

the efficiency of a police officer.

Psychological skills an officer needs to be proficient in policing

Self motivation

The job of a police officer is generally challenging and equally dangerous such that an

individual must be willing to take the risk before joining the force. Studies have shown that a

significant percentage of new officers are likely to leave their jobs because they could not cope

with the workload often associated with policing (Dempsey and Forst, 2009, p. 179).

Accordingly, it is important for an individual to know what is expected of them before entering

the police force. As a matter of fact, police officers who joined the force due to their own

interest and with full understanding of their expected roles are likely to succeed.
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Resilience and flexibility in dealing with problem and emotion related tasks

Resilience denotes a persons capability to deal with stress and hardship. Further, it can

symbolize an individuals ability to calm down following a stressful incidence and the capacity

to use a previous stressing experience to act in a much better way the next time. Resilience is

very important in the police force, given the high stress levels that police officers are likely to

encounter in the course of their duties. Without proper stress handling skills and the ability to

move on despite the obstacles in their lives, police officers could find themselves sinking into

depression and even committing suicide (Dempsey and Forst, 2009, p.179-180).

Ability to handle life-death situations

Police officers often find themselves in compromising situations where they are required

to make instant decisions on whether to kill offenders or to spare their lives. Such decisions are

highly dependent on the situation at hand and an officer must be able to make a quick judgment

before performing any action. This is highly influenced by the police code which requires

officers not to kill unless the mission is too dangerous or where the lives of civilians are

threatened (Crawshaw, Cullen and Williamson, 2007, p. 155).

The ability to handle life-death situations is also applicable in cases where police officers

are required to save lives in case of accidents and other emergency situations. In essence they

should be prepared to give in their best in order to avoid deaths of patients. This involves

possession of lifesaving skills, delegation skills and application of quick judgment and decision

making; all which should be assessed during recruitment of police officers (Roesch, Zapf and

Hart, 2009, p. 249). Where death occurs however, a police officer should be able to get over the

situation without being emotionally affected.

 Psychological skills needed in policing 4

Good character judgment

The importance of good character judgment in the police force cannot be underestimated;

given that police officers have to continually identify potentially dangerous people and make

reports about arrested suspects (Karpadis, 2006, p. 87). Further, they are required to make quick

judgments about suspects even before interrogating them so as to enable them get accurate

information. Character judgment is particularly important in criminal profiling and where

investigations are being conducted such that police officers need to be well conversant with

peoples behavior and what they suggest about them (Karpadis, 2006, p. 189). This calls for

careful observation and the ability to ask the right questions in order to establish important facts.

Problem solving skills

Policing mostly has to do with problem solving; a capacity that is highly dependent on a

combination of knowledge, the power to understand, strong judgment capabilities, initiative and

restraint as opposed to an individuals physical capabilities (McCafferty, 2003, p. 78). Apart

from criminals, police officers constantly deal with people from different backgrounds such as

terror victims, accident victims and their relatives and people calling for assistance among

others. All these people present the police officers with different scenarios and are likely to

require different solutions and actions in order to solve their problems. This means that the

intelligence level of the candidates should be high enough to match the requirements of the

situation at hand. Accordingly, a candidate should be able to offer solutions to various scenarios

presented to him or her during the interview in order to establish whether the same will be

reflected once he or she starts acting on real problems.

 Psychological skills needed in policing 5

Assertive approach to people

Police officers need to have an assertive approach when dealing with people since they

are likely to interact with them constantly. Police officers not only deal with criminals but they

are also bound to interact with civilians in community policing, incident reporting and in

handling victims of incidents such as terrorist attacks, rape, kidnap, witnessing murder and lost

people such that thy must be in a position to handle all these types of people (Dempsey and

Forst, 2009, p. 170). Assertiveness encompasses clear communication that involves direct

speech, avoiding aggressiveness, staying calm and holding firmly on known facts. By applying

such skills, police officers enhance their ability to collect important facts and to solve useful

mysteries in the society.

Moral characteristics integrity, reliability, honesty to enhance sound decisions

In their duty to uphold peace, police officers need to perform their duties diligently

without compromising the image of the state and the police department. In this regard, police

officers need to uphold high integrity levels, reliability and honesty so as to ensure that only the

right decisions are made (McCafferty, 2003, p. 83). This means that interviewers need to conduct

background checks on candidates in order to select individuals with valuable moral

characteristics. Above all, police candidates must portray loyalty towards the job they are about

to undertake.

The most important psychological skills and how they are used in police work

Resilience

As a profession that subjects individuals to constant stress situations and the need to

balance personal life with social life, policing demands that candidates must demonstrate strong

resilience even under difficult circumstances (Bartol, C. and Bartol, A, 2004, p. 48). If a person
 Psychological skills needed in policing 6

is not in a position to counter feelings of stress, it would be difficult for them to survive in

policing and they are more likely to leave the profession or to encounter suicidal thoughts

(Dempsey and Forst, 2009, p. 179-180). It is important to note that police officers perform taxing

duties such that they often experience mental fatigue. Coupled with the difficult situations and

the need to make difficult decisions, police officers are likely to get depressed and which would

eventually affect their productivity. Some of the biggest stressors in policing include the trauma

of killing someone, having to watch a fellow policeman die in the line of duty, poor support from

senior officers, lack of cooperation in individual departments, new rules, disruption of family

time due to shift work, distress calls and dealing with the unrelenting public on a daily basis

(McCafferty, 2003, p. 83; Dempsey and Forst, 2009, p. 179). They may also fear for their

privacy, given the constant determination by the media to put down or expose police officers.

