This essay will be concentrating on the effects of implementing the two key changes to the police selection process. These changes include making tertiary education non-mandatory upon entry and removal of the psychological testing from the police selection process. The aim of the essay is to critique the two proposed changes based on empirical evidence and provides definite explanations why tertiary education and psychological testing should remain mandatory upon entry for police recruit.
This essay will be referring to the Law Enforcement Educational Program (LEEP) created for police higher education and how it has benefitted police officers in terms of (1) higher education and police attitudes and performance, (2) higher education and community policing and terrorism. The importance of psychological screenings using sophisticated assessment instruments as Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), California Personality Inventory (CPI) and the Inwald Personality Inventory (IPI) will also be discussed, explaining in detail why it is necessary to policing.
The essay concludes by highlighting the importance of higher education which provides the “blue print” for police and elaborates on the screening process and how it helps to “weed out” the mentally and emotionally unstable candidates considering the challenging and complex role of an officer in the society.
The complexity involved in police work demands interpersonal and non-enforcement as well as social service in addition to law enforcement and maintaining order. Due to this increasing complexity and in order to be able to make critical decision while policing the community, in 1967, the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice recommended police education to be raised to a college degree as minimum standard for employment (Carter & Sapp, 1990). The Law Enforcement Education Program (LEEP) was created to encourage police into attending college as it was believed that highly educated officers are more responsive, comprehensive and provide insightful service (Carter, 1989) As a result, the make-up of an effective officer according to Goldstein (1977) constitutes of five qualities; Intelligence, tolerance and understanding of cultural differences, values supporting control on police conduct, self-discipline, and the ability to control one’s emotions. Research shows College education has been linked to the development of these traits which coincide with Goldstein’s. For example studies reveal college educated officers are more flexible, less authoritarian, more confident, able to think independently, more knowledgeable and less dogmatic in their beliefs (Dorsey, 1994; Goldstein, 1977; Feldman & Newcomb, 1969; Smith, Locke, & Fenster, 1970).
Firstly the impact of higher education on police attitudes centered on comparing levels of authoritarianism of college-educated police to police with little or no college will be discussed. In a study done by Smith et al., (1968) it was proved that police with some college and those with college degree were significantly less authoritarian than their non-college-educated colleagues. Guller (1972) found police officers who were college seniors showed lower levels of authoritarianism than officers who were college freshmen and of similar age, socioeconomic background, and work experience, indicating that the higher level of education, the more flexible a person may be. Similarly researchers (Parker et al., 1976; Roberg, 1978; Trojanowicz and Nicholson, 1976) have also found college-educated officers to be more flexible and less authoritarian.
In another study on the use of deadly force by police officers, Fyfe (1988) found college-educated officers tend to use less deadly force (fire of weapons) in comparison to non-college educated officers. In a more recent study by Terill and Mastrofski (2002), citizen encounters with inexperienced and less-educated officers resulted in increased use of police force. Study conducted in the state of Florida (Law Enforcement News, 2002) found that officers with only high school diploma made up of about 50 percent of all sworn in officers yet accounted for about 75 percent of all disciplinary action issued by state.
In addition to attitude, the impact of higher education on police performance shows that officers with higher level of education performed their jobs in a more satisfactory manner than their less educated peers, as indicated by higher evaluation ratings from their supervisors (Finnegan, 1976; Roberg, 1978; Smith and Aamodt, 1997; Truxillo et al., 1998).The Roberg (1978) study of 118 patrol officers in the Lincoln, Nebraska Police Department, indicated that officers with “college degrees had the most open belief systems and the highest levels of job performance, indicating that college-educated officers were better able to adapt to the complex nature of the police role” (Roberg, 1978, p. 344).
Researchers have also found college to have a positive effect on a number of key individual performance indicators. For example, several researchers found college-educated officers to have fewer citizen complaints filed against them (Cascio, 1977; Wilson, 1999; Lersch and Kunzman, 2001).Additional research shows that college officers perform better in the academy. Researchers like Cascio, 1977; Cohen and Chaiken, 1972; Sanderson, 1977 found that fewer disciplinary actions were taken against college officers by the department, lower rates of absenteeism recorded, college officers received fewer injuries on the job and were involved in fewer traffic accidents. Carter and Sapp (1989) found that college educated officers are less involved in cases of individual liability than non-college officers. Carter and Sapp (1990) also add that college-educated officers tend to have a broader understanding of civil rights issues from legal, social, historical, and political perspectives.
Secondly the impact of higher education on community policing indicates that college educated officers are not only more aware of social and cultural or ethnic problems in their community, but also have a greater acceptance of minorities as found by Weiner (1976).These officers are more professional in their attitude (Miller & Fry, 1978) and ethical in their behavior (Tyre and Braunstein, 1992). Furthermore, college educated officers are thought to be more understanding of human behavior, more sensitive to community relations, and hold a higher service standard as found by Miller & Fry (1976) and Regoli (1976).This suggest that such individuals may be more “humanistic” police officers.
