Police & Public Safety Services
Police & Public Safety Services
Services to the police and public safety community consist of employment screening, fitness for duty evaluations, and counseling for individual officers and/or family members” Builder discretion – Might need transparent box.
Psychological Employment Screening Services
The Center for Applied Psychology and Forensic Studies (CAPFS) performs psychological employment screenings for small and large police agencies. Our psychological employment screening services are of great value to public safety departments that need to recruit new applicants, before as well as after they are extended a “Conditional Offer of Employment” (COE). At CAPFS, we focus on both the suitability and stability of candidates. Our evaluation is based on 15 job relevant traits and characteristics, such as teamwork, interpersonal skills, and self-control.
Key Elements of the Screening Program
There are a few key elements of the suitability oriented pre-employment psychological screening program used by CAPFS.
1. Evaluation Criteria
Many screening psychologists use the minimum standards, which only look at the stability factor of candidates. Thus, most psychologists focus on job-relevant psychopathology. This encourages “Pathologizing” applicants.
Research shows that only 1% of applicants have a testing history sufficiently negative to qualify as emotionally unstable, which in effect implies that poorly suited applicants will not be identified by this approach.
However, the evaluation criteria utilized by CAPFS involve both suitability and stability, to select the right applicant fit for the job.
2. Evaluation Measure
While many screening psychologists simply use ‘pass or fail’ as an evaluation measure, the evaluation measure utilized by CAPFS involves multi-level suitability ratings.
A ‘pass or fail’ measure leaves decision makers little choice for failed applicants and provides little guidance for choosing among those who pass. Single-pass category virtually eliminates the opportunity for validation after hiring.
3. Integration With Other Selection Components
At CAPFS, the psychological rating is often used as part of a comprehensive character review (along with background and polygraph data), conducted by most departments at a formal “hiring meeting”, before a final selection decision is made by the hiring authority.
This is typically not done in many other psychological screenings.
4. Structured Evaluation System
At CAPFS, our ratings are based on a ‘decision matrix’ incorporating test and behavioral ‘marker variables,’ which enhance reliability across time, and different psychologists.
The lack of a standardized evaluation process used by many psychological evaluations leads to inconsistent ratings.
At CAPFS we know that quality is basic to all evaluations. We only involve our most competent psychologists to take charge of the screening process.
At CAPFS, we use state-of-the-art procedures for screening. We go by well-accepted uniform procedures and standards that are followed within the police and public safety, for the selection process, before confirming the applicants fit to join duty.
Psychological Fitness Evaluations
CAPFS psychological fitness for duty evaluations are conducted at the request of the police department who may have concerns about the mental and/or emotional capabilities of an officer to perform his/her full police duties. Civilian Personnel may also be referred for a fitness for duty evaluation particularly individuals who have safety sensitive responsibilities e.g. Detention Aids, Dispatchers Youth Detention Aids. Police officers and civilians employees referred to CAPFS for fitness evaluations are administered psychological tests and interviewed by a licensed psychologist well trained and experienced in police and public safety psychology.
Following the evaluation, a report is submitted to the referring agency. If the officer is found to be psychologically unfit to be returned to duty, the psychologist will make recommendations for what may be needed to restore the officer to a mental state of fitness.
Counseling services provided to an individual officer and/or family member is available upon request. These services are designed specifically to address the unique stressors and concerns those in law enforcement and public safety may have.