All About the Psychological Screening of Police Officers

For people looking to start a career in law enforcement or other areas of the criminal justice system, a psychological exam is a vital – yet inadequately understood – aspect of pre-employment screening.

Psychological Screening – Quick Facts

Over 90% of law enforcement agencies in the United States require their applicants to undergo psychological screening. This may be either before or after extending them a conditional offer of employment.
Just 65% of agencies use polygraph exams.
88% of agencies also mandate drug screening.

Psychological Screening – Debunking the Myths

Pre-employment psychological screening does not evaluate whether a candidate is sane or insane.Instead, it only determines a candidate’s suitability for a particular position.
Psychological screening also attempts to establish whether you possess any traits deemed ‘undesirable’ in a police officer. However, even if your screening finds one or more such traits, it’s not a statement on who you are as a person.

What Goes into It?

A psychological screening comprises a battery of tests including several components. The exam usually starts with a self-interview or evaluation.

This is followed by a number of multiple-choice tests or surveys.

Lastly, there will be a one-on-one interview with a psychologist.

The evaluation considers all the different components, as the psychologist offers their professional opinion about the applicant’s suitability for the profession.

This opinion may expressed as:

Low risk, medium risk, or high risk for hiring
Acceptable, marginal, or unacceptable for hiring

Which Traits are Assessed?

In order to come to a conclusion about the suitability of an applicant, the psychological screening assesses a number of personality traits, some of which are discussed below:

Integrity

It is important for law enforcement officials to be honest and have a strong sense of morality.

Reliability

In order to perform their jobs effectively, law enforcement officials should be able to inspire their respective communities to trust them and rely on them.

Stress Tolerance

Law enforcement is a stressful job, which is why a candidate should demonstrate reasonably high tolerance for stress.

Judgment

Police officers are often required to display sound judgment and decision-making skills in rapidly changing, highly dynamic situations.

Attitude Towards Supervision & Accountability

The role of a law enforcement official is a closely monitored one, with supervision, regulation, and hierarchies. A potential candidate should be able to deal with this efficiently.

Reasonable Bravery

Police officers often have to deal with dangerous situations while remaining calm and not losing their composure. This is why potential candidates should display reasonable courage.

Personal Motivations

It’s important to determine why a candidate is choosing to enter law enforcement, and whether they’re doing it for the right reasons.

Lack of Impulsivity

Considering that police officers have certain legal authorities & privileges, along with access to weapons, an applicant demonstrating strong impulse control is less likely to exploit that privilege and authority while on the job.

How it Works

When you reach the psychologist’s office on the day of the exam, the first thing you’re likely to notice is the number of people present there.This is because in the early stages of the assessment, candidates are typically evaluated in batches, with the interview generally conducted in private.

After giving your consent in writing, you’ll start by answering questions related to your personal history. This is likely to include an inquiry of your strengths and weaknesses, educational background, employment history, personal background, and past drug use.

Following the initial survey, you’ll proceed to the personality assessments, which consist of multiple-choice statements. Spending a few hours on the personality tests, you’ll have to provide a response ranging from strongly agree, agree, and neutral to disagree, and strongly disagree.

The Face-to-Face Interview

As mentioned before, this interview is typically conducted in private after you’ve completed the personality surveys.

The psychologist will ask about your responses to the survey as well as your self-evaluation. At this stage, you get to discuss, elaborate, and clarify your answers.

After you’ve completed the interview, the psychologist will prepare a report that will be forwarded to your hiring agency.

How Effective is It?

The majority of agencies use tried-and-tested personality assessment tests that have been thoroughly researched and accepted to provide accurate insights into human behavior.

Since their validity is backed by a substantial amount of data, psychologists and police departments are both confident about the effectiveness of psychological screenings.

Psychological Assessments & The Police

Statistics indicate that the psychological screening eliminates between 15% to 20% of the applicants.

This elimination typically occurs because either the candidate changes their mind about pursuing a career in this field, or they’re not approved by the psychologist to continue.

This relatively small percentage of eliminated candidates is the reason why there are people who question if psychological screenings are worth the expense.

Let’s put the numbers into context.

If, for example, a law enforcement agency receives 1,200 applications in a month, then the psychological screening will result in the rejection of around 180 to 240 candidates.

Imagine if these applicants, despite possessing undesirable traits, were equipped with a gun and given authority. In addition to the obvious risks to public safety, it could have disastrous consequences for the department as well.

Passing the Psychological Screening

It is essential to be honest. Remember to be yourself and answer the questions as truthfully as possible.

Note that these assessments are designed, administered, and evaluated by trained professionals. This means that lying on the test and getting away with it is extremely unlikely.

Remember to answer questions accurately as well. If you’re struggling to understand any part of the assessment, ask questions and clarify it.

“What if I Fail?”

Being unable to clear the psych screening is neither a judgment on who you are as a person, nor the worst-case scenario. It simply means you’re not suitable for the position you’re interested in.

Reconsider whether a career in Suffolk County police New York City is truly what you want in life.

If it is, a good place to start is by trying to pinpoint the issues that caused you to fail the screenings. Take steps towards improving any weak areas, and correcting any undesirable traits.

If it isn’t the right choice for you, then it’s better for you to have this information now rather than later, when it could pose a risk to you or others.

We’re a private tutorial company that’s successfully prepared candidates for various civil service exams, including the Suffolk County civil service test, since the 1960s. We design courses and prepare material with serious, driven candidates in mind.

Whether you’ve already registered for the Suffolk Police Test, or aspire to join the Suffolk County Police Department someday, we’re the right choice for you. Contact us today to get started!