NCJ Number
231934
Date Published
2010
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This chapter presents a brief history of the use of personality assessment in police psychology.
Abstract
The chapter, presents a brief history of the use of personality assessment in police psychology, is divided into six periods that detail the changes that have occurred in police psychology through the years. The first section of the chapter deals with the status of police psychology prior to 1960. This is followed by a section on changes that occurred in the field during the 1960s which saw the expansion of psychologists' roles and applications in the law enforcement field. Changes in the 1970s saw the hiring of police psychologists whose primary responsibilities included assessment services. The section on changes in the 1980s describes the growing interest and development in police/public safety personality testing, while changes in the 1990s saw a continued expansion of the use of personality assessment in law enforcement. The section on changes in the 2000s remarks on the development of the trademark "Diplomate in Policy Psychology," which has been awarded to over 40 policy psychologists as of 2009, as well as the development of new instruments for public safety assessment purposes. References