Resilience in policing is therefore an important psychological skill and it should be highly

emphasized during the recruitment exercise.

Ability to handle life-death situations

Human life is highly valuable and it should be protected at all costs. Efficient police

officers must possess the psychological skill of handling life-death situations in order to save

many lives in the course of their duty (Janik, 1994, p. 21). This calls for empathy and the ability

to apply correct judgment and decisions before executing any action. This psychological skill has

mostly been emphasized in the use of deadly force. A police officer ought to be able to identify

the danger posed by a criminal and weigh it against arresting him or her instead of shooting or

applying deadly force (Crawshaw, Cullen and Williamson, 2007, p. 155). Police officers also

play a great role in saving accident victims where death is highly probable if quick measures are

not taken. Police officers should be able to establish the necessary steps to be taken in order to
 Psychological skills needed in policing 7

save lives. This calls for fast decision making abilities which are only possible if an individual is

sensitive about preserving the lives of people. Ability to handle life-death situations is therefore

an important psychological skill that should be sought in police candidates.

Problem solving skills

Police officers are faced by different situations everyday; with each requiring a unique

solution. Proper problem solving skills are therefore of great importance and must be upheld as a

basis for selecting police officers. Clearly, an efficient police officer needs to combine

knowledge, logic, understanding, initiative, judgment and restraint hence the need to conduct

psychological screening on police officers (Hogg and Wilson, 1994, p. 3-4). This ensures that

only correct measures are taken in solving critical problems and that these measures bring out the

desired results. Problem solving skills are particularly important in life threatening situations as

they are likely to help in saving lives and property and avoiding further damage. Possession of

such skills is therefore inevitable and should be greatly emphasized during the recruitment

exercise.

What would happen in the absence of these psychological skills?

Resilience

Stress is rated as one of the most significant de-motivators at work and which also

significantly affects an individuals capability. Consequent studies have indicated that police

officers suffering from stress are likely to end up turning to alcohol, depression, divorce,

resignation and suicide on the very extreme (Bartol, C. and Bartol, A, 2004, p. 48). Inability to

bear work stress may lead an officer into leaving the profession. This would certainly distract the

operations of an entire department since the officer would have to be replaced. It would be
 Psychological skills needed in policing 8

particularly destructive where the officer leaves while performing an important process such as

investigation.

The consequences of alcohol in the productivity of an officer can be quite severe.

Alcohol not only affects a persons concentration ability but is also bound to limit their decision

making abilities and increase the possibility of making wrong judgments. This could highly

jeopardize an officers job such that he or she may not complete assignments within the required

time and in the right quality. The officer may also take unnecessary risks and make poor

decisions such as shooting suspects without considering ways to arrest them. Alcoholism could

also lead to truancy and lack of seriousness in ones job. The outcome would be an inefficient

department and the possibility of termination of the officer.

Since police officers are constantly on call to perform various duties, they often feel

detached from their families such that they may feel as if they are not giving them enough

support. High stress levels could even lead to divorce (Bartol, C. and Bartol, A, 2004, p. 48). It is

therefore common to find officers resorting to divorce in order to eliminate such responsibility

and to keep away the feeling of guilt of leaving their families.

Depression affects a persons ability to work well through limiting their activity and

thoughts. This is because a person with depression is constantly distracted and could end up

making incorrect decisions. Depression could also strain an officers relationship with family,

friends and colleagues and hence ruin their ability to work together. Finally, it is unmanageable

levels of depression that lead a person into committing suicide.

Work stress has been known to cause suicidal thoughts among affected officers. Indeed,

reports indicate that police officers are likely to perform suicide if they cannot bear the stress

levels at their place of work (Bartol, C. and Bartol, A, 2004, p. 48). Accordingly, an individual
 Psychological skills needed in policing 9

must possess resilience skills in order to effectively deal with stressing situations that are likely

to emerge in the course of their work.

Ability to handle life-death situations

The possession of powers to shoot and kill suspects may trigger undue killing among

police officers if their tolerance abilities are low. Dempse and Forst (2009, p. 155-157) make

note of the fact that police officers must be able to weigh the dangers they are exposed to when

dealing with criminals and hence make decisions on when to shoot or to facilitate arrest. Police

officers have been known of misusing their power to shoot suspects in circumstances where

arrest was possible thus giving rise to the question on whether police officers give any regard to

life and the importance of avoiding death (Roesch, Zapf and Hart, 2009, p. 257). In situations

where a police officer feels that shooting a suspect is much easier than making an arrest, he or

she may give an excuse that the suspect was potentially dangerous to the public. Such decisions

could lead to innocent deaths and also incapacitate the role of the justice system in correcting

criminal behavior.

