Case Study: Weighing Chief Concerns
The police chief is facing a dilemma regarding whether the department should attempt to select individuals who will be good officers or whether the department should simply try to weed out potentially bad officers. Specifically, the chief wants to know what the research suggests is the best procedure for selecting new police officers. As part of Dr. Shayleigh Johnson's new role as a police psychology professional, she has been asked to evaluate the police's cadet selection procedure.
One day, as Dr. Johnson is working on the cadet selection procedure, the chief summons her to his office. He shuts the door and starts to speak in a whispering voice. He appears to be serious and troubled. He explains to Dr. Johnson that a veteran of fifteen years on the force appears to be having some difficulties. He tells her the officer failed to conduct a thorough search of a suspect and allowed a detainee to introduce contraband into the jail. On another occasion, when the officer was traveling to a crime-in-progress report, he apparently got lost and approached a house on the wrong street. Another deputy has also expressed concern about the veteran officer. At times, the officer seems to be on drugs while on duty.
The chief wants Dr. Johnson to conduct a fitness-for-duty evaluation (FFDE). He asks Dr. Johnson how she will conduct the evaluation and what the issues of confidentiality regarding the results are. Dr. Johnson needs to report to the chief by the end of the week.
Assignment 1: Weighing Chief Concerns
Cadet Selection Procedure and FFDE., and study a vignette.
Dr. Johnson is entrusted with the evaluation of the police's cadet selection procedure.
Tasks: On the basis of the vignette you read, analyze the vignette and respond to the following questions regarding the PEPE process:
• Should the department attempt to select individuals who will be good officers, or should the department simply try to weed out potentially bad officers?
• How should this selection process be conducted, and what psychological testing instruments, if any, should be included?
Now, let's look at a procedure that may be necessary following employment-an FFDE:
• Explain how informed consent and the limits of confidentiality should be handled by the forensic examiner.
• Explain how an FFDE is conducted. Include discussion of psychological tests that might be administered in an FFDE.
• Present the possible outcomes of an FFDE. In other words, what might the examiner recommend to the police department?
All responses should follow APA rules for attributing sources.