Carlan and Byxbe (2000) conducted a study of undergraduate college students (235 criminal justice majors and 428 non-criminal justice majors) at three large southern universities in which subjects were asked to specify the prison sentence for a white or black convicted felon in one or two hypothetical cases. No significant differences were found in sentencing preferences between criminal justice majors and their non-criminal justice counterparts, suggesting that higher education appears to deliver a more humanistic candidate for police work, a good sign as the nationwide is a valuable trait in departments that practice community policing because an officer’s ability to empathize and communicate with local citizens is vital to its success (Meese, 1993). As stated by Worden (1990, p. 576) “Because college education is supposed to provide insights into human behavior and to foster a spirit of experimentation, college-educated officers are (hypothetically) less inclined to invoke the law to resolve problems, and correspondingly are inclined more strongly to develop extralegal solutions”. The freedom to exercise one’s reasoning and analytical skills (ability to think outside the box) should lead to increased job satisfaction among educated officers (Sherwood, 2000).
Further to this, the impact of higher education on community policing and terrorism indicates that the exposure to humanities and social sciences through higher education will produce a more sophisticated, socially conscious and culturally attuned officer while the analytical skills provided by higher education will prepare an officer to meet the complex challenges presented by terrorism (Roberg & Bonn, 2004). DeGuzman (2002) believes that the threat of terrorism will test officers’ decision making and communication skills, and provide a challenge to police legitimacy. Thus, it seems more crucial than ever to promote a community policing approach, where vital information can be gained through improved relationships with the community. This should lead to gains in police legitimacy, which in turn, will lead to additional help and information from the public in preventing crime and terrorism (Roberg & Bonn, 2004). Studies show that police legitimacy among the public is highly correlated to a willingness to obey the law (Tyler, 1990) and that community policing facilitates police legitimacy (Skogan, 1994).The superior communication and problem solving skills derived from higher education, implicitly required by community policing, would seem well suited to fostering legitimacy among citizens for law enforcement officers (Roberg & Bonn, 2004).
Lastly, the essay concentrates on psychological screening as an important element of police recruitment process. In response to numerous criticisms and police misconduct, the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the administration of Justice (1967) recommended psychological testing and a higher professional standard for selection of police officers. Psychological testing using sophisticated instruments such as Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2), California Personality Inventory (CPI) and the Inwald Personality Inventory (IPI) have been used as personality assessment tools in “screening out” those applicants who are emotionally unfit or have abnormal personalities (Ho, 2001). Psychological testing has also been transformed to predict an individual’s intellectual performance on the job (Gottfredson, 2000). Researchers (Cohen & Chaiken, 1972; Murphy, 1972; Poland, 1978) have indicated that intelligence is crucial in predicting future job performance in policing. Measuring intelligence is necessary due to the complexity of police work and increasing application of technology in policing (Ho, 2001).
According to research, the qualities exhibited by candidates through pre-employment psychological testing by using MMPI-2 successfully screens out candidates who obtain significant elevations that are 65 and above in the undesirable personality traits as: hostility, lack of impulse control, potential for alcohol or substance abuse, psychoses, paranoia, etcetera (Detrick, Chibnall, & Rosso, 2001). The CPI provided evidence on three points: (1) the modal personality of police; (2) the personality characteristics associated with persistence in police work ; (3) the personality correlates of effective performance. This suggests that successful candidates displayed more poise, self-assurance and had higher level of achievement potential, intellectual efficiency and social insight (Hogan & Kurtines).The IPI predicted the likelihood of an officer being the subject of citizens’ complaints, negative ratings from supervisors and an overall negative composite (Mufson & Mufson, 1998).
One reason for greater emphasis on selection procedures is the negative impact of having unqualified employees. Financial costs are one way police agencies are affected, for example the Los Angeles Police Department spends about $100,000 to train each new officer. If hires later prove unable to perform their duties, substantial resources have been wasted. Studies conducted by Shusman, Inwald & Landa (1984) reported several purposes for pre-employment screening of police officers. Firstly, employers want to weed out lateness and absenteeism, which result in understaffing, excessive overtime pay, and a breakdown in trust among officers. Secondly, disciplinary interviews increase department expenses and use up valuable administrative time. Thirdly, screening helps to avoid potential harm to citizens or fellow officers. Lastly, poor publicity and court litigation may result from irresponsible officer behavior. The consequences of officers’ behavior can result in negative effects for the department, individuals and the community as a whole.
In a nationwide survey, Delprino and Bahn (1988) found that 52% of responding police agencies were conducting psychological screening on police recruits and 90% perceived a need for its use in their department. Similarly Bartol (1996) surveyed 152 police psychologists and found that pre-employment screening consumed the largest percentage of their time (34.3%), again suggesting its importance to police departments. Hogan (1971) found that police officers who had a favorable rating of job performance scored considerably high on intelligence, self-confidence, and social scales of the CPI. In effect psychological screening intends to eliminate candidates who are identified as having undesirable personality traits which diminishes legal liability of police departments for negligent hiring (Inwald, 1985; Metchick, 1999; Schofield, 1993).