The police are constantly involved in saving lives in case of accidents and incidents that

are life threatening. This calls for urgency and police officers must have the willingness to

protect lives. This means that they should do everything possible to ensure that victims are taken

care of, given first aid and taken to the hospital as soon as possible. Failure to do so would lead

to loss of many lives and this would eventually lead to the loss of credibility on the police force.

Failure by police officers to show urgency in saving the lives of accident victims depicts lack of

humanity; a trait that police officers should avoid since their duty is to serve and protect people.

It is also notable that in their line of duty, police officers are bound to lose some of the accident

victims. They must in turn learn how to handle such disappointments. Failure to this, cases of
 Psychological skills needed in policing 10

depression could develop and this would in turn affect the efficiency of the force. Police officers

should also deal with concerned relatives and friends calmly so as to avoid uncontrollable

situations that would prevent efficient life-saving operations from being conducted (Janik, 1994,

p. 22).

Problem solving skills

The absence of problem solving skills would be highly detrimental to the police force due

to the inability to provide workable solutions to everyday challenges. Poor problem solving skills

could lead to death, loss of property and potential tainting of the police forces image (Karpadis,

2007, p. 303). It could also lead to destructive measures which may end up alleviating the

problem instead of offering a solution. Accordingly, intelligence is of high importance and

should be well exercised in order to avoid confusion during life-threatening situations. The

application of problem solving skills is necessary in rescue operations, peace keeping missions

and community policing where difficult situations are likely to emerge. Police officers must

always have workable solutions to counter problems, with special consideration to the expected

outcomes.

How to tell a candidate possesses the above psychological skills

Psychology tests are mostly used in assessing the possession of various psychological

skills in candidates. While these tests may not be fully relied on to establish the psychological

skills among candidates, Hogg and Wilson (1995, p. iv) note that coming up with a

psychological screening process could prove to be an intricate task. It involves the use of a

combination of personality, general ability and situational tests. The use of scenarios during the

recruitment exercise for example would play a significant role in identifying various skills.
 Psychological skills needed in policing 11

Resilience

The resilience level of an individual may be done by subjecting an individual to a

stressing situation for a number of days while observing their behavior. For example, a candidate

could be placed at the door of a public place such as a social hall when there is a function. Their

behavior when controlling and directing people can then be used to gauge their stress

management abilities in a situation where they are faced by rebellious and disorderly public.

Observations on how they react towards particular situations can also be studied. UAE Traders

(2010, p. 1) refers to this as the relax-hurry syndrome. As the candidate changes from

situations where urgent action is required to situations that need to be handled calmly, it is

possible to determine an individuals stress levels. A candidates ability to descend and elevate

stress hormones can be observed and if he or she goes into a depressive state of mind after some

time, it is possible to tell that he has a low stress border. On the other hand, a person with a better

stress form will barely show a change in the state of mind.

Ability to handle life-death situations

It is possible to know whether a person can handle life-death situations through

determining their empathy skills. This can be done through asking situational questions where

there is need to save a life and avoid death as much as possible. Preferably, these questions must

avoid the death option as much as possible such that the candidates aim is to keep the involved

party alive. If a candidate vividly answers such questions and provides timely solutions to the

given scenarios, it is possible to determine whether they are able to handle life-death situations.

Problem solving skills

Both situational tests and psychological tests could be used to check an individuals

problem handling skills. This can be done through providing scenarios of varying difficulties and
 Psychological skills needed in policing 12

then assessing a candidates ability to provide sufficient and workable solutions (Roesch, Zapf

and Hart, 2009, p. 249). It is possible to identify an individual candidates ability to solve

problems through assessing the time taken to provide an answer and the intelligence level used in

coming up with a solution. Such solutions should be simple, reliable and capable of being used to

solve problems in the shortest time possible.

 Psychological skills needed in policing 13

References

Bartol, C. R. & Bartol, A. M. (2004). Introduction to forensic psychology. London: SAGE.

Crawshaw, R., Cullen, S. & Williamson, T. (2007). Human rights and policing. Dordrecht,

Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers

Dempsey, J. S. & Forst, L. S. (2009). An Introduction to Policing. London: Cengage Learning.

Hogg, A.& Wilson, C. (1995). Is the psychological screening of police applicants a realistic

goal? The successes and failures of psychological screening. Australasian Centre for

Policing Research. Available online >www.anzpaa.org/Upload/anzpire-research-

databases//published-research/science-and-technology/ACPR124/ACPR124.PDF

Janik, J. (1994) Why psychological screening of police candidates is necessary: The history and \

rationale. Journal of Police And Criminal Psychology, 10 (2):18-23.

Karpadis, A. (2006). Psychology and Law. New York: McGrawHill.

McCafferty, F. L. (2003). The challenge of selecting tomorrows police officers from generations

X and Y. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 31: 7888.

Roesch, R., Zapf, P. A. & Hart, S. D. (2009). Forensic Psychology and Law. New York: John

Wiley and Sons.

UAE Traders. (2010). Necessary Psychological Skills When Working in the Executive Protection

Field. Retrieved on October 23, 2010 from

http://www.uaetraders.net/cosmos22/careers/37157.php