NCJ Number
209835
Journal
International Journal of Police Science & Management Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: Spring 2005 Pages: 15-23
Date Published
2005
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study compared the performance of two groups of Tasmania (Australia) police officers--one group that underwent pre-employment psychological testing and one that did not--after their first year of training and on-the-job performance.
Abstract
To date no formal empirical research has been performed to determine the validity of psychological screening of Australian police applicants and personnel. The Australian Institute of Forensic Psychology (AIFP) profiling system was designed to screen a variety of public safety applicants, including police. It has been widely used with reported success from evaluations in the United States. The Tasmania police force began using the AIFP profiling system to guide their operational policing selection in the late 1990s. It was not until February 2003 that a sufficient number (n=213) of screened probationary constables was obtained to compare with an equal number of constables who had not been screened in their hiring process. The two groups were compared on the performance indicators of sick days; stress claims; nonstress claims; days off, stress claims; days off, nonstress claims; public complaints; IID complaints; and number of motor vehicle accidents. Across seven of the eight measures, the screened group outperformed the nonscreened group, with four of the differences being statistically significant. The screened group also had a lower dropout rate. Possible explanations for these findings are reviewed, and implications are drawn for the future selection of police personnel in Australia. 2 tables and 27 references